British Formula Atlantic Championship Race

Snetterton, 9 Aug 1981

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

Notes on the cars:

1. March 81A [15] (Phil Dowsett): New to Phil Dowsett (Chelmsford, Essex) and raced in the British Formula Atlantic championshipmin 1981, with sponsorship from Pinch Plant and Industrial Control Services. Dowsett won two races and finished third in the championship. Sold to Theodore Racing and raced by Vern Schuppan at the Macau GP in November. Then sold to Graham Brown in Western Australia in April 1982 and raced in Australian Formula Pacific. To Michael Moylan in March 1985, then to Jeremy Kenyon (NSW) in January 1991. Sold to Clive Osborne (NSW) in August 1996 and raced by him in 2000, then to Robert Foster (NSW) by 2007 and raced by him from 2007 to 2019. To Barry Wise (QLD) in 2020, and raced by him in 2021 and 2022.
2. Ralt RT4/81 [261] (Graham Watson): Ralt sales record says sold to Graham Watson, for own use, no delivery date, but appears in UK August 1981. [Tub no: 81/120; gearbox FT1474; fuel cell: JM36677 4/81]. Chassis number observed on Roberto Moreno's car at Australian GP, 1981, [NZMA 23 Nov 81 p4]. According to Dave McKinney's report of that race, this was the car raced by Watson in the latter stages of the 1981 British season. Chassis number given for Watson's car in NZMA report of the Bay Park race, 3 Jan 82 with a note that it was Moreno's AGP car. AMSYB-82, p167 says that car of Willy Stobart [chassis given as 261] is the car 'Moreno crashed in Macau after the 1981 AGP'. The NZMA report of the Selangor GP says that the car had been rebuilt around a new tub, but it may be that Moreno ran 265 there instead. [CT]
3. Argo JM9 [057-FA] (John Lewis): New to Colin Lees (Magherafelt, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland) and raced in the British Formula Atlantic series, run by Ivor Goodwin's Goodwin Racing with backing from Carcover. After Lees left the team, it was raced later in the season by Desiré Wilson and John Lewis. It was next seen in sprints and hillclimbs, driven by Neil White in 1987 and 1988, when it used a 2-litre BD-series engine. Then to Barry Goode (Malvern, Worcestershire) for 1989 and 1990, and sold by him to Simon Frost (Brechin), who raced it in 1994 and 1995 with a Vauxhall engine and with the sidepods removed. Then run by Mick Lancashire (Jersey) between 1996 and 1998 in the 1600cc class. Then hillclimbed by Laurie Ritchie (Studley, Warwickshire) between 2000 and 2013 using a QED-built 2-litre Vauxhall engine. Advertised by Ritchie in December 2013 and January 2014.
4. March 782 (Martin Mansell): Martin Mansell (Middlesex) acquired a large number of March 782 parts including a monocoque from a West Midlands hillclimber, and had these built up by an ex-March employee. It seems likely that these parts came from Godfrey Crompton (Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire) of Douglas & Gavin (Stourport, Worcestershire), who had acquired two March 782s from Bob Salisbury Racing for himself and Chris Cramer in 1979 and 1980. Duncan Bain (Luton, Bedfordshire) bought into Mansell's project, and the pair ran the car in British Formula Atlantic in 1981, usually entered as a 78B. Bain bought Mansell out at the end of 1981, and ran the car through 1982 with Abdex Engineering Ltd sponsorship. Sold to David Newall (Slough, Berkshire) for 1983, when it was sponsored by Staggers Jeans and run by McDonald Engineering. When the series was cancelled, Newall sold the car to a Frenchman who was planning to use it for hillclimbs. Newall recalls the car being collected by engine builder Geoff Richardson, who was going to rebuild the BDA engine before it went to France, but cannot remember the Frenchman's name. Subsequent history unknown.

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 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.