OldRacingCars.com

BP British Formula 3 Championship Race

Thruxton, 13 Mar 1977

ResultsLapsTime/Speed
1 Stephen South March 763 [13] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
#7 (see note 1)
15 21m 25.2s
98.99 mph
2 Tiff Needell March 773 [763-9] - Triumph Dolomite Holbay 4
#6 Unipart Racing Team (see note 2)
15 21m 27.8s
3 Geoff Lees Chevron B38 [38.77.09] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
#14 Chevron Racing Team (see note 3)
15 21m 28.2s
4 Derek Daly Chevron B38 [38.77.07] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
#16 Derek McMahon Racing
15 21m 34.0s
5 Don Farthing Ralt RT1/76 [18] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
#21
15 22m 26.2s
6 John Bright Wheatcroft R18 [004] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
#20 (see note 4)
15 22m 32.8s
7 Paul Bernasconi Ralt RT1/76 [22] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
#12
14
8 Brett Riley March 773 [2] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
#25 AFMP Euroracing
14
9 Pierre Dieudonné Ehrlich ES6 - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
#23 Dr Joseph Ehrlich
14
11 Mario Pati March 773 [10] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
#26 AFMP Euroracing (see note 5)
14
12 James King March 773 [U2] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
#1 March Racing Ltd (see note 6)
13
R Ian Taylor March 773 [3] - Triumph Dolomite Holbay 4
#5 Unipart Racing Team (see note 7)

R Geoff Brabham Ralt RT1/76 [29] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
#11 Brabham Racing Organisation
(see note 8)
6 Collision with Bernasconi
R Derek Warwick Chevron B38 [38.77.05] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
#18 Warwick Trailers Ltd
6 Coil high tension lead
UNK Eje Elgh Chevron B38 [38.77.10] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
#15 Chevron Racing Team

UNK Mario Ferraris March 773 [U1] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
#3 March Racing Ltd (see note 9)

UNK Aryon Cornelsen Filho March 773 [13] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
#4 March Racing Ltd (see note 10)

DNS Ian Flux Ralt RT1/76 [16] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
#10 Ockley Team Racing Ltd
Did not start
(Accident)
DNA David Lang March 773 [14] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
#2 March Racing Ltd
Did not arrive
DNA Wyatt Stanley March 753 [14] - Ford twin cam
#8 (see note 11)
Did not arrive
DNA Les Duncan March 753 [9] - Ford twin cam
#9 Nucan Racing
Did not arrive
DNA Ian Grob Chevron B38 [38.77.19] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
#17 KVG Racing (see note 12)
Did not arrive
DNA Chris Farrell Chevron B38 [38.77.02] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
#19 (see note 13)
Did not arrive
DNA Richard Jones March 743 [24] - Triumph Dolomite 4
#27
Did not arrive

All cars are 2-litre F3 unless noted.

Qualifying
1 Ian Taylor (F3) 2-litre March 773 [3] - Triumph Dolomite Holbay 4 1m 16.6s
2 Stephen South (F3) 2-litre March 763 [13] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor 1m 16.8s
3 Tiff Needell (F3) 2-litre March 773 [763-9] - Triumph Dolomite Holbay 4 1m 17.0s
4 Paul Bernasconi (F3) 2-litre Ralt RT1/76 [22] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor 1m 17.2s
5 Geoff Lees (F3) 2-litre Chevron B38 [38.77.09] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor 1m 17.2s
6 James King (F3) 2-litre March 773 [U2] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor 1m 17.2s
7 Ian Flux * (F3) 2-litre Ralt RT1/76 [16] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor 1m 17.4s
8 Geoff Brabham (F3) 2-litre Ralt RT1/76 [29] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor 1m 17.4s
9 Eje Elgh (F3) 2-litre Chevron B38 [38.77.10] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor 1m 17.4s
10 Derek Daly (F3) 2-litre Chevron B38 [38.77.07] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor 1m 17.8s
11 Brett Riley (F3) 2-litre March 773 [2] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor 1m 18.0s
12 Derek Warwick (F3) 2-litre Chevron B38 [38.77.05] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor 1m 18.2s
13 Pierre Dieudonné (F3) 2-litre Ehrlich ES6 - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
14 Mario Ferraris (F3) 2-litre March 773 [U1] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor 1m 18.8s
15 Aryon Cornelsen Filho (F3) 2-litre March 773 [13] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
16 Mario Pati (F3) 2-litre March 773 [10] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
17 John Bright (F3) 2-litre Wheatcroft R18 [004] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
18 Don Farthing (F3) 2-litre Ralt RT1/76 [18] - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor
 
* Did not start

Notes on the cars:

  1. March 763 [13] (Stephen South): March build records show sold to John Stokes, 19 May 1976. Run by Stokes for Stephen South from mid 1976, until wrecked in an accident with Derek Daly in the 1977 British GP support race and scrapped. Some parts used in the construction of 773-T1, South's replacement car.
  2. March 773 [763-9] (Tiff Needell): Shown in March records as sold to Tony Dron 12.1.76. This was the solitary Unipart car in 1976. Although Unipart ran two cars in 1977, they only bought one new car, converting the older car for Needell, the junior driver in the team. Some results credit Needell's car as being a 763.
  3. Chevron B38 [38.77.09] (Geoff Lees): To Chevron Racing Team for Geoff Lees to race in British F3 in 1977. Rebuilt on new monocoque 38-77-31 in time for Thruxton in June, where it was described as a brand new. Unknown after 1977 but may have gone to Japan where Koichi Sakamoto raced a Chevron B38 for most of 1978.
  4. Wheatcroft R18 [004] (John Bright): New to John Bright (Leicester) and built up with a Toyota Novamotor engine for British F3 in 1977. In early July, Bright spent a day testing at Silverstone with Brian Henton and Mike Pilbeam, and the following Friday he won from pole in a non-championship race at Donington Park. Unfortunately, two days later during practice at Cadwell Park he put a wheel into the gravel going into the Gooseneck curves and crashed very heavily. The car was described as being "completely destroyed". He returned at Donington Park three weeks later with the car described as "rebuilt", but it seems very likely that this was the point at which the car was rebuilt on the 006 chassis, so its history is continued under that heading.
  5. March 773 [10] (Mario Pati): According to March records delivered in March 1977 to AFMP Euroracing, and subsequently given to Brett Riley in lieu of his contractual payments when the Euroracing set-up was dissolved. (This does not mean the car was Riley’s early season car in 1977; he used at least two before the team collapsed, neither of which were necessarily this car.) Run by David Price for Riley in the second half of 1977 and used to win the European round at Donington. Chassis number given in Autosport advert late in 1977 by Price. Sold to Roy Kennedy [Motoring News 2 Mar 1978 p15] although Autosport 9 Mar 1978 p41 says the car is ‘ex James King’. (King used a works car - 773-U2 - for most of 1977 but it is possible he had a race in this car early in the season, however his principal car went in 1978 to Ian Flux.) Run by Kennedy for Saed Ali Hodzic until Hodzic was injured in practice at the International Trophy support race; then became a rental car but did very few races. For sale by Kennedy in early 1979, Autosport 22 Feb 1979 p57, but retained and rented to Serge Saulnier for the 1979 race at Monaco.
  6. March 773 [U2] (James King): March works records show this as James King's works car for 1977 built on a lightweight tub AM773-41 with parts from 763-U2. This would be the "ex-King" car sold to Ian Flux early in 1978, and raced by him in the 1978 British F3 series.
  7. March 773 [3] (Ian Taylor): March build records show sold to Unipart, 23 December 1976. Only one 773 is consigned to Unipart in the build records. Assumed that Taylor as senior driver would take the new car, a fact borne out by occasional references in 1977 to Needell being in a 763, the team's original car.
  8. Ralt RT1/76 [29] (Geoff Brabham): Ralt records show as sold to Geoff Brabham in 1976, probably being delivered in early June. Used by him until the end of 1978 then sold to Ken Thorogood's Hub of the Universe Racing for Osamu Hatagawa to use in British races.
  9. March 773 [U1] (Mario Ferraris): March works records show this as Mario Ferraris' works car for 1977 built on tub AM773-14 and rebuilt after Ferraris' Monaco accident on tub AM773-65. Sold in March 1978 to Neasrader Film Production for Richard Morgan according to the works records. Motoring News 30 Mar 1978 p11 says that Morgan's car is ex King, but we know from reports and the works records that King's main car was 773-U2. However, that car was damaged in the 1977 season and it is possible that King used 773-U1 after its rebuild as Ferraris' damaged wrist took longer to recover than the car did. Sold to John Bright in 1979 to replace his wrecked 773-13 and its identity eventually perhaps blurred with that car in a rebuild after a heavy accident.
  10. March 773 [13] (Aryon Cornelsen Filho): Shown in March records as a works car finished February 1977, on tub AM773-28 for Ayron Cornelson Filho. Also used by David Kennedy in 1977. Sold to John Bright in March 1978 to cover for his damaged Wheatcroft. Damaged badly by Bright and rebuilt on new tub in August. Retained by Bright in 1979 until wrecked at Snetterton.
  11. March 753 [14] (Wyatt Stanley): Originally a car belonging to the B&O team in 1975, when used by Pierre Dieudonné. Chassis number for this car and its sister, driven by Hervé Regout, observed by AF at Oulton Park 4 October 1975. Sold to Ken Silverstone for the 1976 season [Autosport 2 Sep 1976 p33 says his car is ‘ex Dieudonné.) To Wyatt Stanley in mid 1977 and retained by him for the 1978 season.
  12. Chevron B38 [38.77.19] (Ian Grob): New to Alan Docking Racing for Ian Grob to race in British F3 in 1977, entered by KVG Racing. Retained by the Docking team for 1978, and probably the car driven by Huub Rothengatter in the last few months of the season. Unknown after 1979 until it reappeared with Jim Yardley in 1984. Later with David Proctor in 1987.
  13. Chevron B38 [38.77.02] (Chris Farrell): New to Chris Farrell for British F3 in 1977. To Barry Green for 1979, and run for him in British F3 by Fred Opert Racing. Last used by Green in July 1978, and then unknown until seen with Mike Brown in Sprints in 1984 …

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.

Individual sources for this event

Autosport 17 Mar 1977 p39; Motoring News 17 Mar 1977 p12; BARC archives.