Rand Spring Trophy

Kyalami, 1 Oct 1977

All cars are 1.6-litre F/Atl unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. March 77B [8] (Roy Klomfass): New to Eddie Pinto and Team Gunston for Roy Klomfass to race in South African Formula Atlantic in 1977, using Swindon BDA engines. Retained by Team Gunston in 1978 for new driver Trevor van Rooyen. Retained again by Team Gunston for the 1978/79 season, when it was a spare car to Van Rooyen's new March 79B and was driven that season by Basil Van Rooyen at Kyalami in October 1978 (when Trevor was unwell), by Dave Charlton at Killarney later that month, and then by Trevor at two races. Later in 1979, it was fitted with a Ford V6 engine for the new 'Formula South Africa', and was raced twice by John Love. It was unused in 1980, then sold to Jeff Waberski after his DAW Supplies team's ex-Ian Scheckter March 78B was destroyed in a transporter fire. Raced by Bernard Tilanus for DAW Supplies from June 1981 onwards. It was raced by Dave Charlton for DAW around March/April 1982, then by Billy Maloney as a DAW entry later in 1982. Maloney crashed the car at some point, and acquired a March 782 to replace it in April 1983. The 77B was sold to Klaus Grogor's House of Sports Cars team for Grogor to drive in the 1983 season, and then retained by Grogor unused through 1984 and 1985. It was then sold to Gary Harrison who intended to convert it into a sports car for the 'Can-Am' series that absorbed Formula SA in 1986, but he only used in single seater form. The car was acquired by Dorino Treccani during the 1990s and sold to Andrew and Stuart Thompson in 2000.
2. March 76B [1] (Len Booysen): New to Ian Scheckter for South African Formula Atlantic in 1976. Sold to Len Booysen for the 1977 season, then loaned by Booysen to Dave Charlton to drive. During this time it was bought from Booysen by Ken Gillibrand, who then loaned to DAW for Bernard Tilanus to drive in April and May 1978. It was unused in 1979, and advertised by Gillibrand in August. Sold later in 1979 to Soon Weeks who fitted the 2-litre BMW engine from Dave Hart's March 77B and raced it in this form in early 1980. Then swapped with Bernard Tilanus and the DAW team for DAW's Wheatcroft R18, and fitted with a Mazda engine. Raced several times by Tilanus but he then left the team after a disagreement with Jeff Waberski and was replaced by Trevor van Rooyen, who raced the 76B for the rest of 1980. It was sold to Vernon Bricknell at the end of that season, and raced by him in early 1981 until his new Maurer MM80 arrived. The 76B was then sold yet again, this time to Fred Goddard's Pretoria Brick team for Wayne Taylor to drive, until Hekro's March 802 was acquired for him. Pretoria Brick retained the 76B for 1982, when it was raced by Basil Mann, Kevin Heath and Roy Carr. It was sold to Alan Dunlop for 1983, and he raced it until 1985. It then passed to Neville Riddell and most of its components were used in a sports car built for Riddell by Lew Baker. All that was left was the tub, and this was sold to Fred Goddard who is believed to have stripped it to keep the bulkheads as spares. At this point the 76B no longer existed.
3. March 77B [17] (Bobby Scott): New to Andrew Thompson in South Africa, and raced by Bobby Scott in South Africa Formula Atlantic in 1977, with sponsorship from Sportsman Lager. Retained by Thompson and Scott for the 1978 season. At the end of that season, in May 1978, Thompson built another 77B from spares (77B/'AT') and the next time 77B/17 was seen was when it was hired to Tommy Dunne later in 1978 (now in the 1978/79 season) but crashed. The wreck was pushed to the back of Thompson's workshop and was not raced again. The salvaged tub and parts have remained in South Africa.
4. March 77B [11] (John Gibb): New for Rupert Keegan to race in the South African Formula Atlantic series in early 1977, run for him by the Doug Shierson team and entered as Team Uniewinkels. Then run by Martin Flint and Roger Taylor for John Gibb to race for the rest of 1977. Retained by Flint & Taylor's Team Uniewinkels for 1978, when it was driven by Roy Klomfass. Moved to Alex Blignaut's Team Texan for the start of the 1978/79 season, still with Klomfass driving, as a spare car to the team's new March 79B. The 77B was then sold to Dave Hart's Team Valvoline. Hart fitted it with a BMW engine for the new Formula South Africa in 1979, then converted to a Mazda engine for 1980. It was then sold to Brian Ferris, who raced it in 1981 and in early 1982 before his new Ralt RT4/82 arrived. The 77B may have been raced by Ferris's friend Klaus Grogor in the latter half of 1982. In January 1983, it was sold to Fred Goddard who ran it for several drivers as part of his Petromark team over the next two seasons, including Braam Smith, Roy Carr, Derek Irving and Danie Mulder. It was unused in 1985, then driven by Ivano Moavero in 1986. Then retained by Goddard who took it with him to the UK when he emigrated in 1989 to set up Fred Goddard Racing. After Fred's death in July 2007, the 77B passed to his son Earl Goddard, and he sold it to Nick Beer around 2013.
5. Chevron B34 [34-76-02] (Evan Boddy): New to Tony Martin for the 1976 South African Formula Atlantic championship, entered by Team Bic/South Coast Motors. Retained by Martin for 1977 as a spare car to his new B39 and raced only once that season, as a South Coast Motors entry for Evan Boddy at Kyalami in October. Raced by Boddy during 1978, entered again by South Coast Motors Racing. Raced again by Boddy in 1979, again entered by South Coast Motors, and also retained for 1980 as a backup for 34-76-08, but apparently unused that season. Sold in early 1981 to Stan Chandler, who commissioned SCM's engine specialist Piet Bredenhann to fit a Mazda rotary engine. The car was entered for John Banks to drive at Kyalami and at Goldfields Raceway in May 1981, at Kyalami in May 1982, and possibly at other races. Shortly after that last entry, it was sold to Ken Critchfield. The car was involved in an accident later in 1982 or in early 1983, and the engine and gearbox were then used by Fred Goddard to rebuild his March 802. The damaged Chevron tub and salvageable suspension components were returned to John Banks who retained it in its damaged state until selling it to Mike Budd in 1995. Budd was rebuilding the car for Gary Dunkerly, and after Mike's death in 2022, the restoration was taken over by his son Ryan.
6. Wheatcroft R18 [003] (Grant Maben): Sold new to Alex Blignaut, for the 1976 South African season driven by Nols Neiman. Chassis number given in AS report of Welkom race 10 Feb 76, with the note that ‘last year’s Wheatcroft works car’ was carried as the team spare [R18-002]. Used throughout season, the spare remaining un-raced until 1977. Reported by Ian Hebblewhite as sold to Grant Maben in 1977, debut at Kyalami 1 Oct 77.
7. Chevron B29 [29-75-15] (Dorino Treccani): New for Jim Crawford at Oulton Park in late May when his early-season development car was rebuilt on a new monocoque, effectively becoming a new car with chassis number 29-75-15. Crawford raced this car seven times in the British Formula Atlantic series, winning two races, and also raced it in F2 specification at Silverstone in August, using a Geoff Richardson BDA engine. Richard Morgan (Purley, Surrey) then hired the car for a few races at the end of the season. To Len Booysen (Randburg, South Africa) for the 1976 South African Formula Atlantic series, entered by Golden-Flo Racing with Kenitex. Then to Dorino Treccani, and raced by him in a few late 1977 and early 1978 races before it passed to Sarel Pienaar, who raced it for the rest of 1978 and in 1979. Subsequent history still being researched. The car was owned by Colin Frost by July 2014.
8. March 76B ['MD'/"1A"] (Mike Domingo): A car built up by Mike Domingo at the start of 1977 using a monocoque that Ian Scheckter had damaged when testing 76B/1 after the race at Aldo Scribante in March 1976. Domingo's car is usually referred to as "76B/1 (A)" as it built around the first tub from 76B/1. It was raced by Mike Domingo through 1977, 1978 and 1979. In late 1979 it was converted to use a Mazda engine, and was raced by him in this form in 1980. In August 1980, Dave Charlton drove the car at Kyalami as Domingo was observing Ramadan, but failed to start after being injured in practice for the aloon car race. Domingo continued to drive the car until early 1981, when it was sold to Ivano Moavero and raced by him in 1981 and part of 1982. Then in mid-1982, Moavero bought the highly-developed ex-Duxbury 77B, and sold the 76B to Michele ('Mike') Peters who raced it through to July 1985. At some point during this time, it was rebuilt using the monocoque from 76B/19, which had last been raced in 1979. Peters sold the resulting car to Terry Moss, to replace the 77B that Moss had wrecked. However, instead if racing the 76B, Moss stripped the car and used its components to build up a March 782. The 76B tub was put aside until 2010, when it was acquired from a friend of Moss by Bernard Tilanus. The tub number showed that the tub was from 76B/19, not from 76B/1, so it was reunited with its original chassis plate and fully rebuilt.
9. March 77B [18] (Nols Nieman): New to Alex Blignaut for Nols Nieman to race in the South African Formula Atlantic series in early 1977, with Benson & Hedges sponsorship. Retained by Blignaut's Benson & Hedges team for Nieman again in 1978. Raced for Blignaut by Derek Bell in November 1978, then by Sarel van der Merwe in May 1979, after which it was given by Blignaut to Tony Martin's South Coast Motors team as a spare car. It was entered for Billy Scheepers in January, then rented to Roy Moss for the Goldfields race in February. Bernard Tilanus then borrowed it for the Killarney race in March after his DAW March 78B had been destroyed in a transporter fire. In July 1980, it was sold to Jeff Waberski's DAW Supplies team for Wayne Taylor to drive. Then in October 1980, it was sold on to Mel Lahner's Rackrite Racing. Taylor moved with the car, and raced it at Kyalami on 4 October and then in the first few months of the 1981 season. It was then taken over by Trevor van Rooyen who found the weight penalty on his ground-effect March 802 was too great. He raced the 77B for the rest of the 1981 season. It was retained for 1982, when Rackrite ran the car for Andre du Plessis and Mike Domingo. It was retained again for 1983, when driven by Gavin Lahner and Kevin Heath. It was not used again after that, but was retained by Mel Lahner until sold to Andrew Thompson in 1984. It was later restored for Ian Schofield.
10. Modus M3 [024] (Kevin Stopford): Works record for the car sold 24 Sep 75 to Dave Charlton in South Africa. Used throughout the 1976 South African season. At Natal Spring Trophy, September 5, 1976, Kevin Stopford appears in an M3, with Charlton debuting a new March 76B. In the A/S report of the Rand Spring Trophy, October 2, 1976, the Stopford car is described as 'ex Charlton'. Stopford appears in the car in the 1977 season; MN 10 Feb 77 p1 again describes the car as ‘ex Charlton’.
11. March 76B [19] (Dave Charlton): Sold to Dave Charlton in South Africa in mid-1976 to replace his Modus M3, debuting at the Rand Winter Trophy, 7 Aug 1976. Retained by Charlton in 1977, then sold in mid-1978 to Nols Nieman as a spare car. To Alex Blignaut's team in 1979/80 but not used again. At some stage the tub was used to rebuild Mike Domingo's 76B. As the chassis plate was retained in the rebuilt car and the tub number matches that of 76B/19 in March records, the resulting car can reasonably be seen as 76B/19.
12. Chevron B39 [39-77-02] (Tony Martin): New to Tony Martin (Durban, South Africa) and raced in the 1977 South African series. Retained for 1978 as a spare car to Martin's new B45, and and upgraded to B45 specification. Sold for 1979 to Paul England for Peter Larner to race in the early 1979 Australian Internationals. Larry Perkins took over the drive later in 1979, and also drove the car in the Aurora AFX Formula Pacific Championship in New Zealand in early 1980 and the Australian National Panasonic Formula Pacific series in 1981. Some time about 1985 or 1986, the car was sold to Norm Carr (Victoria) who raced it once or twice before damaging one corner at Calder. When Carr acquired it the chassis plate was missing so he had a new one issued by Roger Andreason at Chevron which read "39-77-B-02". It was still owned by Carr in 2003.

Sources

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' original results.

The South African race results were originally compiled by Chris Townsend based on material in Autosport and Motoring News plus information supplied by a wide range of contributors. One of the contributors was later found to have used erroneous information, and the results have in some places been reworked using reports and results in South African newspapers such as the Rand Daily Mail.

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.

Individual sources for this event

Motoring News 6 Oct 1977 p20, Sunday Times p23 and Motor Sport Annual of South Africa 1978