OldRacingCars.com

Emerson Fittipaldi in the McLaren M23 at the 1974 Canadian GP.  Copyright Norm MacLeod 2017.  Used with permission.

News

Minor updates are made to the site daily. The list below shows major updates only.

2 Mar 2024

Cooper T70 (1964 Tasman)

The two Cooper T70s were the first cars operated by Bruce McLaren’s private team. Bruce won the 1964 Tasman series in his T70.

1 Mar 2024

Scott (1973 Formula 2)

Designed as a Formula 2 car by future Williams designer Patrick Head for Richard Scott, the Scott proved most effective as a Formula Atlantic car in 1974. It was later a regular winner in libre racing at Croft.

21 Feb 2024

Martin BM12 (1973 Formula Atlantic)

Built by Brian Martin to use in the British Formula Atlantic series, the Martin BM12 was not a great success and was dropped after a single season. It was later used in hillclimbs in the early 1980s.

11 Feb 2024

Brabham BT18 (1966 Formula 2)

The Brabham BT18 was a multi-formula car built in 1966 and used in Formula 2, Formula 3 and Formule Libre. This set of histories relate only to the Formula 2 BT18.

9 Feb 2024

Brabham BT18B (1966 Formule Libre)

MRD built the Brabham BT18 in 1966 for F2, F3 and Formule libre. As they are such a large and complicated subject, they have to be split into three groups. To get us started, here are the eight cars built with Ford twin cam engines.

9 Oct 2023

Wheatcroft R18 (1975 Formula Atlantic)

Designed by Mike Pilbeam for Tom Wheatcroft, the Wheatcroft R18 ran in F2 and Formula Atlantic in 1975, and proved a success in both. Two cars ran for many years in South Africa and a third raced in British F3 for several years.

6 Sep 2023

GRD 372 (1972 Formula 3)

GRD's first Formula 3 car, the GRD 372, was an immediate success and won 19 F3 races during the 1972 season. Roger Williamson, Andy Sutcliffe, Tony Brise and Alan Jones all won races in GRD 372s.

31 Aug 2023

Williams FW06 (1978 Formula 1)

The first car produced by the new Williams Grand Prix Engineering, the Williams FW06 proved highly effective in the hands of Alan Jones during the 1978 season. An influx of sponsorship from Saudi Arabian companies put WGPE on a sounding footing.

29 Aug 2023

Penske PC4 (1976 Formula 1)

Penske's final F1 car was a huge improvement and John Watson took the Penske PC4 to a deserved victory at the Austrian Grand Prix in 1976. Just three months later, Penske withdrew from F1.

27 Aug 2023

Penske PC3 (1975-76 Formula 1)

After the failure of the Penske PC1, Penske copied the March 751 to produce the Penske PC3, and to continue to learn about F1. It was only used for six Grands Prix before being replaced by the Penske PC4.

24 Aug 2023

Penske PC1 (1974-75 Formula 1)

The Penske PC1 was the first car designed and built from scratch by Roger Penske's operation and took the team into Formula 1 in late 1974. It was not a great success and was replaced by a customer March 751 in mid-1975.

23 Aug 2023

Australian Formula Pacific/Formula Mondial 1986

Despite Graham Watson's best efforts to keep Formula Pacific alive, this would be the category's last season. Australian F2 attempted to take its place, but a revival in Australian single-seater racing would gave to wait for Formula Holden.

3 Aug 2023

Australian Formula Pacific/Formula Mondial 1985

After the big investment in Formula Pacific in 1981 and 1982, the category had weakened significantly by 1985. The Australian Grand Prix had moved up to the Formula 1 circus, leaving Formula Pacific now a sideshow. Full results are still being sought for the Sandown Park race in September 1985.

27 Jun 2023

Formula 2 1967 season review and full race results

I'm not sure why I never published 1967 Formula 2. Apologies for the oversight. This was the year the formula moved to 1600cc and Jochen Rindt dominated in the Brabham BT23. A European Championship for non-graded drivers was won by Jackie Ickx in Ken Tyrrell's Matras.

18 May 2023

Lola T90 and T92 (1966-1967 Indy)

The 1966 Lola T90 Indy car was an immediate success, with Jackie Stewart leading the 1966 Indy 500 for much of its distance and Graham Hill winning after the Scot retired. A further development followed in 1967, the T92.

14 May 2023

Brabham BT35 (1971-72 Formula Atlantic and Formula B)

The Brabham BT35 was built in 1971 for Formula Atlantic, Formula B and Formula 3. This page only covers the Formula Atlantic and Formula B cars.

9 May 2023

Formula 2 1974 season review and full race results

All the results from Formula 2 in 1974, with a chassis history for every single car. March maintained its dominance in F2 in 1974, with Alpine, Chevron and Surtees providing the most effective competition. Works March driver Patrick Depailler took the title from his teammate Hans Stuck.

21 Apr 2023

Ensign N179 (1979 Formula 1)

After four seasons using Dave Baldwin's elegant N175-N177 designs, Mo Nunn attempted a completely new wing car design for 1979. It was not a success.

19 Apr 2023

Ensign N180 (1980-81 Formula 1)

The Ensign N180 started a return to competitiveness for the Ensign team. In an updated version, the N180B, Marc Surer gave Ensign its best ever result with fourth place and fastest lap in the rain in Brazil in 1981.

16 Feb 2023

Surtees TS7 (1970 Formula 1)

The Surtees TS7 proved an effective starting point for the new F1 team, and John Surtees scored a famous victory in the car at the Oulton Park Gold Cup in August 1970.

15 Feb 2023

Chevron B35 (1975 Formula 2)

Customers for the Chevron B35, the Formula 2 variant to the new Chevron B34 Formula Atlantic car, included Trivellato Racing, Fred Opert Racing and Fred Stalder's ROC team. Jacques Laffite impressed in Opert's Chevron B35s, finishing second in two races.

13 Feb 2023

March 721 (1972 Formula 1)

An interim car built for the start of the 1972 season, the March 721 was a minor update to the March 711. As well as two works cars, customer cars were also built from Frank Williams and for Eifelland.

12 Feb 2023

March 741 (1974 Formula 1)

March built two March 741s for 1974. Although Hans Stuck and Vittorio Brambilla had a few good results, a lack of finance and reliability left the team only ninth in the championship. Both authentic 741s still exist, but two or three "extra" ones have also been built.

22 Dec 2022

McNamara T501 (1971 Indy)

The second McNamara Indy car design was lower and lighter than the 1970 model but suffered from chassis flexing and driver Mario Andretti struggled with it at the 1971 Indy 500. The relationship between STP and McNamara quickly came to an end.

13 Dec 2022

Gerhardt 1970 Indy car

A refinement of the team's 1969 wedge design, the 1970 Gerhardt was used until 1972 but did not achieve the success of earlier Gerhardts and no customer sales were made.

2 Dec 2022

McNamara T500 (1970 Indy)

The German McNamara company produced a series of Indy cars for the STP team and its driver Mario Andretti in 1970. Although the T500 was too new to be competitive at the Indy 500, Andretti took pole in one at Milwaukee a week later and then won at Continental Divide the next month.

24 Nov 2022

Hawk II (1967 Indy)

Clint Brawner built an improved Hawk for 1967 and with Mario Andretti in the seat, this was again the most successful rear-engined car of the year with seven race wins.

18 Nov 2022

Pygmée MDB17 (1972 Formula 2)

The 1972 Pygmée MDB17 was very similar to the 1971 MDB16, differing in detail only. Three cars were run as part of an ambitious Brazilian-financed English-based operation, but despite some early promise, it ended very badly.

15 Nov 2022

Hawk I (1965 Indy)

Built as a copy of the Brabham BT12, the original 1965 Brawner Hawk took Mario Andretti to the 1965 USAC Championship. The following season he used this car to take pole position at the Indy 500 and then a second successive USAC title.

6 Nov 2022

Chevron B34 (1976 Formula 3 and Formula Atlantic)

Designed for Formula Atlantic, the Chevron B34 was also available in Formula 3 specification, where it proved highly successful, winning the European F3 championship with Riccardo Patrese, and helping Rupert Keegan to the BP British title.

4 Nov 2022

Chevron B29 (1975 F2 and Formula Atlantic)

With its traditional sportscar market declining, Chevron concentrated on the Chevron B29 for 1975, a model designed for use in Formula 2 and Formula Atlantic. Bill Brack took the Canadian Formula Atlantic title, and both Jim Crawford and Gunnar Nilsson won races in the UK.

26 Oct 2022

Argo JM9 (1981 Formula Atlantic)

Argo built three Formula Atlantic Argo JM9s for 1981, based on the Formula 3 JM8. Like the F3 cars, the Atlantic cars were well off the pace of the Ralts.

24 Oct 2022

Argo JM5 (1979-80 Formula Atlantic)

Argo's production of Formula Atlantic cars in 1979 and 1980 is bit complicated. Two Argo JM5s were built for 1979, and then one of these was rebuilt into a new "JM8" for 1980.

18 Oct 2022

Fittipaldi F8 (1980 Formula 1)

Harvey Postlethwaite's 1980 Fittipaldi F8 design was finally ready in time for the British GP in July, and was used until the end of the season. An extensively revised car, the F8C, was produced for 1981, and an F8D was used alongside the F9 in 1982.

17 Oct 2022

Fittipaldi F5 (1977 Formula 1)

Dave Baldwin moved from Ensign to Fittipaldi and designed the Fittipaldi F5 for 1977. Despite some early promise, it proved no faster than the FD04 and at the end of the season was completely revamped as the F5A.

9 Oct 2022

Chevron B56 (1982 Formula Atlantic)

Designed and built by Robin Smith, the Chevron B56 was a new Formula Atlantic car for the 1982 season using an entirely new honeycomb chassis. Masanori Sekiya and Gary Gibson drove the car with limited success.

6 Oct 2022

Chevron B45 (1978 Formula Atlantic)

The Chevron B45 was a relatively minor update to the Chevron B39, and US agent Fred Opert sold very few compared with the rival March 78B. Keke Rosberg won three races in his B45 but, with F1 and F2 campaigns to distract him, narrowly missed out on the Labatts Championship.

27 Sep 2022

Ensign N173 (1973 Formula 1)

After the success of his Formula 3 cars in 1971 and 1972, Mo Nunn designed and built a Formula 1 car for 1973, the Ensign N173, financed and driven by Rikky von Opel.

25 Sep 2022

Ferrari 312T (1975 Formula 1)

The Ferrari 312T earned Ferrari the constructors' world title after 11 years and gave Niki Lauda the first of his three drivers' titles.

14 Sep 2022

Eagle 1977 Indy car

Dan Gurney's design team produced a radically new Indy car for 1977, much smaller and with an offset cockpit. Despite some early promise, the car never worked properly and Eagle moved to a Lightning-inspired design for 1978.

15 Aug 2022

Chevron B39 (1977 Formula Atlantic)

Visually very similar to the 1976 Chevron B34, the Chevron B39 was Chevron's 1977 Formula Atlantic model. Sales were down significantly, and only Keke Rosberg in Fred Opert's team achieved significant success.

14 Jul 2022

Brabham BT25 (1968 Indy)

Jack Brabham returned to Indianapolis with a pair of new Brabham BT25 Indy cars in 1968. Repco's quad-cam V8 engine could not compete at the Indy 500, but Peter Revson later demonstrated the car's effectiveness with a win at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

27 Jun 2022

Lotus 34 (1964 Indy)

Lotus built three revised cars for the 1964 Indianapolis 500, and Jim Clark took pole position and led easily until a tyre collapsed. Parnelli Jones then won easily at Milwaukee in August when he drove Clark's car, and won again at Trenton, marking the end of the roadster era.

25 Jun 2022

Watson 1977-1979 Indy car

After seven seasons running Eagles, AJ Watson returned to building his own cars in 1977, with the first of a series of cars based on Lindsey Hopkins' Lightning.

24 Jun 2022

Lightning 1980 Indy car

Dave Bruns designed a completely new ground-effect car for Lindsey Hopkins' team in 1980. It only started six races across four seasons and failed to finish any of them. Hopkins withdrew from Indy racing after the 1981 Indy 500.

23 Jun 2022

Lightning 1976-1978 Indy car

Designed by Roman Slobodynskyj for Lindsey Hopkins in 1976, the Lightning dazzled at first but the production models built for 1977 were a huge disappointment.

19 Jun 2022

Wildcat 'Mk 6' (1980 Indy)

The Patrick Racing Team produced a new Wildcat 'wing car' for 1980, but it was quickly replaced by the team's Phoenix cars, and was only used as a backup car for the rest of the season. It was referred to in some places as the Mk IV, but it was logically the 'Mk 6'.

23 Apr 2022

Williams FW07 (1979 Formula 1)

For 1979, Patrick Head designed his first ground-effect car, the Williams FW07, following the template of the Lotus 79 but with a number of detail improvements. Alan Jones and Clay Regazzoni won five GPs between them in 1979 in FW07s.

19 Apr 2022

Huffaker 1964 Indy car

The 1964 MG Liquid Suspension Special Indy car was commissioned by Kjell Qvale, the West Coast distributor for British Motor Car Distributors, and designed by Joe Huffaker at Qvale's workshops in San Francisco. These cars are generally known as Huffakers, rather than BMCs.

8 Apr 2022

Aurora British F1 1980 season review and race results

After such a wonderful season in 1979, Aurora rapidly fell to earth in 1980. Emilio de Villota dominated the season in the RAM Racing Williams FW07 but no other team could get close and the series was dropped.

6 Apr 2022

Aurora British F1 1979 season review and race results

Surtees moved down into Aurora for 1979, joining Theodore Racing, RAM Racing, Clowes and Melchester. After another great season, Rupert Keegan in the Clowes Arrows A1 narrowly took the title from David Kennedy in the Theodore Wolf and Emilio de Villota in his Lotus 78.

6 Apr 2022

Aurora British F1 1978 season review and race results

The new British Formula 1 championship sponsored by Aurora AFX replaced the Shellsport Group 8 series for the 1978 season. Tony Trimmer was the first champion in Melchester Racing's McLaren M23.

5 Feb 2022

Tasman Revival 2014/15 season review and race results

Steve Ross regained his Tasman Revival title in 2014/15 driving his McRae GM1. The series was back to six races after the separate Australian championship was abandoned after a single season.

5 Feb 2022

Tasman Revival 2013/14 season review and race results

As well as the four Tasman Cup Revival races in New Zealand in 2013-14, there was also a four-race F5000 Australia Cup series. Andrew Higgins and Tom Tweedie were the respective champions.

5 Feb 2022

Tasman Revival 2012/13 season review and race results

Returning to our history of the New Zealand-based Tasman Revival series, Steve Ross retained his title in the 2012-13 series driving his McRae GM1.

24 Jan 2022

Formula 1 - the 1974 season

The 1974 season marked a major change in F1, with an influx of new teams and a much more evenly-matched field following Jackie Stewart's retirement. Emerson Fittipaldi narrowly beat Clay Regazzoni and Jody Scheckter to the title.

22 Jan 2022

BRM P153 (1970 Formula 1)

Tony Southgate's first design for BRM was the BRM P153, a low bathtub monocoque with bulbous sides that was a complete change to previous designs. This design returned the team to competitiveness with Pedro Rodriguez winning the Belgian GP.

28 Dec 2021

Eagle 1973 Indy car

The 1972 and 1973 model Eagle Indy cars are often confused. AAR continued to produce 1972 model cars for customers in early 1973, but also built four cars to a revised 1973 specification for their own in-house team.

22 Dec 2021

KayTee Formula A history

Art Kijek raced his home-built Formula A across North America in 1969, from Minnesota to Florida. Unfortunately for the small team, it was destroyed in a fire at the end of the season.

21 Dec 2021

Coyote IV (1973-1978 Indy car)

Between 1973 and early 1979, AJ Foyt used a series of cars evolving from an original design by Bob Riley. Only four distinct cars were built, and Foyt won 19 races in them, with at least one victory in each of those seven seasons, including four 500-mile races.

19 Dec 2021

Coyote III (1972 Indy car)

Bob Riley designed a new Coyote III for AJ Foyt in 1972, similar in layout to the recently announced 1972 Eagle. The car was a complete flop, and Foyt only raced it a handful of times.

17 Dec 2021

Coyote II (1971 Indy car)

AJ Foyt commissioned Bob Riley to design a new car for 1971, to replace the dated Len Terry-derived cars that Foyt had been using since 1966. It could not compete with the McLarens or 1971 Eagles, but Foyt won one race when the quicker cars hit problems.

15 Dec 2021

Tipke 1972 Indy car

Designed and built by Jim Tipke in 1972 but not raced until 1973, the Tipke Indy car was beautifully engineered but simply did not have the speed. It did however help to launch the career of its driver Tom Sneva.

13 Dec 2021

McLaren M21 (1972 Formula 2)

McLaren returned to Formula 2 in 1972 with the McLaren M21, the works car being driven by Jody Scheckter. None were sold to customers, so McLaren wound up the production relationship with Trojan.

18 Nov 2021

Cooper T60 (1962 Formula 1)

Following on from the prototype Climax V8 Cooper in 1961, two new Cooper T60s were built for the 1962 season. Bruce McLaren won the Monaco GP in his T60.

17 Nov 2021

Vollstedt 1972-73 Indy car

Rolla Vollstedt's 1972 and 1973 cars were built from very similar monocoques and were used and modified together over the next three seasons.

9 Nov 2021

Lotus 69 (1970 Formula 2)

The first car to be called a Lotus 69 was a monocoque Formula 2 car built for 1970. Jochen Rindt won four of his first five races in his example.

3 Nov 2021

Lotus 69 (1971 Formula B)

A new Lotus 69 model was built for Formula B in 1971, comprising a spaceframe chassis, Hart Ford twin cam engine, F2-style Lotus 69 bodywork and uprated front suspension.

2 Nov 2021

STP 1969 Indy car

Andy Granatelli commissioned the construction of two STP Indy cars for 1969, using Lotus 56 monocoques with "Superwedge" bodywork and fitted with Plymouth stock block engines.

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