Eifelrennen

Nürburgring, 27 Apr 1975

All cars are 2-litre F2 unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. Chevron B27 [27-74-12] (Harald Ertl): Built for Chris Marshall's Baty/Ottershaw Motors team as a quasi-works car in European F2 championship, fitted with a Schnitzer BMW engine. It was originally announced as a two-car works team for James Hunt and Hiroshi Kazato, managed by Bill Harding, and "the first car" was shown to the press in mid-May. This car was driven by Tom Pryce at Salzburgring, Hockenheim and Mugello, and by Hunt only at Rouen-les-Essarts. The team dropped out in August, and the car was used briefly as a development car by Derek Bennett. Harald Ertl hired the car for Hockenheim in September 1974, still using its Schnitzer BMW engine. Ertl then acquired the car and raced it in the early rounds of the 1975 season using works BMW engines. He replaced it with a brand new B29 in mid-season but then retained the B27 unraced until his death in 1982. Bought from the Ertl estate by American Jack Perkins (San Jose, CA) in the early 1990s. Perkins had the tub disassembled, reglued and re-riveted by Mark Bahner, and had its BMW M12/7 engine and Hewland FG400 gearbox overhauled by Dave Vegher and Veloce Motors West.
2. Elf (Jabouille) 2J [7501] (Jean-Pierre Jabouille): New for the Elf Switzerland team in 1975, based on the Alpine A367 chassis 3671. The car was completed in time for 50 km of testing at Dijon before the first race of the 1975 F2 season at Estoril on 9 March. Jean-Pierre Jabouille placed it fourth on the grid at that race, but struggled in the wet race conditons and finished eighth. He qualified scond at Hockenheim in April, then won the non-championship race at Magny Cours in May. He was second on the grid again at Pau, Hockenheim again in June and Salzburgring, winning the latter race. He took the 2J's first pole position at Rouen-les-Essarts two weeks later. The second 2J was then completed, so this car was handed over to Gérard Larrousse, who finished a fine second at Silverstone but retired with engine problems at Zolder and Nogaro. This car was consumed in the creation of new cars with Renault V6 engines for 1976. Whether chassis 7502 became the new chassis 7602 remains unresolved.
3. March 752 [17] (Sandro Cinotti): New to Ron Dennis's Project Three team and raced by Vittorio Brambilla and Sandro Cinotti during the first half of the 1975 F2 season. Crashed heavily by Brambilla in practice at Mugello, then raced by Bruno Pescia at the end of the year. Sold to Max Bonnin for 1976 but only seen at a few races. To Sylvain Lachaud for French hillclimbs in 1977 but referred to as a 742 for much of the year. To Bernard-Etienne Grobot for 1978 but he crashed very heavily at Gué-Chervais in September and the car was returned to March for repairs. To Anne Baverey for 1979, when described as a 772, but damaged mid-season and sold to Philippe Porcheur. Retained by Porcheur for 1980, when it was again described as a 772. Bought from Porcheur by Eddy D'Hoe for Belgian hillclimbs in 1981. Then to Pierre Evrard (Rochefort, Belgium) for Belgian hillclimbs in 1982 and 1983. Subsequent history unknown.
4. Osella FA2/75 [001] (Giorgio Francia): New for Arturo Merzario to race for Osella Squadra Corse at Vallelunga in October 1974. Rebuilt to 1975 specification and raced by Giorgio Francia in the early part of the season, then by Diulio Truffo, and then my Merzario for the last three races. Rebuilt to 1976 specification and raced by Gianfranco Trombetti at the start of that season. Subsequent history unknown.
5. Chevron B29 [29-75-03] (Héctor Rebaque): New to Fred Opert Racing as a Formula 2 car for Hector Rebaque. Raced by Rebaque in the first five races of the season and then hired to Maxime Bochet for Pau in May. The car was next seen in September when it was raced by Rebaque at Zolder and Nogaro, and it was very probably the car then driven by Tom Bagley at Vallelunga in October. It was then converted to Formula Atlantic specification and sold to Carl Liebich (Plymouth, WI) and used in the IMSA and Players Formula Atlantic series. In August, Liebich acquired a new Lola T460, and the Chevron was advertised by Lola importer Carl Haas in November 1976. The history of the Chevron is then unknown until it was advertised by David Klutsenbaker (Nashville, TN) in February 1984. Klutsenbaker had owned a 1972 Brabham BT38B until January 1983, so it likely that he had only had the Chevron for one season. The B29 was bought by Ted Voruz (Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin) in 1990. It was bought from Voruz by Howard Blight (Sydney, NSW) in late 2005, and raced in a few events in 2008. Then to David Kent, and raced by him from 2013 to 2016.
6. March 752 [11] (Dieter Braun): Sold to Jorg Obermoser and run by Obermoser's Team Warsteiner Eurorace for Dieter Braun in European F2 in 1975. Unknown after 1975 and possibly one of the cars sold to Japan.
7. March 752 [3] (Lamberto Leoni): Entered by Giancarlo Minardi's Scuderia del Passatore for Lamberto Leoni in F2 in 1975. Also for Diulio Truffo at one late-season race. Retained by Minardi as a spare car for his Scuderia Everest in 1976 and raced by Gianfranco Brancatelli at Mugello in July. Unknown after 1976.
8. Chevron B29 [29-75-12] (Christian Ethuin): New to Fred Stalder's Societé Racing Organisation Course (Annemasse, Haute-Savoie, France), and fitted with ROC's Chrysler-Simca-based engines, developed by Max Funda (Geneva, Switzerland) for Formula 2 in 1975. Raced by Christian Ethuin, starting at Hockenheim in April, and also by former F1 driver Jean-Pierre Beltoise at Magny Cours, Pau and Nogaro. It was part of a two car team with Xavier Lapeyre driving the other car. Laurent Ferrier then drove the car in the final race of the season but did not qualify. It was raced by Roger Rivoire in two French hillclimbs in early 1976, at Charnizay and at Hébecrevon, and later in the year was driven by Jean Lachaud at Le Gua and Limonest-Mt Verdun. Press reports said it had been loaned to Lachaud by ROC boss Fred Stalder for these two events. As Xavier Lapeyre had retained his B29 for 1976, Lachaud must have been in the ex-Beltoise car. By the same logic, 75-12 is likely to be the ROC-engined Chevron bought by Ange-Marie Cheval from Stalder for 1977. It was described as a B27/B29, a B29 and a B29/35, but photographs in Echappement clearly show a B29. Advertised in Echappement in October 1977 as a B29/35. Subsequent history unknown, but there is a good chance this could be the "B35"-ROC raced by Jean Arzeno at Ceyreste in September 1979 and then the "B35" raced by Bernard Hazotte from 1980 onwards.
9. March 742 [24] (Jorg Siegrist): New to Jacques Laffite (Paris) using BP France money and prepared by Tico Martini for F2 in 1974. Extensively modified by Martini during the season. To Jorg Siegrist (Lucerne, Switzerland) for 1975 and entered for him in F2 events by Schweizer Auto Rennsport. It was then sold to Bernhard Wissler (Ebringen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany) in mid-1975 and raced by him at the Preis Der Nationen at Hockenheim at the end of August and at Ulm-Mengen two weeks later. He also raced it in the F2 race at Hockenheim in April 1976, when it still had its Martini nose from 1974. One distinct possibility is that this car was acquired by French Martini enthusiast Jacques Terrien (France) who had raced an ex-F3 MK12 in 1974-75 and would run a pukka F2 MK19 in 1977 but had a March 742-Ford for the latter half of 1976. Terrien's car went to Jean-Pierre Perrin (Beaucourt, northeastern France) for 1977. Subsequent history unknown but the remains of a car believed to be the ex-Laffite car were bought from French dealer Christian Hollinger (Lyon, Rhône-Alpes, France) via Gérard Billaud (Toulouse, France) in the late 1990s by Philippe Demeyer (Liège, Belgium). Demeyer sold these parts to Matt Slinn (UK) and they form the basis of the car later raced in historics by Martin Stretton.
10. March 742L [26] (Cosimo Turizio): New to Trivellato Racing Team and raced by Cosimo Turizio in F2 in 1974, entered by Scuderia Vesuvio and sponsored by insurance company Lloyd Centauro Italia. He started the season with the car in standard short-nose customer specification, but it was in works long-nose form by Mugello in July. Turizio retained the car for 1975, when he was again entered by Scuderia Vesuvio, and was sponsored by Lloyd Centauro. Subsequent history unknown.
11. March 742 [10] (Alfred "Freddy" Amweg): New to Fredy Amweg (Ammerswil, Switzerland) and raced in F2 and in Swiss national events with Vileda sponsorship in 1974. Retained for Swiss events in 1975, still in yellow-and-white Vileda livery and in original short-nose, front-radiator form, also taking in two German F2 races. Amweg built his own car for 1976 and it was thought that the March 742 had been used in its construction but the March was sold to Ruedi Caprez (Dietlikon, Switzerland), and raced in Swiss national events in 1976. He ran the car in F2 specification with a BMW engine. The car's nose cone in 1975 and in 1976 was unusual, resembling that of the Martini MK 16. Caprez raced it until Eggberg in June 1976 when he hit a rock wall during practice and the car was described as a total loss. It was rebuilt for the 1977 season and ran a few times that year, and then once or twice in 1978. It then remained in Caprez's garage until acquired by Bernard Thuner (Nyon, Switzerland) in 2017.
12. March 742L [15] (Francesco Cerulli-Irelli): 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. The car is then unknown for two years, until an "Atlantic March" 742 with 772 bodywork was advertised by Ralph Halley, an Opel dealer in Milngavie, a suburb of Glasgow. It was bought from Halley by Jim McGaughey (Lochgilphead, Argyll and Bute, Scotland) and rebuilt as a Renault 5GT special saloon for 1981, using bodywork modelled on the new Renault 5 Turbo by Graham Kelly, a 1930cc Cosworth FVC acquired from Jimmy Jack, and a Hewland FT200 gearbox. It debuted in this form at Ingliston in April 1981, and won McGaughey the 1981 Scottish GT Championship. He then fitted an ex-F2 BMW M12 engine acquired from hillclimber Barrogill Angus, and raced it again in 1982 and 1983. 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.
13. March 752 [10] (Hans Binder): Sold to Jorg Obermoser and run by Obermoser's Team Warsteiner Eurorace for Hans Binder in European F2, and later for Alain Peltier and Ewald Boisitz. To Alois Muller for 1976, still with its B Schnitzer BMW engine and used in the European F2 race at Salzburgring in May 1976, where it was entered by BMW Dienst Rischer Wien, and in Austrian national events. Unknown after 1976.
14. 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.
15. Elf 2 (Alpine) A367 [3673] (Gérard Larrousse): 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.
16. March 742L [27] (Loris Kessel): New to Jean-Claude Favre (Switzerland) and raced in European F2 rounds but rarely qualified. Sold mid-season to Loris Kessel (Lugano, Switzerland) and entered for him by Jo Vonlanthen Racing Team at Vallelunga at the end of the year. Retained for 1975 and impressively quick, finishing fourth at Hockenheim in April and then qualifying second at the Nürburgring. It was crashed at that race and rebuilt on the monocoque from the ex-Hans Stuck 742/17. Prior to the Mugello race in July, Kessel heavily modified the March, including a wide nose, front radiator and modified rollhoop shroud. He crashed during practice and although the tub was undamaged, the modifications meant it could not be repaired. That evening, he bought Markus Hotz' March 752, and used that for the rest of the season. The 742's unique rollhoop shroud, together with references to it being "ex-Stuck", identify this as the car sold to Romain Feitler (Luxembourg) and used in hillclimbs in Luxembourg, France and Germany during 1976. A photograph shows that it was back in normal long nose specification and appeared to have a Schnitzer BMW engine. Sold to Helmut Kalenborn (Euskirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) and used in hillclimbs across Europe in 1977 and 1978. It was described by Autosprint at Ecce Homo in 1978 as "ex-Stuck". The same unusual rollhoop shroud identified this as the Schnitzer-engined 742 acquired by Henri Nussbaum (Luxembourg) and used in hillclimbs in 1979 and 1980. Subsequent history unknown.
17. Chevron B29 [29-75-10] (Xavier Lapeyre): New to Fred Stalder's Societé Racing Organisation Course (Annemasse, Haute-Savoie, France), and fitted with ROC's Chrysler-Simca-based engines, developed by Max Funda (Geneva, Switzerland) for Formula 2 in 1975. Raced by Xavier Lapeyre (Toulouse, southwest France), starting at Hockenheim in April. Lapeyre left ROC for 1976, but retained the Chevron, fitting a BMW engine and racing it in five events at the start of 1976, failing to qualify for four of them. The last time the B29 was seen was at Pau on 7 June, where Lapeyre failed to qualify, and at the next race, at Rouen three weeks later, he had a new Chevron B35. Sold to Werner Ruckelshausen for Austrian national races in 1977, where it was entered as a "Chevron Swindon" of 2000cc capacity, implying a Swindon BDX engine. Subsequent thistory unknown.

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

Motoring News (1 May 1975 pp4-5,28) gives chassis numbers for all 30 cars present but it then invents Alberto Colombo's participation in the race; he was actually absent and Cerulli was standing in. Vonlanthen's car was given as 752-16 but March records suggest it was 752-6.