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Forward Trust Formula Three Championship

Croft, 12 Aug 1973

ResultsLapsTime/Speed
1 Mike Wilds March 733 [26] - Ford twin cam Holbay R73
#140 Dempster International Racing Team
(see note 1)
15 17m 10.0s
91.74 mph
2 Ian Taylor March 733 - Ford twin cam Holbay R73
#142 Chris Andrews
15 17m 11.0s
3 Tony Brise March 733 [21] - Ford twin cam Holbay R73
#126 Team Kent Messenger
15 17m 13.2s
4 Mo Harness March 733 [25] - Ford twin cam Vegantune
#143 Team Modus Racing with Shellsport
15 17m 13.2s
5 Tony Rouff GRD 373 [050-F3] - Ford twin cam Vegantune
#132 AB3 Racing
15 17m 22.6s
6 Derek Lawrence Ehrlich ES2 - Ford twin cam Ehrlich
#144 Dr J. Ehrlich
15 17m 23.6s
7 Malcolm Bohm Lotus 69 [71/69-11.F3] - Ford twin cam Vegantune
#149 (see note 2)
14 18m 18.8s
8 Geoff Lambert Brabham BT38C - Ford twin cam Vegantune
#150 (see note 3)
13 17m 42.4s
DNS Richard Robarts March 733 [24] - Ford twin cam Holbay R73
#134 Myson Racing
Did not start
(Accident)
DNA Thomas B Hilliar Ensign LNF3/73 [73.15] - Ford twin cam Vegantune
#125
Did not arrive
DNA Allan Davies Alpine A364 [3647] - Renault R16 Dudot
#127
Did not arrive
DNA Val Musetti Royale RP11A [6] - Ford twin cam Vegantune
#128 (see note 4)
Did not arrive
DNA Mike Tyrrell Ensign LNF3 - Ford twin cam Vegantune
#129 Marc Gregory Property Dev.
Did not arrive
DNA John MacDonald GRD 372 [025-F3] - Ford twin cam Vegantune
#130 (see note 5)
Did not arrive
DNA Barrie Maskell GRD 373 - Ford twin cam Holbay
#133 GRS International
Did not arrive
DNA Pedro Passadore GRD 373 [060-F3] - Ford twin cam Vegantune
#135 DART Racing with GRD
Did not arrive
DNA Alan Jones GRD 373 [060-F3] - Ford twin cam Vegantune
#136 DART Racing with GRD
Did not arrive
DNA Leonel Friedrich March 733 [13] - Ford twin cam Holbay
#137 (see note 6)
Did not arrive
DNA Angelo Piccione March 733 [27?] - Ford twin cam Holbay
#138 Angeleri March Racing Brazil
Did not arrive
DNA "Teleco" March 733 [15] - Ford twin cam Novamotor
#139 Angeleri March Racing Brazil
Did not arrive
DNA Russell Wood March 733 [3] - Ford twin cam Novamotor
#141 The Chequered Flag (see note 7)
Did not arrive
DNA José Espírito Santo March 733 [6] - Ford twin cam Mohr
#145
Did not arrive
DNA Mike Catlow Elden Mk12 [68/12001/72] - Ford twin cam
#146 Mitford Group Team Elden
Did not arrive
DNA Jimmy Fuller Brabham BT38C [19] - Ford twin cam Holbay
#147 ADM Business Students (see note 8)
Did not arrive
DNA Roger Craven GRD 372 [024-F3] - Ford twin cam RES
#148 L&K Racing Team (see note 9)
Did not arrive

All cars are 1.6-litre F3 unless noted.

Qualifying
1 Mo Harness (F3) 1.6-litre March 733 [25] - Ford twin cam Vegantune 1.07.8
2 Tony Brise (F3) 1.6-litre March 733 [21] - Ford twin cam Holbay R73 1.08.4
3 Mike Wilds (F3) 1.6-litre March 733 [26] - Ford twin cam Holbay R73 1.08.4
4 Ian Taylor (F3) 1.6-litre March 733 - Ford twin cam Holbay R73 1.09.4
5 Derek Lawrence (F3) 1.6-litre Ehrlich ES2 - Ford twin cam Ehrlich 1.10.0
6 Tony Rouff (F3) 1.6-litre GRD 373 [050-F3] - Ford twin cam Vegantune 1.10.4
7 Malcolm Bohm (F3) 1.6-litre Lotus 69 [71/69-11.F3] - Ford twin cam Vegantune 1.17.2
8 Geoff Lambert (F3) 1.6-litre Brabham BT38C - Ford twin cam Vegantune 1.22.6

Notes on the cars:

  1. March 733 [26] (Mike Wilds): New to Dempster International Racing Team for Mike Wilds to drive in F3 from July 1973 onwards, replacing the 1972/73 Ensign with which he had started the season. It was then sold to Graham Watts (Faringham) for hillclimbs, appearing at Prescott in March 1974, when the car had a 1600cc Holbay engine. During 1975, the car was bought by Terry Smith (Felton, Somerset) to replace his highly successful 1-litre Vixen Imp. Smith raced the March in sprints and hillclimbs through the rest of 1975 and through 1976, using a 1600cc Holbay Ford twin cam engine, but in the summer of 1976, bought the ex-F1 McLaren M14D. The March was sold to Geoff Hunt (Andover, Hampshire), again with the Holbay twin cam, and used in sprints for quite a few years. Eventually traded to Richard Speakman for the ex-F3 Pilbeam MP51. Subsequent history unknown.
  2. Lotus 69 [71/69-11.F3] (Malcolm Bohm): New to Rikky von Opel and raced in British F3 in 1971, using Holbay engines. Sold to Ross Ambrose for British F3 in 1972, using Vegantune engines and entered by Travisco Racing. Hired from Ambrose by Ernesto Neves for the Estoril F3 race in June. Advertised in October 1972 stating that the car had a new chassis in June 1972 and a new Vegantune engine in July. Sold to Victor Bohm and Malcolm Bohm for 1973, who used it in both F3 and Formula Atlantic specification using the Vegantune twin cam engine. Then unknown in 1974 and 1975. Reappeared with Mike Bowers for libre racing in 1976, still using its 1600cc Vegantune twin cam engine. Sold by Bowers to Joh Reynolds (Crawley, Surrey) for Monoposto in 1980.
  3. Brabham BT38C (Geoff Lambert): New to Australian International Racing Organisation (AIRO) and raced by Brian McGuire in British F3 in 1972 using Vegantune and later RES engines. AIRO went their separate ways in June, and McGuire continued running his own car with support from Tiran Auto Centre. Clive Santo raced the car once at Brands Hatch in July, as McGuire was getting married in Norway, Jody Scheckter have passed up on the drive after testing the car at Brands. In September, McGuire ran out of budget and put the BT38C up for sale. To Geoff Lambert (Burnley, Lancashire) for 1973 and used in libre events in the north of England, and in a single F3 race at Croft in August 1973. Lambert returned with the car at the start of 1974, winning the 1600cc racing class in a sprint at Longridge in April 1974, but was not seen again after that. The car was orange during Lambert's ownership.
  4. Royale RP11A [6] (Val Musetti): New factory car for Tom Pryce to drive, replacing the one wrecked at the 1972 Monaco GP F3 race. To Reystan Racing for 1973 for Andy Sutcliffe to drive, but Sutcliffe left the team in April, and his seat was taken over by Val Musetti, who had written off his own RP11 in testing. Raced by Musetti through to the end of the season. Converted to Formula Atlantic specification for 1974 and raced by Musetti in the British championship up to May. Sold later in the year to Mike Franey and raced in libre racing. Raced by Franey in a couple of British Formula Atlantic races in 1975. Subsequent history unknown.
  5. GRD 372 [025-F3] (John MacDonald): New to Reystan Racing Ltd for Masami Kuwashima to drive in British F3 in 1972, using Holbay engines. To John MacDonald for British F3 in 1973, when it was described as being the remains of Kuwashima's 1972 car built up around a new tub. Raced until October 1973, when it was said to have been sold to Ireland. Subsequent history unknown.
  6. March 733 [13] (Leonel Friedrich): New to Brazilian driver Leonel Friedrich (Porto Alegre, Brazil) and run for him by Peter Bloore Racing in the 1973 British Formula 3 season. Friedrich had not sat in a single-seater racing car before, but was the 1972 1600cc class Brazilian Touring Car Champion. For a novice, he was impressively quick straight away, eighth fastest in practice at his first race, and finishing second four times in his first dozen F3 races. His March was fitted with Holbay engines except for a brief mid-season flirtation with Novamotors. The car was then hired to another young Brazilian Alex Dias Ribeiro, and run for him by Angeleri March Racing Brazil in two races at the very end of the season. Subsequent history unknown.
  7. March 733 [3] (Russell Wood): New to Russell Wood and run for him in the British F3 series by Peter Bloore Racing with backing from The Chequered Flag. Wood won three early round of the championship but had a heavy accident at Zandvoort in May and did not win again. Sold to Australian Ian Douglass for 1974 and rebuilt for Australian F2, using various 742 bits. The car was involved in a fire during private testing at Oran Park after the Lakeside race in December 1974 and was completely burnt to the ground.
  8. Brabham BT38C [19] (Jimmy Fuller): New to Canadian driver Chris O'Brien and raced in British F3 in 1972 using Holbay engines. To Jimmy Fuller for 1973, again in British F3 and again using Holbay engines. Advertised by Fuller from Sunbury-on-Thames as a "BT38/41" with two rebuilt Novamotor twin-cams, a spare monocoque and bodywork for £2,250 in November 1973. Formula 3 changed to 2000cc for 1974, and the BT38C was sold to David Taylor (Formy, Lancashire, later Merseyside) for Kim Mather to race in British Formula Atlantic in 1974. When the car first appeared, it had a RES BDA engine and still used F3 wheels, Mather recalling that he "just dropped a BDA in it". By the end of May it had a Richardson BDA and wider wheels, but it was still far off the pace of the leading cars, and this turned out to be its last Atlantic race. Taylor also used the car in sprints at Longridge, and Mather won two libre races at Aintree. Taylor advertised the car in September, complete with Richardson BDA, for £2,200 and sold it to Ted Payne (Middleton-in-Teesdale, County Durham). Payne had raced a BT38 earlier in the season with a Vegantune engine, but it appears he had sold that car and had bought Taylor's very similar one with its Richardson engine. Payne continued to race the car in 1975, and entry lists show that it was black with a Richardson engine, and generally entered as a BT38-40. It was advertised by Payne in November 1975 as a BT38/40 with a recently rebuilt Cosworth BDA engine, and with a spare monocoque. It was bought by Andrew Wareing (Kirkham, Fylde, Lancashire), whose recollection is that it came from Joe Applegarth, but Applegarth says he never owned a BT38. Wareing used it in sprints and libre in 1976. He advertised it in September 1976 as a BT38/40 with BDA engine, 10" and 14" wheels and a spare tub, and recalls that it went to a family of hillclimbers, father and sons. This must be John Hart (East Dulwich, London), who after hillclimbing a Brabham BT18 in 1976, transferred its Cosworth FVA engine into a Brabham BT38 for 1977. Hart recalls buying the BT38 in the Isle of Man, but it is quite plausible that the car had acquired an Isle of Man event sticker if Wareing had competed in one of the Longton & DCC events on the island. Hart raced this car in hillclimbs and sprints through 1977, being joined by his son Greg later that season. The pair retained the BT38 for 1978 but Greg wrecked it in a major accident at Shelsley Walsh in August, which he was lucky to escape. The car was briskly rebuilt using a BT40 monocoque acquired from MRD and raced again at Gurston Down just two weeks later. The car was renamed 'Hart JG79' for 1979, fitted with a 1600cc Richardson FVA and raced by Greg and John in 1979 and 1980. Doug Hart recalls that the BT40 was sold to Paul Squires, "who sadly died at a young age and before he finished the car". Subsequent history unknown.
  9. GRD 372 [024-F3] (Roger Craven): Entered by GRS International for Andy Sutcliffe for a few races in British F3 in April 1972, using Holbay engines. Then entered for young Portuguese driver Jorge Pinhol for the rest of the season, but he often failed to appear and may have only been at eight races, starting as few as three. Pinhol's car had been announced in early February, but he did not appear until the end of April. His last definite appearance was at Thruxon on 6 August but his entries continued until the start of October. The car was then run for Formula Ford star Johnny Gerber as an Ippokampos Racing entry but run by GRS International at Brands Hatch on 22 October 1972. The ex-Pinhol car went to Roger Craven (Lincoln) for British F3 in 1973, using RES and Vegantune engines. Also used by Craven very successfully in libre racing that season. It was advertised by Craven's entrant, L & K Racing Team (Lincoln) with a Neil Brown engine in November 1973 and from the same Lincoln telephone numbers in February 1974. Subsequent history 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.

These British Formula 3 results have been compiled by Chris Townsend using the main British magazines Autosport and Motoring News but also the US magazine On Track which carried surprisingly good coverage of the British series.

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.