Grand Prix de Nogaro

Nogaro, 22 Sep 1974

All cars are 2-litre F2 unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. 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.
2. Surtees TS15A [03] (Tim Schenken): New for the Ortega Ecuador Marlboro Team run by Ron Dennis in 1974, driven in F2 races by Tim Schenken, starting at Pau in May. Also raced by Rolf Stommelen at Hockenheim in June. The Ecuador team was disbanded after 1974, and this car was sold for 1975 to Yves Courage who ran it in French hillclimbs. He made his debut at Poissons in August, where the gearbox broke, and then raced the car almost every weekend to the end of the season, taking two second places and three wins. The car was twice identified as "ex-Schenken" by Echappement during this period. Courage bought a new Lola T450 for 1976, and the Surtees went to "Pat Shadock", in exchange for his ex-Coupe Simca Grac MT20 sports car. He raced the Surtees in March, April and May 1976, and then was not seen again until an outing in August. "Pat Shadock" recalled to Gerard Barathieu in 2021 that he loaned the car back to Courage for at least one event towards the end of 1976, so this would be the car Courage used for four events after he wrecked his brand new Lola T450 at Sancerre in June. "Pat Shadock" advises that he owned the Surtees for a couple of years and it was then sold via an intermediary to a Swiss collector. Subsequent history unknown.
3. 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.
4. Elf 2 (Alpine) A367 [3670] (René Arnoux): 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.
5. Chevron B27 [27-74-09-2] (Jim Crawford): Sold to Team Harper, and used by Dieter Quester in the European F2 championship. Also driven by Tom Pryce and badly damaged at Enna; returned to works and rebuilt for Jim Crawford to use at Nogaro late in 1974. Probably the car taken to Macau by Team Harper for Purley in November 1974. Team Harper advertised both their Chevron B27s as rolling chassis in January 1975. Subsequent history unknown, but since 2006 (and quite possibly earlier), there has been a Chevron B27 in Team Harper livery in the Macau Grand Prix Museum.
6. March 742L [732-10] (Maxime Bochet): 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.
7. Surtees TS15A [01] (Guillermo Ortega): New for the Ortega Ecuador Marlboro Team run by Ron Dennis in 1974, driven in F2 races by team principal Guillermo Ortega. Ortega struggled during 1974, and failed to qualify four times. His TS15A was sold to Gerd Biechteler (Klotten, Rhineland-Palatinate, West Germany) and used in German and Austrian F2 races in 1975. Then raced by Norbert Przybilla (Klotten, Rhineland-Palatinate) in hillclimbs in 1976, 1977 and 1978. In 1977, the car was entered by Benedikt Müller (Osterspai, Rhineland-Palatinate), and at least once it was entered as a "Surtees Toj", suggesting Jörg Obermoser's Toj sports car firm had been involved with it. Przybilla continued to appear in German events in 1979, but now with a Toj SC03 in the 2-litre sports car class, and also with a "Toj" in the F2 class. The last known appearance in the Surtees was at the ADAC-Eifel-Bergpreis in October 1979. This car was advertised for sale from Freidorf, Switzerland in June 2019, when it was said to be chassis 001, formerly driven by Norbert Przybilla, and with Toj bodywork.
8. March 732 ["59"] (Max Bonnin): Max Bonnin raced a March in F2 in 1974, which was described by Motoring News as being "one of last year's March monocoques", to which Bonnin had fitted his own suspension, "which featured narrower track and revised roll centres". Bonnin later told Gérard Gamand that he acquired an unused 732 monocoque to build this car. It was powered by a Hart BDA. Bonnin raced this car in F2 through 1974 and 1975 before buying a March 752 for 1976. The 732, by then called a 742, was sold to Jean-Louis Albinet and used in French hillclimbs in 1976, 1977 and 1978, using a 2-litre Hart engine. In July 1978, Albinet acquired a Martini MK22, and the March-Hart was sold to Gérard Lafaurie (Bordeaux, Aquitaine), first appearing in August 1978 in a "March 732", and then regularly from the start of 1979 in a "March 742". Lafaurie raced the car again in 1980, 1981, and 1982. Later in 1982, the car was reported to have been sold to Pascal Malateste, but photographs of Malateste's car show a later generation March 752/762/772. Subsequent history unknown.
9. Chevron B27 [27-74-01] (Bob Marsland): Sold to Bob Marsland (Bromsgrove, Worcestershire) to use in European F2 and in European hillclimbs in 1974. Not seen in 1975 but advertised by Marsland in November when it had only done three races and three hillclimbs. Sold to Francis Polak for Belgian courses de côte, winning the 1976 Belgian championship. Retained by Polak for 1977, but then sold to Gérard Burgraff for the 1978 Belgian season, when he finished fourth in the series using a 1800cc Cosworth engine. Then to Christian Figue and Luc Marx, and driven by Marx in 1985. Subsequently to Nick Crossley for renovation and then to Paul Newton. Sold to Alan Bell (Lymm, Cheshire) in November 2003. Sold from Bell to Michael Bletsoe-Brown in 2011 and since converted to inboard rear brakes and the roll hoop has forward facing supports.
10. March 742S [743-5] (Jean-Pierre Jaussaud): Invoiced to Obermoser, but instead of being used in Formula 3, this car was rebuilt to Formula 2 specification for Jo Vonlanthen (Frauenfeld, Switzerland) after he wrecked his new 742 at the opening race of the F2 season. It remained in standard 742 short-nose specification, even after Vonlanthen's 742 was repaired and converted to long-nose specification. The 743 was raced by Vonlanthen at Hockenheim in April, by Dieter Basche at Hockenheim in June, by Vonlanthen at Mugello in July, by Jean-Pierre Jaussaud at Nogaro in September. It may also have been the car used by Vonlanthen in Swiss and German domestic events during 1974. It was converted to long-nosed specification over the close-season, and was raced by Vonlanthen at Estoril, the opening round of the 1975 season. The car then went to Hans Walther (Guntalingen, Switzerland) and was raced by him in Swiss national events during 1975. Walther retained the car for 1976, again using it in Swiss events but failing to qualify for three of his four F2 races. Subsequent history unknown but according to Wisu Willimann, it later went to Edmond Veigel (Lausanne, Switzerland) who fitted a Cosworth FVC engine. At the end of the 1990s it was bought from Veigel by Hans-Markus Huber (Berne, Switzerland) and restored with a BMW engine. It was sold by Huber to another owner but finances for a restoration ran out and the car has been in limbo since then.
11. March 732/742 [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.
12. 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.
13. March 742L [12-3] (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.
14. Pygmée MDB17 [372] (Georges Schäfer): New to the BERT team for Patrick Dal Bo to race in the 1972 F2 series. Dal Bo was fourth in the first race of the season, but had a series of failures to qualify, often caused by engine failures. The car was sold to Georges Schäfer for 1973, and used in occasional F2 races, rounds of the Swiss championship, and French hillclimbs for the next three seasons, using a Cosworth BDE engine. It appears that it was updated for 1974 with revised bodywork and given the chassis plate "MDB19 - 03 -74". Gérard Gamand's book shows this as the Pygmée owned by Roger Martini (Girond, Aquitaine) from 1979 to 1983, although Martini believed he had owned the ex-Pace car. According to Gamand, the car then passed via two other French owners, 'Legeay' and 'Sutter' to Roland Perrin in 1988, by which time it had acquired odd square sidepods and a Martini nose, and the steelwork had been painted a fetching orange. Bought by Peter Morley in Belgium in 2005, then to Gamand in April 2007, who completely restored the car in 2008-09. On display at Epoqu'auto in Lyon in November 2009. Raced by Gamand in Historic F2 in 2010 and 2012. On display on the Autodiva stand at Epoqu'Auto in November 2013.
15. Chevron B27 [27-74-10] (David Purley): Sold in May 1974 to Team Harper, and used by David Purley in the European F2 championship. Probably the car driven by David Purley at the Brands Hatch Boxing Day libre race at the end of the season. Team Harper advertised both their Chevron B27s as rolling chassis in January 1975. This car is likely to be the "late 1974 F2 car" used by Doug Thomson (Edinburgh, Scotland) in Scottish libre, sprints and hillclimbs in 1975, and offered for sale in January 1976 with a Swindon BDA and Hewland FGA400 gearbox. Thomson recalls that he sold the car to UK-resident American Bob Brown (not Bobby Brown) who occasionally raced what is described by Autosport as an ex-Harper B27 in Indyatlantic and Formula Libre in 1976, after buying the car late in 1975. Brown was backed by Oceaneering International, a Texas company, and is believed to have been a diver working in the North Sea oil field. He appears to have taken the car back to the US. Then unknown until an "ex-Purley" B27 was raced by Bobby Brown in SVRA and HSR vintage racing. Sold to Skip Jones (Portland, OR) and used in ICSCC and SOVREN vintage racing, fitted with a 2-litre Wenz Cosworth YBM engine. Sold in August 2016 back to Bobby Brown.

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 (26 Sep 1974 pp22-24), Autocourse 1974/75 results section pp181-182. Entry numbers from official results via 'Wookey'. Autosport mentions some changes for this race. Jean-Pierre Jaussaud was driving Jo Vonlanthen's spare short-nosed (so early '74 spec) March 742 and Jacques Coulon had a new tub in his 742. Maxime Bochet was in Brian Lewis's ex-Sutcliffe March. The Chevron's were also rebuilt: Crawford having a "brand new" car to "replace the Pryce write-off at Enna" and Purley had "a half new monocoque". Schafer's Pygmée had a 1850cc Cosworth engine.