OldRacingCars.com

Aurora AFX British F1 Championship Round

Mallory Park, 7 May 1979

ResultsLapsTime/Speed
1 Rupert Keegan Arrows A1 [2] - Cosworth DFV V8
#16 C. W. Clowes Racing
75 1h 00m 22.00s
100.66 mph
2 Derek Warwick (F2) 2-litre March 792 [11] - Hart 420R
#77 Theodore Racing (see note 1)
75 1h 01m 01.27s
3 David Kennedy Wolf [WR4] - Cosworth DFV V8
#11 Theodore Racing
74
4 Emilio de Villota Lotus 78 [1 JPS15] - Cosworth DFV V8
#3 Madom F1 Team
74
5 Guy Edwards Fittipaldi F5A [3] - Cosworth DFV V8
#4 RAM Racing
73 Accident
6 Norman Dickson (F2) 2-litre March 792 [20] - Hart 420R
#30 Dicksons of Perth (see note 2)
73
7 Tiff Needell Chevron B41 [41-79-01] - Cosworth DFV V8
#6 Graham Eden Racing
73
8 Hervé Regout (F2) 2-litre Chevron B42 [42-78-09] - Hart 420R
#25 RAM Racing
71
9 Tony Dean (F2) 2-litre Chevron B42 [42-78-19] - Hart 420R
#18 A. G. Dean (Racing)
70
10 John Cooper (F2) 2-litre March 792 [31] - Hart 420R
#8 Cooper Industries (see note 3)
70
11 Desiré Wilson Tyrrell 008 [3] - Cosworth DFV V8
#1 Melchester Racing
70
12 Brian Robinson (F2) 2-litre Chevron B42 [42-78-17] - Hart 420R
#19 A. G. Dean (Racing)
70
13 Warren Booth (F2) 2-litre Chevron B42 [42-78-16] - Hart 420R
#29 Warren Booth
69
14 Lella Lombardi Williams FW06 [004] - Cosworth DFV V8
#44 Team Agostini
68
R Val Musetti March 781 [1] - Cosworth DFV V8
#7 Val Musetti
63 Running, not classified
R Kim Mather (F2) 2-litre March 772P [U2] - BMW M12/7
#15 Kim Mather (see note 4)
53 Electrics
R Carlo Franchi ("Gimax") Williams FW06 [002] - Cosworth DFV V8
#10 Team Agostini
52 Brakes
R Bernard de Dryver Fittipaldi F5A [2] - Cosworth DFV V8
#5 RAM Racing
47 Drive shaft
R Gordon Smiley Tyrrell 008 [5] - Cosworth DFV V8
#2 Melchester Racing
25 Accident
R Giacomo Agostini Williams FW06 [001] - Cosworth DFV V8
#9 Team Agostini
1 Accident
DNQ Kenneth Brill (F2) 2-litre Chevron B35D - Ford BDG
#28 Kenneth Brill (see note 5)
Did not qualify
DNQ Iain McLaren McLaren M26 [6] - Cosworth DFV V8
#88 Iain MacLaren
Did not qualify
T/S David Kennedy Wolf [WR3] - Cosworth DFV V8
#11
(Spare - not used in practice)

All cars are 3-litre F1 unless noted.

Qualifying
1 Bernard de Dryver (F1) 3-litre Fittipaldi F5A [2] - Cosworth DFV V8 0:39.84
2 Guy Edwards (F1) 3-litre Fittipaldi F5A [3] - Cosworth DFV V8 0:39.94
3 Rupert Keegan (F1) 3-litre Arrows A1 [2] - Cosworth DFV V8 0:39.95
4 David Kennedy (F1) 3-litre Wolf [WR4] - Cosworth DFV V8 0:40.16
5 Emilio de Villota (F1) 3-litre Lotus 78 [1 JPS15] - Cosworth DFV V8 0:40.66
6 Derek Warwick (F2) 2-litre March 792 [11] - Hart 420R 0:40.39
7 Norman Dickson (F2) 2-litre March 792 [20] - Hart 420R 0:40.66
8 Desiré Wilson (F1) 3-litre Tyrrell 008 [3] - Cosworth DFV V8 0:40.69
9 Gordon Smiley (F1) 3-litre Tyrrell 008 [5] - Cosworth DFV V8 0:40.82
10 Tiff Needell (F1) 3-litre Chevron B41 [41-79-01] - Cosworth DFV V8 0:40.84
11 Giacomo Agostini (F1) 3-litre Williams FW06 [001] - Cosworth DFV V8 0:41.06
12 Carlo Franchi ("Gimax") (F1) 3-litre Williams FW06 [002] - Cosworth DFV V8 0:41.40
13 Val Musetti (F1) 3-litre March 781 [1] - Cosworth DFV V8 0:41.69
14 Tony Dean (F2) 2-litre Chevron B42 [42-78-19] - Hart 420R 0:41.90
15 Kim Mather (F2) 2-litre March 772P [U2] - BMW M12/7 0:41.69
16 Lella Lombardi (F1) 3-litre Williams FW06 [004] - Cosworth DFV V8 0:42.31
17 Hervé Regout (F2) 2-litre Chevron B42 [42-78-09] - Hart 420R 0:42.36
18 John Cooper (F2) 2-litre March 792 [31] - Hart 420R 0:42.41
19 Warren Booth (F2) 2-litre Chevron B42 [42-78-16] - Hart 420R 0:42.63
20 Brian Robinson (F2) 2-litre Chevron B42 [42-78-17] - Hart 420R 0:42.90
22 Iain McLaren * (F1) 3-litre McLaren M26 [6] - Cosworth DFV V8 0:43.10
23 Kenneth Brill * (F2) 2-litre Chevron B35D - Ford BDG 0:46.95
 
* Did not start

Notes on the cars:

  1. March 792 [11] (Derek Warwick): New to Theodore Racing for Derek Warwick to drive in F2 in 1979, using Hart engines. Either this or 792/30 was converted to Formula Pacific specification for Rupert Keegan to drive at Macau but crashed during the race.
  2. March 792 [20] (Norman Dickson): New to Norman Dickson (Perth, Scotland) and raced in the F2 section of the 1979 British F1 series, prepared by Colin Bennett. Due to be raced by Angelo Piccione at the Misano in August but he was too slow in testing. Sold to Paul Gibson in October 1979 and used mainly in libre racing at Croft but also appeared in rounds of the British series at Thruxton and Monza. Sold to Bob Leckie (Aberdeen, Scotland) for libre racing in 1981 but sold on in mid-season to John Bothamley who used it in the last few races of the Ingliston season. Taken to John Maguire in Coventry that winter who used the engine, gearbox, suspension, uprights, brakes and other components in the construction of a GT car for 1982, with Maguire's space frame chassis and Lotus Esprit bodywork. The tub, nose, rear wing, sidepods and rear bodywork were returned to Scotland and sold to Norrie Galbraith who planned to fit the running gear off his March 782 and put it in the 792 tub. Unfortunately Galbraith was killed in the 782 just weeks later. The 782 tub was scrapped but 792 tub and the remains of the 782 were sold to Bobby Howlings who eventually sold them to Willy Widar in Belgium. The 782 parts and 792 tub were evidently then built into a car which took the identity of 782-26. With its components scattered, the 792 has effectively ceased to exist.
  3. March 792 [31] (John Cooper): New to John Cooper to drive in the Aurora AFX series in 1979, using Hart engines. Also raced by Eddie Jordan in the Donington Park F2 race in August. Not seen in 1980, but reappeared in 1981 when it was used by Kim Mather in F2 and Formula Atlantic. Also driven by Jim Evans that year in libre racing. To John Travis for libre in 1982.
  4. March 772P [U2] (Kim Mather): New for Marc Surer to race in the final F2 race of the 1977 season, at Donington Park in October 1977. Then to Patsy McGarrity (Belfast, Northern Ireland) for Irish Formula Atlantic in 1978, using a Fred Smith BDA engine. To Kim Mather (St Helens, Lancashire) for 1979 and raced in F2 and Aurora British F1 that year. Also raced by sponsor David Ward (Hesketh Bank, Lancashire) in libre racing. Crashed heavily by Ward at Aintree in July, and rapidly rebuilt on a 782 or 783 tub for Mather to use for the rest of the season. Mather recalls that the 783 was sold to Jim Evans, but Evans has no recollection of this. The damaged 772P tub is claimed to have been sold to the Seattle area and rebuilt into a car that was later owned in Canada. Neither of these stories has yet been confirmed.
  5. Chevron B35D (Kenneth Brill): In early 1977, Gilles Villeneuve raced a Chevron B39 in South African Formula Atlantic which was crashed during testing before the series started, then rebuilt on a new monocoque because of handling problems, before being damaged again in an accident with Ian Scheckter at Killarney on 19 February. The car was rebuilt, possibly on a further new chassis, and sold on but another car also emerged from this and was sold to Kim Mather (Haydock, St Helens, Lancashire) in the summer. It was described as an "ex-works development Chevron B35D" that had been "used by Villeneuve in South Africa". Mather built it up using B35 suspension and a 2-litre Richardson BDA engine and called it a "B35D" or "B35D". He raced this in Shellsport G8 libre racing in 1977, and competed in the Donington Park F2 race at the end of the season. Retained for 1978 when Mather used it in the Aurora BF1 series and in libre. Then sold to Ken Brill who raced in the Aurora series in 1979 before crashing it heavily into the wall at Redgate Lodge at Donington Park in June. Brill had to be cut from the mangled footwell of the car, and it was not seen again.

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.

These results were compiled primarily from the race reports in Autosport during the season, with some additional information from the results section of Autocourse, and some details compiled by Jeremy Jackson from a variety of sources, including Autosport, Motoring News and the Formula One Register books. All the chassis identities were taken from research elsewhere on this 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.

Individual sources for this event

Autosport, Motoring News. The spare Wolf WR3 was not mentioned in reports, but a photograph shows that it was present, presumably unused.