Yellow Pages Championship Round

Oulton Park, 30 Sep 1972

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

Notes on the cars:

1. March 722 [24] (Bill Gubelmann): New to Bill Gubelmann (Oyster Bay, NY) to use in the 1972 Yellow Pages Formula Atlantic championship. The car was blue and yellow, and wore #16 all season. Gubelmann won six races and narrowly pipped Cyd Williams to the championship title. The car was sold to fellow American Jas Patterson (Rosslyn Heights, NY) for 1973, repainted red and white, and entered for him by Texaco Team Racing/RIR in the 1973 British season. Patterson crashed heavily at Oulton Park in May 1973, and although the car was rebuilt, he appeared a few races later in what appears to be a new 73B. Patterson raced the 73B for the remainder of 1973 and through 1974, but the 722 reappeared in early November 1974 when an ex-Patterson "722/73B" was acquired by Roy Baker (Ferndown, Dorset) and raced regularly by him through the 1975 season. Subsequent history unknown.
2. March 722 [39] (Cyd Williams): New to Graham Eden Racing in April 1972 for Cyd Williams (Sandbach, Cheshire) to drive in British Formula Atlantic. It replaced the Chevron B18 which had taken Williams to two wins earlier in the season. Once he had the car to his liking, Williams won six out of the next nine races, but narrowly lost the championship to Bill Gubelmann. Run by Graham Eden Racing for Ken Bailey (Stretford, Greater Manchester) in 1973, and fitted with Falconer bodywork in May. The car was sold to Philip Dowell (Ombersley, Worcestershire) for 1974, but during pre-season testing at Silverstone, he hit the bank heavily at Woodcote corner and died later in hospital. It is assumed that the March was destroyed in the accident.
3. Brabham BT38 [28] (Chris Meek): New to Tate of Leeds (Racing) and driven by Chris Meek in British Formula Atlantic in 1972. To Bobby Howlings and raced briefly in libre in 1973, then on to Richard Shardlow (Baslow, Derbyshire) and raced in British hillclimbs from June onwards, fitted with a Rondel Cosworth BDE. To Alister Douglas-Osborn (West Hagley, Worcestershire) for 1974 and hillclimbed again, now with a 2.0 Hart Cosworth BDG. Retained by "ADO" for 1975 but modified by Pilbeam (as the 'R15') and raced with a 2.2-litre BDG, winning one British championship hillclimb and also two RAC sprint events at the end of the season. Modified further by Pilbeam for 1976 as the R22, and fitted with a F1 Cosworth DFV V8 engine. In this form it won six RAC British championship rounds in 1976, as well as winning the Guyson BARC series. Used again in this form in 1977, winning seven RAC rounds and both the RAC and BARC titles, but the car was written off in a crash at Doune in September. What was salvageable was used in the construction of a new Pilbeam MP22 for Malcolm Dungworth for 1978.
4. Brabham BT35 [43] (Bob Salisbury): New to Bob Gerard in late 1971 and fitted with a Cosworth BDA engine for Bob Salisbury to race in British Formula Atlantic from October 1971 to April 1973. Then sold to Harry Gilbert (Aberdeen, Scotland), and raced by Gilbert and Ronnie Mackay in libre racing. It was advertised by Johnny Blades in October 1973, and by Bob Howlings' R.D.H. Racing (Bollington, Cheshire) in August 1974 when it was identified as the ex-Bob Salisbury car and was available complete except for engine. It was next seen three months later when John Wingfield raced it in the Boxing Day libre race at Brands Hatch, fitted with a 1.8-litre Cosworth FVC. He retained the FVC engine and ran the car with huge success in libre racing through 1975. In September 1975, it was sold to dealer Bobby Howlings, who raced it a couple of times and then sold it to John Thistlewaite, who entered it for Tim Wood in libre in 1976. By 1978, it was owned by Joe Applegarth, still with the FVC engine in it, and it next appeared in 1986 when Nick Overall used it in the HSCC Pre '71 series. Overall was given an HVIF for this car as BT35-43 in 1988, and many years later, in May 2006, it was advertised on race-cars.com from the UK still with this HVIF. In 2009, it was reported to be with Tim Kuchel in Australia.
5. March 712M [12] (Mike Mather): March director Graham Coaker left the company in early 1971 and as part of his settlement, he acquired a March 712M. Coaker, who had not raced since F3 in 1969, was due to debut the car in a NSCC libre race at Silverstone on Easter Monday but crashed during practice, hitting the marshal's post at Woodcote and suffering a broken leg. As a result of complications from the injury, he contracted blood poisoning and died in hospital on 23 May. The March was sold by his widow Carol to Mike Mather (St Helens, Lancashire) who fitted it with a Hart BDA and raced in the British Formula Atlantic series. Also raced by younger brother Kim Mather in libre. Retained for 1973 but crashed heavily at Brands Hatch in March and not seen again. Surviving components may have been consumed in Kim Mather's bitza March 712M/752 in 1975.
6. March 722 [29] (John Calvert): New to John Calvert (Seaham, County Durham), and raced in Formula Atlantic and libre racing in 1972. The car regularly wore #77, and was described as white or blue. Sold to Mike Mather (St Helens, Merseyside) and used by him, and once by brother Kim Mather, in Formula Atlantic and libre in early 1973. Sold to John Kitchen in mid-season, and used by him in sprints and hillclimbs in late 1973, 1974, 1975 and early 1976, using a BDA engine. Then to Peter Riley (Crosby, Liverpool), again for sprints and hillclimbs. At first it was said to have a Cosworth FVA engine, but it had a Richardson BDA in 1977. Riley was still using the 722 in speed events as late as 1984. According to speed event historian Steve Wilkinson, Riley retained the car, complete but dismantled, and stored in his garage. Riley died in 2011, and the car passed to Paul Gardner and Alan Newton, and Gardner started the restoration. When Newton died, the car was sold to Chris Simpson in 2014, but he did not use it. It went to Ashley Hodge in 2016, and then to Daniel Clayfield in 2017.
7. Hawke DL6A [1] (John Day): The entry list for the first Atlantic race at Brands includes John Day in a Hawke DL6A-BDA, but the car does not seem to appear before Oulton Park, 3 Jul 1971. Three DL6As are known to exist, chassis 2 and 3 in North America with some traceable histories in 1971. Because of the entry in March, and the absence of chassis 1, this is assumed to have been the first of David Lazenby's few Atlantic cars. The car seems to have been sold to Ted Dzierzek early in 1973 and used in Scottish hillclimbs and libre races.
8. Lotus 69 [59-XB/F3-38] (Peter Wardle): New to Peter Wardle (Wimbledon, London) for European Formula Ford in 1970. Rebuilt to Formula Atlantic specification for 1971, and raced by Wardle in the British series that season, winning one round at Oulton Park in August. Retained by Wardle for 1972. Sold to Gary Ainscough (Bulawayo, Rhodesia) for 1973, and fitted with a 1800cc Cosworth FVC engine for the F2 class of the South African national championship. Retained for 1974 and 1975, after which it was sold to Richard Baker (Johannesburg, South Africa), and raced by him with the HRCR in South Africa. It was restored in 1999, and sold to England in 2000, where it has been used in historic racing. From 2011 to 2016, it was raced by David Hampton (South Leverton, Nottinghamshire) fitted with a 2-litre Cosworth BDG engine.
9. Chevron B20 [72-4] (John Lepp): To Bob Howlings Racing Team for John Lepp (Altrincham, Cheshire) to race in British Formula Atlantic in 1972. Won at Croft in August and had several other good placings. Last seen in the UK at Oulton Park on 30 September 1972, and then unknown until early 1974 when sold by Howlings to Nelson Todd (Lisburn, Northern Ireland), and raced in Irish Formula Atlantic, winning at Kirkistown in October 1974. To Jim Sherry (Lisburn, Northern Ireland) for a couple of races at Mondello Park in 1975. This must be the "little used" Chevron B20 advertised by Gerry Kinnane in Belfast in June 1976. Raced by Mike Nugent (Cookstown, County Tyrone) a couple of times later that year. Then to Dick Parsons (Dundonald, County Down, Northern Ireland) for 1977, when it was described as a ex-Kinnane. Sold to Tom McMillan in Scotland, then on to Bill Lord for 1978 and used in Scottish hillclimbs, reputedly with a Hart 420R Formula 2 engine, but this seems unlikely. Retained for 1979 and presumably the Chevron B20 with Cosworth FVC engine advertised from Dunfermline, Fife in November 1979.
10. Lotus 69 [69.F2.1] (Stephen Choularton): New for Emerson Fittipaldi to race in F2 in 1970. The F3 star was initially entered by Jim Russell, and the car was prepared by Russell mechanic Ralph Firman, but by the third race of the season it was entered by Team Bardahl and had changed to Bardahl yellow, with Russell having vanished from the operation. The Lotus 69 was sold to the new works-backed LIRA tea, for 1971, and raced by Reine Wisell in F2, winning at Pau in April. To Stephen Choularton (Hale Barns, Cheshire) for British Formula Atlantic in 1972, and also driven by his young mechanic Jim Crawford in libre at Croft. Unknown in 1973 and 1974, but to Warren Booth (Blackburn, Lancashire) for libre in 1975. Retained for 1976 and 1977, when it was fitted with a 2-litre Richardson BDA. Believed to be the 2-litre Lotus 69 then raced by Clive Astley in north-western sprints in 1977 and 1978. Subsequent history unknown, but according to historian David McKinney, the car was found in a north of England pigsty in the late 1980s, and acquired by Fredy Kumschick (Lucerne/Luzern, Switzerland), who restored it for historic racing. Raced regularly by Kumschick through the 1990s.
11. Brabham BT30 [14] (Ronnie Mackay): Sold new to Ecurie Ecosse and run for Graham Birrell in F2 in 1970. Also raced once by Peter Gethin and by Richard Attwood later in the season. To Peter Westbury early 1971 and raced in several F2 races (also raced once by Dieter Quester) until the team's BT36 was delivered. Sold to Dunnett's Garage, converted to F/Atlantic specification and entered for Ronnie Mackay in libre and F/Atlantic in 1971 and 1972, run by MRE. To Chong Boon Seng for south east Asian racing in 1973 and used by him until 1976. Then to Del Schloemer and raced by him and by Cherie Schloemer in 1977 and 1978. To Wybe Valkema around 1980 and retained to 1982. Then to Australia and with Brian Wilson by 1988. Wilson sold it to Art Valdez (Torrance, CA) and from Valdez it returned to Australia when he sold it to Bob Ilich (Perth, WA) in 2010.

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 race results have been compiled by Chris Townsend based on material in Autosport and Motoring News reports in the UK plus the information supplied by a wide range of contributors.

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

Programme [AF], MN 5 Oct 1972 p24. May be the 20th round of the series.