Players (Canadian) Formula B Series Race

Sanair, 4 Jun 1972

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. March 722 [71BM-10?] (Ian Coristine): The talented but cash-strapped Ian Coristine (Montréal, Quebec) had run his own March 71BM in 1971, but for 1972 rented an updated car from Ecurie Canada. The 71BM, probably Wilson Southam's old car, was updated to side-radiator 722 specification by team mechanic Tom Greatorex. Coristine stayed with the team for 1973 but the car was put back to 71BM specification. The team almost ran out of money mid-summer, but were rescued by a sponsorship deal with Schweppes. The 71BM was then sold to Mauro Lanaro (Montréal, Quebec) and used in Canadian Formula Atlantic in 1974. Coristine recalls that this car was destroyed in a transporter fire on its way to a race at Debert, but the exact date of this has yet to be determined. Lanaro then bought another 71BM to replace it.
2. Brabham BT29 (Derek Johnson): Peter Roberts (Granby, Quebec) raced a Brabham BT29 in 1970, appearing as #71 in the main Canadian series and as #1 in the Molson (Quebec Region) Championship. His best results came in the Molson series with two third places at Mont-Tremblant. Roberts had earlier raced a BT29 that he had borrowed from "an Ontario racer" but whether this 1970 car was the same one is unknown. Robert did not continue in Formula B after 1970 and after sitting around unused for 18 months, the BT29 was sold to Derek Johnson (Montreal, Quebec) who was making a comeback after injury. The Montreal Gazette quoted Johnson's chief crew Bob Beale saying that nobody had driven it for a year, and Roberts' mechanic John Lo Bosco confirmed that Roberts' BT29 went to Johnson. Johnson bought the car the Friday before the opening race at Sanair and it was rented by Ian Coristine for that race after his new March 722 could not be readied in time. Raced by Johnson for the rest of the 1972 season. Subsequent history unknown.
3. March 722 [23] (Roy Folland): Roy Folland (Montréal, Quebec) raced a blue March 722 in the early rounds of the British Formula Atlantic series in 1972, before taking the car to Canada and running in the Players Canadian Formula B series. Sold for 1973 to Bruce Jensen (Kitchener, Ontario) and raced in the Players Canadian series. Sold to Edmond Villa (Clark, NJ), and raced in a New England Region SCCA Regional at Lime Rock in April 1974. In January 1976, he advertised a 722 in Competition Press & Autoweek from Port St Lucie, FL. Ed sold it to Folis Jones (Chesapeake, VA), who raced a March in SEDiv events in 1976 and 1977, and in SCCA Regionals at Summit Point in 1978 and 1979. This would be the March 722 with '77 bodywork advertised by Jones in December 1978 and February 1979. Subsequent history unknown.
4. March 722 (Hugh "Wink" Bancroft): Hugh "Wink" Bancroft (Newport Beach, CA) raced a blue-and-white #82 March 722 in Formula B in 1972, under his own Bancroft Motorsport banner. He retained the car for 1973, when it ran as #12 and was fitted with Falconer bodywork. Later that season, the car was rented to Rocky Moran for a few races. Bancroft appeared in a few SCCA races at Riverside in the car during 1974, when it was still wearing Falconer bodywork. Subsequent history unresolved, but Richard Paul recalls buying this car for the 1975 season, when BDA engines were allowed in Pro races but not in SCCA races, fitting 732 bodywork and using it as a spare car.
5. Chevron B18 [18.71.1] (John Powell): A new car built for Brian Redman after he wrecked the development B18 while testing in South Africa. Fitted with a 1.8-litre Cosworth FVC engine and raced by Redman in two races in South Africa in January 1971. This car returned to Bolton and became the works entry in F2 for Chris Craft during the 1971 F2 season. It was then sold to Canadian John Powell and rebuilt to Formula B specification. Powell raced it in the Brands Hatch Boxing Day meeting at the end of 1971 and then loaned it to Brian Robertson to race in the two Bogotá FB races in February and March 1972. Raced by Powell (Ottawa, Ontario) in the Canadian FB series in 1972, Sold to Paul Wheatley (Montréal, Quebec) and raced in the Canadian series in 1973. Wheatley appeared on a couple of early-1974 entry lists but the car was not seen again until he advertised it in April 1975.
6. Brabham BT38B [13] (Eligio Siconolfi): New to Eligio Siconolfi (Montréal, Quebec, Canada), who raced in the Canadian FB series in 1972, sponsored by Downtown Datsun Ltd. To Peter Overing (Montreal, Quebec) for 1973, but only seen at Sanair in June. Entered by Overing for Reg Scullion (Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Montréal, Quebec) in the Players Canadian Formula Atlantic series in 1974, but still with a Ford twin cam engine. Overing then acquired a March 74B for Scullion, and the Brabham was sold to Cliff Dawson (Mount Royal, Quebec), who fitted a BDA engine and raced it in Formula Atlantic in 1975, 1976 and 1977. After racing it in Regionals in the late 1970, Dawson converted the car to Can-Am specification with a body built in Montreal by Francis Cordolle and ran it in this form in Can-Am from 1980 to 1983, still with the 1600cc Cosworth BDA engine. According to Doug Waters, it was "sold in July 1984 to Martin Handforth in Ottawa, who soon sold it to Pennsylvania". (Note that Handforth had owned and raced a different BT38 in Quebec events in 1981.) Subsequent history unknown.
7. Brabham BT35 [6] (Nick Cook): New to Nick Cook and used in the British Formula Atlantic series in 1971. Retained for early 1972, but Cook does not appear in the UK after the end of April and this is probably the car taken to the USA to use in the SCCA series in 1972. Used by Rob Turnbull in British hillclimbs in 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1976. Sold to Andrew Fraser (Newton Abbot, Devon), and shared by him and Tim Painter in Sprints in 1977. Retained by Fraser for 1978 and 1979, and appeared at Wiscombe Park events in 1980 and 1982. Then via David McLaughlin to Keith Norman about 1984 and used by him in HSCC events in the 1980s and 1990s. To Rob Haze (Netherlands) between 1992 and 1995, and then back to Norman again. To John Dunham April 2001, then to Ben Tyler 2003, then Peter Shaw 2004, then Dr John Monson 2007.
8. March 722 [71BM/1] (Reg Scullion): Gordie Dewar was appointed March importer into Canada for 1971 and his first purchase, chassis 71BM-1, went to Delta Racing Developments for Ian Coristine (Montréal, Quebec) to race in the Players FB series. Coristine finished the season fifth in the red #50 March but crashed in practice for the final race, at Circuit Ste-Croix in October. The car went to Reg Scullion (Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Montréal, Quebec) for 1972 and it was entered for him by Kris Harrison's Ecurie Canada, and prepared by Andy Roe and Tom Greatorex. Ecurie Canada had also bought Wilson Southam's engine manufacturing business, acquiring Greatorex with it, and were preparing the engines in Scullion's car. Scullion started the season racing in Nationals in Texas before returning to Canada for the Players season. He ended the Canadian season in ninth place but then returned to the US to finish second in the SCCA Run-Offs. He retained the car for 1973 as a Scullion-Donolo Racing entry, and it was raced by partner Louis "Lou" Donolo (Montréal, Quebec) once or twice. Subsequent history unknown.
9. Brabham BT29 [34] (Ken Huband): Ken Huband (Ottawa, Ontario) ran a red/black #15 Brabham BT29 in Canadian and US Formula B in 1970, first appearing at Mont-Tremblant 24 May 1970. He retained the car in 1971 and in 1972. Huband advertised the BT29 in CP&A 21 Oct 1972 as "Brabham BT29/34", implying it was chassis 34. Several BT29 owners had mentioned the chassis numbers of the cars in adverts, presumably to emphasise the newer cars. Peter Nye arranged the sale of the car to Bill Wolfe, a dentist in Austin, Texas, but Wolfe later pulled out of a deal with Nye to assemble the car for him. Subsequent history unknown.
10. March 722 [71BM-8?] (Gilles Léger): Wilson Southam acquired two red March 71BMs for Canadian Formula B in 1971, one for Randy Fraser and one for himself. Fraser's was the first to appear, running as the #54 Tartan Fraser entry and is most likely to have been 71BM-8. In early 1972, the car was sold to Gilles Léger (Lachute, Quebec) and updated to 722 specification by Tom Greatorex, who also prepared the car for Léger. Then to Patricia Smith (Montréal, Quebec) in 1973 entered as #51 by P.S. Translations. Subsequent history unknown.
11. Chevron B18C (Carl Liebich): Carl Liebich (Plymouth, Wisconsin) raced a yellow Chevron B18 in SCCA Nationals in 1971, entered as #78. In 1972 he ran a yellow Chevron B18C, presumed to be the same car, entered as #79, and used in the Pro Formula B series, in the Players Canadian Formula B series, and in SCCA Nationals. Also raced by Liebich at Caracas in March 1973. Advertised by Opert as ex-Liebich, and blue-and-yellow in February 1973, and sold to Frank Sangiorgio (North Babylon, Long Island, NY) who raced it SCCA and EMRA racing around Bridgehampton from 1973 to 1975 at least. Sangiorgio was EMRA Formula B champion for 1973. He advertised the car in in September 1976. Subsequent history unknown.
12. Lola T240 (Bill Middleton): Bill Middleton (Newport Beach, CA) bought a yellow #31 Lola T240 late in the 1971 Southern Pacific FB season to replace an elderly Brabham BT21C. He won enough points in this car to clinch second place in the division. Retained for 1972 and used in both Pro and SPDiv events, winning the division by a considerable margin. Last seen in late July 1972, after which Middleton acquired a Brabham BT38B. Advertised by Fred Opert in October 1972 and again in February 1973, implying it had gone to Opert in part-exchange when Middleton bought the Brabham. Subsequent history unknown.
13. Chevron B18 (Aubrey O'Connor): Aubrey O'Connor (Memphis, TN) raced a Chevron B18 as part of the Fred Opert team in Formula B in 1972, entered as either #78 or #88, and at least once in SCCA Nationals where he was entered as #24 and gave his home town as New York, NY. O’Connor also raced a Triumph Spitfire in SCCA F Production in 1971 and 1972, and then moved to USAC stock car racing with a Pontiac in 1973. He was born in Craighead County, Arkansas on 30 December 1938 and died in Memphis, TN in November 2011. Nothing more is known of the Chevron.
14. Chevron B20 [20.72.05] (Brian Robertson): Sold via Fred Opert and entered for Brian Robertson (Brockville, Ontario, Canada) in Formula B in 1972. To Ferguson/Wilson Racing Team for 1973 and raced by former Miss Canada pageant finalist Linda Wilson in Canadian Formula B. Due to be driven by Ric Forest at Trois-Rivières in September but teammate Peter Ferguson "wiped out" the sister car on the Saturday so took over Wilson's car for the race. Only one of the B20s was seen in 1974, driven by Ferguson, and it seems likely it was the ex-Wilson car. Advertised by Fred Opert in June 1975, suggesting it had returned to Opert in part exchange for Ferguson's new Chevron B29. Advertised again by Opert in early November 1975. Subsequent history unknown until bought as a rolling chassis by Ed Swart from somebody on the east coast who had been trying to restore it. It was black at that stage, and Ed repainted it to orange, the Dutch racing colours, and fitted a BDA engine as he completed the restoration. Raced by Swart from 1989 to February 1993, winning VARA's historic Formula Atlantic West coast title in 1992. Swart then acquired a Chevron B45, and the B20 was sold to Richard Morrison in Tennessee in February 1996.

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.

The 1971-1973 Canadian Formula B race results have been compiled by Chris Townsend based on material in Canadian Motorsport Bulletin, results sheets where available and from information drawn from Canadian newspapers.

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.