OldRacingCars.com

Ian Coristine (#50) and Ian Motley (#51) in their Royal Bank Formula Ford Merlyn MK17s.  Copyright Ian Coristine 2013.  Used with permission.

Molson Quebec Formula B 1970

Several more Formula B cars arrived in Quebec for the 1970 Molson series. Jacques Couture and David McConnell had a pair of new Lotuses entered by the new Jim Russell Racing Driver School which had just opened at Mont Tremblant, with Counture as director and chief instructor. The Lotuses were described as "69Bs" but were 59s fitted with the latest 69 bodywork. Three Brabham BT29s had also been acquired, for defending champion Peter Roberts, Fred Opert agent Brian Robertson and Ken Huband. Eligio Siconolfi had acquired Bill Brack's Lotus 41C and there were also a McLaren M4A, a Chevron B15B, a Lotus 59, a Brabham BT16 and a Crosslé further down the grids.

Six races counted towards the 1970 Molson championship, five at Mont Tremblant and one at Trois-Rivières. Couture advertised his new driving school with four wins with one also doing to teammate McConnell and the other to Robertson. Robertson would also prove key to the development of formula racing in Canada as he became the main importer of racing cars through the 1970s.

As in 1969, Formula Fords made up a large proportion of the grids and Ian Coristine was again quickest of these in his Royal Bank team Merlyn MK17, followed by teammate Ian Motley. Jean-Pierre St Jacques' locally-built Magnum Formula Ford also scored points. To illustrate the changing shape of Quebec racing, 40% of the Molson grids were Formula Bs, a little over 50% were Formula Fords and less than 10% were Formula Vees.

The races

24 May 1970 > Mont-Tremblant

28 Jun 1970 > Mont-Tremblant

01 Jul 1970 > Rockcliffe Airfield

02 Aug 1970 > Mont-Tremblant

23 Aug 1970 > Mont-Tremblant

06 Sep 1970 > Trois-Rivières

20 Sep 1970 > Mont-Tremblant

04 Oct 1970 > Mont-Tremblant

Molson Championship (Quebec Region Formula Cars) events shown in bold

1970 Molson Championship (Quebec Region Formula Cars) table

1Jacques CoutureLotus "69B" - Ford twin cam89 pts 
2Peter W. Broeker"Stebro" (Chevron B14) - Ford twin cam75 pts 
3Brian RobertsonBrabham BT29 - Ford twin cam69 pts 
4David McConnellLotus "69B" - Ford twin cam66 pts 
5Peter RobertsBrabham BT29 - Ford twin cam45 pts 
6Eligio SiconolfiLotus 41C - Ford twin cam32 pts 
7Ian Coristine(Formula Ford) Merlyn Mk1721 pts 
8Ian P Motley(Formula Ford) Merlyn Mk1720 pts 
9Tom MooreEM Mk 117 pts 
10Maurice Beauregard(Formula Ford) Lotus 61M13 pts 
11Wilson Southam(Formula Ford) Merlyn Mk 11A9 pts 
12=Roy Folland(Formula Ford) Titan Mk 68 pts 
12=Jean-Pierre St Jacques(Formula Ford) Magnum Mk18 pts 
12=Tom Kreglewski(Formula Ford) Lotus 618 pts 
15Ken HubandBrabham BT29 - Ford twin cam4 pts 

Note that Peter Roberts scored a total of 49 points so it appears that he had to drop his lowest score, the four points he scored in the 6 September race. Some out-of-region drivers participated, notably Bruce Jensen who was fourth in the opening race and fifth on 2 August in his Brabham BT21C, and Al Justason who was fifth in the 24 May and 20 September races in his Brabham BT23F.

Please email Allen if you have any material on Canadian racing during this period.