Gran Premio de Barcelona

Montjuich Park, 24 Mar 1974

All cars are 2-litre F2 unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. March 742L [17] (Hans-Joachim Stuck): New for the March Engineering works team, assigned to Hans-Joachim Stuck and painted in his bright orange Jagermeister livery. March records show that after Loris Kessel crashed his Favre-owned March 742 at the Nurburgring in 1975, it was rebuilt on "Stuck's 742 tub from last year". It is assumed that 742/17 had therefore been broken up and disappeared at this point.
2. March 742L ["U1"] (Patrick Depailler): Built by March as the development car for the new March 742 series, but using a leftover 732 monocoque. Employed as the spare car for the Elf-sponsored works team in 1974, it was raced by Patrick Depailler at Montjuich Park, by Michel Leclère at Hockenheim in June, by Depailler to win at Mugello, by Ronnie Peterson to win at Karlskoga, and by Depailler again at Enna. It was not seen in 1975, but then sold in December 1975 to David Franklin (Portbury, Somerset) and used in British hillclimbs in 1976, with sponsorship from Wendy Wools. Retained for 1977, when it was fitted with 1977 bodywork. For 1978, it was sold to Alan Richards (Prestbury, Gloucestershire), fitted with a 2-litre Cosworth FVC and used in sprints and hillclimbs. To Norrie Galbraith (Lanark, Scotland) for 1979, and used in Scottish speed events. Retained by Galbraith for 1980, but rebuilt over the winter by Robin Smith to 782 configuration, and fitted with a Hart 420R engine. In December 1980, the car was advertised from a Frome, Somerset, phone number, described as being ex-Depailler and ex-Galbraith, modified by Smith. It has been suggested that Stephen Cuff was the advertiser. Subsequent history unknown.
3. Elf 2 (Alpine) A367 [3673] (Jean-Pierre Jabouille): New for 1974, for Ecurie Elf team leader Jean-Pierre Jabouille to drive in F2. The car was fitted with Schnitzer BMW engines. It was raced by Jean-Pierre Beltoise at Hockenheim in April, where it used Schnitzer's experimental 12-plug engine. Jabouille won at Hockenheim in June in this car. Retained by Equipe Elf Switzerland for 1975, when No 2 driver Gérard Larrousse used it until his new Jabouille-designed Elf 2 was ready, and Larrousse won at Hockenheim in April in this car. Unlike the two sister cars which were rebuilt for further duty in 1976, this car was sold to Guy Fréquelin and used in French hillclimbs in 1976, still with its Schnitzer BMW engine. It was then sold to Pierre Desnos and used by him in French hillclimbs in 1977 and 1978. Gerard Gamand on Autodiva adds that the car was raced by Jean Louis Neveu from 1983 to 1985.
4. March 742S [15] (Gabriele Serblin): Sold to Trivellato Racing Team and raced by Gabrielle Serblin in F2 in 1974. Retained by Trivellato as a spare car for 1975 and raced by Alberto Colombo, Francesco Cerulli-Irelli, Serblin and "Gimax" (Carlo Franchi). Raced by Gimax at a few Italian F2 races in 1976 and 1977 then to Richard Jones and Robin Smith for the Aurora AFX series in mid-1978, using the Cosworth BDG (or BDA) engine from the pair's Chevron B31 sports car that had been wrecked at Le Mans. Also raced by fellow sports car racer Tony Charnell at the end of 1978. Later to Jim McGaughey and rebuilt as a Renault 5GT special saloon for 1981. When the special saloon's career ended, it was acquired by the Higgins Brothers of Lincolnshire, and was bought from them by Ian Jones in 1990, by which time it was in a very sorry state. Jones reskinned the monocoque using the original bulkheads, fabricated new suspension parts, and fitted late-1974 (long-nose) F2 bodywork. Jones sold it to Richard Evans in 2010, and by 2012 it was completed with a Gathercole BDG in Stebel livery and was raced in the Derek Bell Trophy races at the HSCC Superprix at Brands Hatch. Shared by Evans and Andrew Smith in Historic F2 from 2013 onwards.
5. March 732 [10] (Andy Sutcliffe): STP March Engineering works car for Jean-Pierre Beltoise at Hockenheim and later by Jean-Pierre Jarier at two races. Probably the car used by Jacques Coulon at Hockenheim, by Beltoise at Albi and by Stuck at Estoril. To Brian Lewis Racing for 1974 and updated to 742 spec for Andy Sutcliffe as '742-10b', then run for hire drivers later in the year. To Roger Heavens for Antônio Castro Prado for F2 in the latter part of 1975, then sold via Hervé Le Guellec to Jimmy Mieusset as a backup car for French hillclimbing at the start of the 1976 season. Also used by Roger Rivoire in May 1976, and then sold to Jean-Pierre Simon in June 1976. Retained by Simon for 1977, still with its BMW engine. Unknown in 1978, when it could have been the 742-BMW of, for example, Robert Despratx in southwest France. Then to Maurice Crozier and raced in 1979 and 1980 with a 1600cc Ford engine. Advertised by Crozier with or without its 1600cc Cosworth FVA engine in November 1980. It was next seen with Michel Goutarel, who raced it in courses de côte in the Lyon area in 1981 and 1982. Goutarel appears to have kept this car for some time, as he is noted as the winner of the Course de côte régionale de Vals-prés-Le-Puy in September 1986.
6. Elf 2 (Alpine) A367 [3672] (Michel Leclère): New in mid-1973, for Elf Coombs Racing team leader Jean-Pierre Jabouille to drive in F2. Raced with Cosworth BDG and Hart alloy-block BDA engines. Retained for 1974, fitted with a Schnitzer BMW engine and assigned to Michel Leclère for that season, but probably the car raced by Alain Cudini at Hockenheim. Two effectively new cars were built for 1975 consuming two of A367s, this car becoming chassis 7501.
7. March 742S [8] (Giancarlo Martini): New to Trivellato Racing Team, and raced in F2 by Giancarlo Martini, entered by Scuderia Everest. In 1975, Martini raced for Giancarlo Minardi's Everest-sponsored Scuderia del Passatore, and the March 742 was retained as a muletto. It was raced by Martini at Enna, by Roberto Farneti at Misano when it had 752 bodywork, and is very probably the car raced by Lorenzo Niccolini at Vallelunga in October. The car was then retired and according to a later advertisement it was acquired by Antonino Missiroli who fitted a non-F2 BMW engine and used the car for track days only. It then passed to a Mr Guerzoni (Bolzano) in 1985, but its history is then unknown until acquired by Christian Bouveron (Prunoy, France) in 2007. It was advertised by Bouveron in 2017 when it was restored to Everest livery and in long-nose 1974 specification. Bought by Gerard Gamand in 2019, who commenced a restoration of the car.
8. Chevron B27 [27-74-06] (Bertil Roos): New to Fred Opert Racing and the car raced by Bertil Roos in the British Formula Atlantic race at Brands Hatch in mid-March. Then fitted with a 2-litre Brian Hart Ford BDA for Roos at two F2 races, Montjuich Park and Hockenheim. Apparantly returned to Formula Atlantic specification and run by the Opert team in the UK series, initially for Héctor Rebaque, and later for Johnny Kastner, William Henderson III and then local man Jim Crawford. Sold to Derek Cook (Rotherham, South Yorkshire) for early 1975 Formula Atlantic races before being replaced by a newer B29. Retained for 1976 when Cook ran it in Indylantic, Shellsport G8, and libre racing, with either a Formula Atlantic BDA or a self-built 2-litre BDA. Retained again for early 1977 and used in F2 and in Shellsport, now with a 2-litre Alan Smith BDG, before Cook acquired a F1 Williams. Subsequent history unknown.
9. March 742S [9] (Masami Kuwashima): New to Masami Kuwashima, run for him by Roy Kennedy, and raced in European F2 until September, at which point the car was shipped to Japan for the JAF GP in November. Retained by Kuwashima for the Japanese F2 series in 1975, then to Kenji Takahashi for 1976, 1977 and 1978.
10. Elf 2 (Alpine) A367 [3671] (Patrick Tambay): New for 1973, for team leader Jean-Pierre Jabouille to drive in F2 for the Elf Coombs Racing team. The car was fitted with a Cosworth BDG for its first two races, but was then changed to a Hart alloy-blocked BDA. Also driven by François Cevert, at Pau as his own new car was not yet ready, and won the race, Alpine's first F2 win. Only seen a couple more times that season. Retained for 1974, fitted with a Schnitzer BMW engine and assigned to Patrick Tambay for that season, but driven once by Alain Cudini in Tambay's absence. Tambay won at Nogaro in September in this car. Two effectively new cars were built for 1975 consuming two of A367s, this car becoming chassis 7501.
11. Elf 2 (Alpine) A367 [3670] (Alain Serpaggi): Entered as an "ELF 2", but built by Alpine and designated the A367. Chassis 3670 was built for the 1972 F2 season, when it was raced by Patrick Depailler and Jean-Pierre Jabouille. This is apparently the same car that was updated for 1973 and became Depailler's regular car that season. Substantially redesigned by Andre de Cortanze for 1974, and fitted with a Schnitzer BMW as a fourth team car for Alain Serpaggi and others to race. According to reports, this car started to be converted to 1975 specification, but was unfinished. In 1999, this car was reported to be owned by Thierry Gay (Lyons), and Gerard Gamand reported on Autodiva that the car had been reconstructed using a new chassis fabricated by Gilles and Vincent Duqueine. In 2015, Fred Marquet's HTT Motorsport was restoring this car to its 1974 Serpaggi specification. It was first seen at Albi in June 2016.
12. March 732 [17] (Roland Binder): Bought brand new by Roland Binder (Esslingen, Germany) late in the 1973 season and raced by him through the 1974 and 1975 seasons. Replaced for 1976 by a Lola T450.
13. March 742S [7] (Paolo Bozzetto): New to Trivellato Racing Team, and raced in F2 by Paolo Bozzetto with Elba sponsorship, initially in short-nose specification. At Karlskoga and Enna-Pergusa in August it was raced by Carlos Alberto Jarque, who was Argentinean F2 champion and was backed by Juan Manuel Fangio. By this time the car was in long-nose specification. Bozzetto returned to the drive for the last two races of the season. Not known after 1974.
14. GRD 273 [063-F2] (Reine Wisell): Sold to Picko Troberg's Team Pierre Robert and identified by Autosport at Kinnekulle in May 1973 as the car driven there by Håkan Dahlqvist but previously by Reine Wisell to win at the Nürburgring in April. Presumed to be the spare third car at other races so also the car driven by Wisell at Hockenheim earlier in April and by Gunnar Nordström at Mantorp Park. Also presumably the car driven by Rolf Skoghag in practice at Nivelles-Baulers. This was identified as the BMW-engined car for Wisell at the start of 1974 and then presumably for Torsten Palm at later races. This car remained with Team Pierre Robert until the 1990s, when it was acquired by Ulf Lindberg. By this time many of its components had been removed for use on a sports car, but Lindberg was later able to find replcement components from a GRD that had been crashed in the UK. In 2017, the car was displayed at a Picko Troberg memorial, having been cosmetically restored by Zetterman Engineering.
15. Brabham BT40 [12] (Eugenio Baturone): Run by Motor Racing Developments as a works car in Formula 2 in 1973, fitted with a 2-litre David Wood BDA raced at first by John Watson at Mallory Park in March, but after he was injured in a F1 Brabham BT42 at the Race of Champions a week later, the BT40 was taken over by Wilson Fittipaldi. A Schnitzer BMW engine was tried in the car at Rouen in June, but the car had its Wood engine again when Fittipaldi won a non championship race at Misano in July. Sold to Eugenio Baturone for Spanish hillclimbs in 1974, still with its 2-litre Wood BDA engine. Retained by Baturone for three more seasons, then sold to José Canela Ballesteros, who raced it in hillclimbs in 1979. Acquired by an Italian lawyer who owned it for many years. Bought by Giulio Vezzoli (Brescia, Italy) in December 2018.
16. March 732 [11] (Bill Gubelmann): New to Bill Gubelmann (Oyster Bay, NY) for F2 in 1973 and retained for 1974 when run by Brian Lewis Racing. Clay Regazzoni was due to drive the car at Vallelunga in October, but did not arrive, so a deal was done for Gabrielle Serblin to drive after he damaged his usual 742 in practice. Not seen in 1975, when the intention had been to sell the car to Stuart Chubb Racing, but Gubelmann returned for the 1976 Shellsport G8 series with the car updated to 752 specification, fitted with a Hart BDG, and run by Bob Gerard. Gubelmann also appeared in a handful of F2 races in 1976, but after failing to qualify for the Rouen race, quickly moved to Mallory Park in time to qualify for the Shellsport race. He was involved in a nasty accident in the race when he clipped the rear of Mike Wilds' F1 Shadow, rode up over its back wheel and hit the bank at the Esses very hard. He was taken to hospital with head injuries. The March is believed to have been destroyed.
17. GRD 274 [084-F2] (Claude Bourgoignie): After racing the same GRD 272 for two seasons, Belgian Claude Bourgoignie bought a new GRD 274 for 1974, the company's only F2 customer that season. After a very disappointing season, the car was heavily damaged on the first lap of the last race of the season. It was not seen after 1974 until it was bought by Daniel Lebacq in 1978 and used as the basis for his Lebacq DL9 sports car. The Lebacq was destroyed in a fire in 1983.
18. March 742L [12] (Jacques Coulon): Originally built with a Ford engine and used in back-to-back tests with a BMW-engined car. Then converted to BMW specification and entered by March Engineering for Jacques Coulon in F2 in 1974, sponsored by Antar. In February 1975, the car was converted to 75B specification, and March records show that it was given the identity 75B-U1. However, Motoring News twice reported its chassis number as 742/12 during 1975, suggesting that it still had its 742 chassis plate.
19. March 742S [19] (Jacques Laffite): New to the Jacques Laffite's F2 team run by Tico Martini and funded by BP France for F2 in 1974. After being raced by Laffite at the first race, this car was then taken over by his teammate Jean-Pierre Paoli and raced by him until a major accident at Karlskoga effectively destroyed the car. It was rebuilt on a new monocoque and sold to Max Mamers (Objat, France), fitted with one of Ecurie ROC's Chrysler-Simca-based engines and used in French hillclimbing. Retained by Mamers for 1976 but fitted with a BMW engine again. Sold to Rémy Née (Châteaubriant, France) for 1977, and fitted with the ROC engine again. To Roland Contignon for 1978, and again fitted with a new engine, this time a 1.3-litre Renault engine. Contignon continued to race this car well into the 1980s, and possibly into the 1990s.
20. March 742S [742-11] (Jo Vonlanthen): Invoiced to Jörg Obermoser, but identified as the second car run by Jo Vonlanthen Racing Team during 1974, hired out to Dieter Basche at Hockenheim, to Jean-Pierre Jaussaud at Nogaro, and kept as an unused spare at Hockenheim in September. Not known after 1974.

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.

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's report (28 Mar 1974 pp10-13), Autocourse 1974/75 results section pp181-182, and Autosport's F2 Review (12 Dec 1974 pp18-27).