British Sprint Championship Round
Blackpool, 5 Aug 1979
| Results | Time | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Franklin | 2-litre March 782 [9] - BMW M12/7 Euroracing (see note 1) |
17.59s | |||
| 2 | Simon Riley | 3-litre March 741 [1] - Cosworth DFV V8 |
17.87s | |||
| 3 | Terry Smith | 5-litre March 75A/761 [1-2] - Repco 740 V8 (see note 2) |
18.1s | |||
| 4 | Allan Humphries | 2.1-litre March 762 [5?] - Hart 421R |
18.89s | |||
| 5 | Paul Edwards | (F5000) 3.4-litre March 76A [1] - Ford GAA V6 (see note 3) |
19 | |||
| 6 | Ray Rowan | 2-litre March 742 [Musetti 'A'] - Ford BDX |
19.13s | |||
| 7 | Clive Bracey | 7.6-litre Vebra Mk1 - Chevrolet V8 |
19.35s | |||
| 8 | Johnty Williamson | (F5000) 5-litre Chevron B28 [28-74-02] - Chevrolet V8 (see note 4) |
19.58s | |||
| 9 | Richard Lester | 1.6-litre March 73B [722-5] - Ford (see note 5) |
20.11s | |||
| 10 | Alan Newton | 1.6-litre Huron SS02A ['1'] - Cosworth FVA |
20.26s | |||
| Qualifying | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying information not available |
Notes on the cars:
- March 782 [9] (David Franklin): Manfred Winkelhock's works car at Thruxton 27 Mar 1978 and presumably all season. He had an all-new chassis at Donington 25 Jun after his Rouen write-off but it presumably retained the same number. To David Franklin for hillclimbs in 1979, 1980 and 1981. Then with Fred Davies in 1982. Later with Bill Morris 1987-1990.
- March 75A/761 [1-2] (Terry Smith): John MacDonald (RAM Racing) 1975. Raced in UK 1975: driven by Alan Jones (3rd BARC Thruxton 17 Aug 1975) - Hexagon Garage for Damien Magee UK 1976 - Guy Edwards UK 1977; rebuilt on a March 761 monocoque, and then converted to DFV power for last few races of 1977. Edwards UK 1978 (first two races); then for Bruce Allison (five races). Also used by Desire Wilson in a test session prior to the British GP. To Terry Smith (Felton, Somerset), fitted with a 5-litre Repco engine, and used in the British Sprint Championship 1979, 1980 and 1981. Used by Smith and John Meredith British Sprint Championship 1982. To Ray Rowan 1983, and retained by him until about 1987 when the Repco engine was sold to Australia and the rolling chassis was sold via a dealer to Italy. Reemerged four years later when sold by Andrea Frasson (Rosà , Vicenza, Italy) to Daniel Pouteau (Paris, France) in December 1991. Retained by Pouteau, still apart and in still Terry Smith's livery, until sold via Bernard De Dryver to Paul Grant (Brussels, Belgium) in April 2013. Rebuilt for Masters F1 in 2015, and debut at the Spa 6 Hours in September 2015.
- March 76A [1] (Paul Edwards): For Chris Cramer and fitted with 3.4-litre Cosworth-Ford GA V6 engine for British hill climbs. Cramer British Hill Climb Championship 1976, 1977, 1978 - Paul Edwards: British Sprint Championship 1979 (6 Run-Offs); updated to 78A specification: British Sprint Championship 1980 (5 Run-Offs) - Nigel Bigwood: British Sprint Championship 1981 (6 Run-Offs), 1982 (7 Run-Offs and one win at Lydden Hill in May 1982) - Tim and Tony Barry 1983: raced by Alan Kayes at Mallory Park libre 19 Jun 1983 (retired); Brands Hatch libre 14 Aug 1983 (2nd); run by Tony Barry at Brighton Speed Trials 10 Sep 1983 (3rd). Later run by Tony Barry at Mallory Park Sprint round 28 Jun 1986 (8th). Retained by the Barry brothers 2005 and raced by Tim in the HSCC Derek Bell Trophy. In December 2012, the car was nearing the end of what Tim called "a protracted rebuild including an extensively refreshed tub" and returned to racing in 2014.
- Chevron B28 [28-74-02] (Johnty Williamson): See full history: Chevron B28 74-02.
- March 73B [722-5] (Richard Lester): New for STP-March number two driver Niki Lauda for F2 in 1972 (won at Oulton Park in March), then for Pedro de Lamare in Torneio do Brasil. To Robert Cooper (High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire) for Formula Atlantic 1973, and rebuilt mid-season to 73B spec. Retained for early 1974, then sold to Dairmuid McFeeley (Clonee, Dunboyne, County Meath, Ireland) for Irish Formula Atlantic in 1974, 1975 and early 1976. To John Ledlie in 1976, then sold to Richard Lester (Yoxall, Staffordshire) for sprints from 1978 to 1984. With Keith Wanklyn (Wimborne) for hillclimbs from 1985 to 1990. Via three other owners to John Gale (Sydney, NSW, Australia) 2006. Sold to Australian-resident Englishman Steve Weller (Sydney, NSW) in 2017, who moved the car to the UK.
Sources
Note that the identification of individual cars in these results is based on the material presented elsewhere in this site and may in some cases contradict the organisers' published results.
The British Sprint Championship results were originally provided by Paul Parker and Steve Wilkinson and are based on material drawn from Motoring News, Autosport and Speedscene magazines plus results sheets and programmes provided by former competitors and by the organising clubs.
The identification of individual cars is based on the Formula 1, Formula 2, Formula 5000 and Formula Atlantic research work presented elsewhere on the site.
All comments, clarifications, corrections and additions are most welcome. Please email Allen (allen@oldracingcars.com) if you can help in any way with our research.