Rothmans F5000 Championship round

Mondello Park, 2 May 1971

All cars are 5-litre F5000 unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. Surtees TS8 [005] (Mike Hailwood): Built for 1971 season and run by Team Surtees for Mike Hailwood to race in the 1971 British F5000 series. Hailwood won the opening race and also at Mallory Park and Silverstone later in the season to finish second in the championship. Sold to Belgian driver Hervé Bayard for 1972, reportedly together with a works spare car. Bayard raced it in one early season F5000 race at Mallory Park, but his main focus was hillclimbing in Europe. He had the car fitted with a Cosworth DFV engine and competed in the French and European series, winning overall at La Bachellerie, Turckheim-Trois-Epis, Les Andelys and Soissons. He finished second overall in the European championship. Bayard also used the Surtees-DFV at the Rothmans 50,000 on 28 August 1972 but did not qualify. After the 1972 season, the car was rebuilt back to Formula 5000 specification and entered by Ecurie Bonnier (Geneva, Switzerland) for Rolf Tellsten in the F5000 race at Mallory Park on 28 May 1973 but he and the car did not arrive. Ecurie Bonnier had been taken over by Heini Mader since Jo Bonnier's death. In February 1974, Ecurie Bonnier advertised six cars for sale in Autosport, including a Surtees TS8 that was "chassis only". The Surtees was later sold to engine builder Louis Morand (La Tour-de-Trême, Switzerland) and was stored at Mader's workshop at Gland, Switzerland until 1978. It then moved to Morand's workshop and was restored to F5000 specification, with a view to Benoît Morand, Louis' son, driving it. This didn't happen, and the car remained stored until sold to Peter Hoffmann (Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany) in 1982. Hoffman also did not race the car, and sold it in 1989 to Rainer Jacobi (Mainz), who restored the car and ran it in historic events in 1990 and 1991.
2. Brabham BT30 [12] (Tommy Reid): Autosport identifies BT30-12 as Reid's F2 car in 1971 implying BT30-8 was his FVC libre car. As BT30-8 is advertised by Bobby Howlings in late 1971, it is reasonable to assume that it was BT30-12 that Reid retained for the early part of 1972, still FVA-powered. That car goes to Nelson Todd in July 1972 and according to David McKinney was then John Pollock's 1973 car, Harold McGarrity's 1974 car, and then the BT30 of Paddy Heron (Draperstown, County Londonderry) from 1975 to 1977. This would be the BT30 rolling chassis advertised from a Draperstown phone number in Autosport in June 1978. Sold some time after by Manchester dealer Bobby Howlings to Chris Charlett in Trinidad, later returning to the UK via Howlings again, presuably in a trade for the BT40 that Charlett later raced. The BT30 next appeared in 1986 when it and a BT18 were bought in Staffordshire by Mike Freeman (Staunton, Gloucestershire). Subsequently sold by Freeman to Roger Murray (Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria) in 1990 and raced by son James on a few occasions. Sold to Neil Glover (Ansty, West Sussex) by 2004 and then to Michael Scott in 2006.
3. Brabham BT30 [6] (John Smith): Bought by Mick Mooney's Irish Racing Cars for Alan Rollinson to race in F2 in 1969. Retained for 1970 but raced only at Phoenix Park as it still had 1969-style aluminium fuel tanks which weren't allowed in 1970. Raced at Bogotá early 1971 when Rollinson won the second race. Then to John Smith (Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland) for Irish 1600cc racing, winning first time out at Mondello Park in April 1971. To Ken Walker (Harrogate, North Yorkshire) for 1972 and raced in northern English libre racing. Advertised by Adrian Bethall of Northern Racing Spares (Sheffield, South Yorkshire) in January 1973. Subsequent history unknown. At some point in the early 1980s, a BT30 was reputedly sold by dealer Jon Blackburn to Otford Group's Jim Wallis (Edenbridge, Kent) who restored it and raced it in HSCC events from 1982 to 1985. Its HSCC papers issued in 1984 identify it as BT30-6. It then passed via Bobby Howlings to Tony Thompson in 1986 but he did not like the car and had sold it to Australian Chris Farrell by 1987. Retained in Farrell's collection for many years. Fully restored in 2006 and raced in Tasman Revival events.
4. Crosslé 19F [19F-70-01] (Ken Fildes): New for Luke Duffy and entered by him for Ken Fildes to drive in Irish libre racing in 1970, fitted with a Cosworth FVA engine. Duffy and Fildes retained the car for 1971, and retained it again for the first few races of the 1972 season before Duffy's new 22F was completed. It appears that the 19F was then sold to John Campbell Graham in Scotland to replace the 18F that he had wrecked at Cadwell Park. He fitted the car with the Alan Smith FVC engine from the 18F and raced it in this form in libre racing for the rest of 1972. The car was next seen when advertised by Peter Vernon-Kell (London) in March 1975 as "195/70/01" [sic] fully rebuilt less engine, and then advertised again in April 1979 when it was fitted with "1979 Reynard bodywork" but was still lacking an engine. The car was finally rediscovered by Arnie Black in Guernsey in 1986, still with its Reynard bodywork, fully restored at the Crosslé factory and fitted with a Cosworth BDA engine for HSCC racing. Black raced the car in HSCC events in the late 1980s and early 1990s, winning the the HSCC Racing Car Championship in 1993 and 1995. It was raced by Bill Wood in an HSCC Derek Bell Trophy race in 2001, and by John Monson in HSCC Derek Bell Trophy races in 2005. It was sold by Monson to Brian Cullen in 2012 or 2013.
5. McLaren M18 [500-01] (Brian Redman): See full history: McLaren M18 500-01.
6. Crosslé 18F [18F.70.02] (Brian Nelson): New for Brian Nelson to use in a libre race at Kirkistown on 22 August 1970 in Formula B specification with a Ford twin cam. Sent to the US where it was raced by US Crosslé agent Roger Barr in the Formula B races at Mosport Park and Mid-Ohio in September. Nelson then drove the car in a high-profile FB race at Sebring in October and won. The car was returned to Ireland and converted to F2 specification for Nelson to race in the Mallory Park F2 in March 1971, where Autosport described it as "the 1970 Formula B car which won at Sebring, hastily modified to F2 and virtually untested in this form". Nelson drove the car in this form in Irish libre racing through the 1971 season. In October, the car was fitted with an 1800cc Cosworth FVC engine for the Dublin Trophy libre race at Mondello, and it was then sold in this form to John Campbell Graham in Scotland for libre racing in Scotland and England in 1972. In April 1972, Campbell Graham crashed the car heavily into the bank at Cadwell Park and the next time he was seen, his car was said to be the 19F, so he had presumably exchanged the crashed 18F for the 19F. The subsequent history of the 18F is unknown, but it has never resurfaced so its life may have ended at Cadwell. However, in June 1974 Ecurie Santos Racing (Edgeware, Middlesex) advertised a Crossle 19F which was described as "ex-Works, ex-Tommy Reid, ex-Brian Nelson Irish Libre Championships car". Reid did not drive either an 18F or a 19F, but Nelson had driven both 18Fs, so this could be the ex-Campbell Graham 18F or it could be the 19F that Campbell Graham is thought to have bought to replace the 18F, but somehow with the Nelson history sticking to it. This could then be the "completely rebuilt" 19F advertised by Peter Vernon-Kell in London nine months later.
7. Beattie P1100B ['1'] (Lingard Goulding): Built mid-1970 for Lingard Goulding to race in Formula 5000, and in occasional libre races. Retained for 1971 in 'P1100B' specification, but crashed heavily by Goulding at Mallory Park in early July and written off.
8. Lola T190 [190/F1/7] (Kaye Griffiths): New to Doug Hardwick's Henley Forklift team for the 1970 British Formula 5000 series. Raced by Mo Nunn (2 races), Davey Powell (7 races + 2 DNS) and Trevor Taylor (6 races) in 1970. To Kaye Griffiths (2 races + 1 DNQ), Terry Sanger (1 race only), Ian Ashley (3 races) and Tony Trimmer (1 race only) in 1971, during which time it was acquired by Rocky Plumridge. Retained by Plumridge for 1972 and raced by Ian Ashley (9 F5000 races, and DNQ for the Rothmans 50,000). 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.

1969-1976 UK results have been researched and collated by Chris Townsend based primarily on material in Autosport and Motoring News. Information has been added from the growing collection of entry lists from programs.

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.