SCCA Continental Championship for Formula B/C Race

Riverside, 20 Apr 1969

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. Brabham BT21 (Jon Milledge): Jon Milledge (Mountain View, CA) visited England to buy a Brabham for 1968. Having found that factory prices were outside his budget, he was persuaded by Frank Williams to buy a BT21 development car from MRD which Williams then had modified by Arch Motors and built up to full BT21C specification. He focused on the FRA 'Pro' series in 1968, winning at Vaca Valley and Santa Ana, and also won two NorPac Nationals, beating eventual champion Mike Eyerly. He continued his battle with Eyerly in the Pro series in 1969, beating him at Riverside and finishing second at Laguna Seca and Sears Point. The BT21/21C was sold to Mike Hansen (Belmont, CA) for 1970 who used it to win the 1970 Northern Pacific Division Formula B class. The car was then blue-and-white and entered at #40 as a BT21C. He swapped to a new Brabham BT35 for 1971 and retained his title. This is presumably the "ex-Hansen" "BT21/29" advertised by Hayes Racing Equipment (Santa Ana, CA) in March 1971. Subsequent history unknown.
2. Brabham BT18 (Mike Eyerly): Bill Gubelmann (Oyster Bay, NY) ran a red Brabham BT18 with 1.1-litre Cosworth SCC engine in Formula C in 1967, winning seven Nationals and setting lap records right down the east coast. He advertised the car in Autoweek on 18 November 1967 as a late 1966 BT18 chassis with 140bhp Cosworth SCC engine, and it then went to Fred Opert, presumably traded on Gubelmann's new BT23F. From Opert it was sold to Mike Eyerly (Salem, OR) and raced in the Pacific northwest, winning several Regional SCCA events. He kept the orange BT18 when he moved into the SCCA national Formula B series in 1969 and completely dominated the series, winning six of the first nine races and finishing second in another two. Advertised in October 1969. Subsequent history unknown.
3. Brabham BT21C [12] (Charlie Adams): New to Charles W. Adams (Springfield, IL, but then living in Manhattan Beach, CA) via Jim Russell, who then had a racing school at Willow Springs. Charlie Adams was a regular in Formula B with this car from mid-1968 to 1971, his car being green, and entered as #64. Adams won the Southern Pacific Division FB title in 1969 but did not score any points in 1970 and his appearances in the Pro series ceased after the Laguna Seca race in June. In 1971, he scored just two points in the SPDiv championship, for fifth place at the Riverside National in July, and only appeared at one Pro race, the Edmonton round in August. Subsequent history unknown, but the BT21C was bought in the US by Australian Gary Simkin who was working there, and returned with him to Australia in March 1983. It was sold to George Goodare (Sydney, NSW), rebuilt and used in historic racing. It was owned by Peter Addison (Sydney, NSW) then sold to Howard Blight (Sydney, NSW) 1989. and then via Rob Bailey (Victoria) 1998 to Nereo Dizane (Sydney, NSW) December 1998. Dizane died in 2004, aged only 53, but his collection of cars has been kept together by his wife Anna Dizane (Wantirna, Victoria).
4. Lotus 41C (Dave Dours): Dave Dours appeared in 1969 in a Lotus variously referred to as a Lotus-BRM and a Lotus 41, implying it was one of the 41Cs.
5. Brabham BT21A [7] (Joe Alves): New to Dave Webster (Newport Beach, CA) for Formula B in 1967, finishing second in SPDiv division. To Joe Alves (Sherman Oaks, CA), who raced it from the start of 1968 to mid-1969, finishing fourth in SoPac FB in 1968 and fifth in 1969. Then to John Coolick (Wilmington, CA) who raced it in local Formula B, generally at Riverside, from 1970 to 1975. Advertised by Coolick with a big valve twin cam engine in October 1975. Subsequently to Eric Stromwall 1977, then Todd Bishop 1979, and then John Dixon 1989. Bought by Tim Kuchel (Adelaide, Australia) in early 2006, then sold to Frank Arronis (Sydney, Australia) in 2020.
6. Titan Mk3 (Harvey Snow): Harvey Snow (San Jose, CA) raced a white Team CIRT Titan in Formula C in west coast SCCA and Pro events during 1969, qualifying for the Run-Offs. Retained for 1970 and again qualified for the Run-Offs. Subsequent history unknown.
7. McLaren M4B [200-10B] (Dow "Jack" Byers II): New to Robert Amey in June 1967 to be driven by Chuck Dietrich (Sandusky, OH) in Formula B, winning the FB class in six Central Division SCCA Nationals and also finishing firth in the Pro race at Mont-Tremblant. Dietrich bought a pair of new M4Bs for 1968 and his 1967 car was sold to Henry H. Hester (La Jolla, CA). Hester ran it in SCCA Nationals through 1968 and then sold it to Dow J. Byers II (San Diego, CA) who used it through 1969 and into early 1970. Probably the car of Clifton Wells (Lynwood, CA) at Ontario in July 1971 and Riverside in April 1972. Believed to have gone to Chuck Hayes at some point but history then unknown until owned by Ed Donnelly (Los Angeles, CA) in 1987. Then via Jim Miller and Rob Merrel (both now deceased) to Jim Brown (San Diego, CA) in 1991 who commissioned a complete restoration including a new tub built by Marc Bahner. In 2004, Brown sold the car to Brian Andrews (San Francisco, CA) who raced it in CSRG events in 2005 and 2006. Sold by Andrews via Fantasy Junction (Emeryville, CA) to Bill Hodder (Nagambie, Victoria, Australia) in 2011.
8. McLaren M4A (Stan Huddleston): Stan Huddlestone raced a McLaren Formula B in the Riverside Pro FB race in April 1969. He was not on the entry list, and was near the back during qualifying. Huddlestone did not appear again in Pro FB but the SCCA Southern Pacific Division Formula B table for 1969 shows him scoring four points for CSCC Region (Cal Club). However, his car is shown in the table as a Brabham, and it maybe that he drove a Brabham at Riverside which was misreported as a McLaren. Nothing more known.
9. McLaren M4A (Ron Attig): Ron Attig (El Cajon, CA) had a McLaren Formula B in the early months of the 1969 season. After failing to start at SCCA Regional at Stardust International in February 1969, Attig competed in the Riverside and Laguna Seca Pro FB races in April and May but was not seen again. The SCCA Southern Pacific Division Formula B table for 1969 shows him scoring four points for San Diego Region, but in a Brabham. He would have scored four points for his third place finish at Sears Point in late March, but reports at the time said he was driving the McLaren. Nothing more known.
10. Brabham BT18 [F2-48-66] (Gerry Bruihl): The early history of this car is unknown but its chassis number, recorded in paperwork still owned by Ron Brown, suggests it would have been built very late in 1966, probably after the end of the regular SCCA season. Its first known race was at Mont-Tremblant 17 Sep 1967 where it was driven by well-known west coast racing car dealer Pierre Phillips (Portland, OR). In the summer of 1968, Ron Brown (Portland, OR) bought a Brabham BT18 from Phillips and is sure this would have been his Mont-Tremblant car. Brown shared the drive with Gerry Bruihl (Sausalito, CA) in 1968 and 1969 and ran the car from Bruihl's Competition Motors, a sports car repair shop in NW Portland. In 1970, Brown shared the drive with Russ Harness (also Portland, OR) but then sold the Brabham to John Ransom (also Portland, OR) who Ron believes sold it to someone in Vancouver.
11. Titan Mk3 (Earl Jones): Earl Jones (Perkin, IL or Hermosa Beach, CA) raced a yellow-and-blue Titan in Formula B through 1969. He raced as #81 at Seattle and Road America in July, which had been Ed Leslie's number in the first four races, suggesting Jones took over Leslie's car when the series moved away from the west coast. The results for the opening round are ambiguous. It is possible that Jones took over Leslie's car for the race, and that Leslie's retirement after zero laps actually undicates that he was a non-starter. Jones then raced as #75 for the six remaining races of the season. In SCCA Nationals, Jones raced a Formula Ford Titan. Nothing more known.
12. Brabham BT21A (Ray France): Terry Petmecky (Austin, TX) raced a Lotus 22 in SWDiv Formula B in 1967 but met with little success against the dominant Gus Hutchison team of Lotus 41Cs. Right at the end of the year he took delivery of a Brabham BT21A and finished second in the National at Selma in this car. In 1968 he took the Brabham to Bob Winkelmann but was forced to give up racing due to eyesight problems. F1 driver Alan Rees was holidaying in the Las Vegas area in early 1968 when he raced the car for Winkelmann in the SCCA National at Stardust Raceway. Winkelmann also entered it for Tony Settember at the Tuscon National in April 1968 and it is likely to be the car in which Settember scored 6 points in SoPac FB in 1968. Winkelmann advertised the car in CP&A 23 Mar 1968 as a "Winkelmann-Brabham BT21" with Winkspeed engine. To Ray France (Redondo Beach, CA), and raced during 1968 and 1969, entered as #2 by Centaur Racing Associates. This may have become the basis of the blue-and-gold #29 "Centaur Brabham" raced by France in 1970.
13. Titan Mk3 (Ed Leslie): Ed Leslie (Monterey, CA) raced a yellow Team CIRT Titan in the first four races of the 1969 SCCA Pro Formula B championship. He was entered as #81 on three occasions and #84 on the other. Finished third at Laguna Seca in May and second at Continental Divide in June. After retiring from the Sears Point race in June with a blown head gasket, he was not seen again. Leslie also appeared in Northern Pacific Division's first two SCCA Nationals, finishing second in both. Earl Jones then appeared at #81 on the entry list at the next two races and it is possible that he took over Leslie's car. However, both had appeared together at the opening race of the season so there must have been two distinct FB cars. For 1970, Butch Owsley (Aptos, CA) bought the ex-Ed Leslie FB Titan to use in the SCCA Pro series and in the FRA series. Subsequent history unknown.
14. Brabham BT21C (Fred Opert): Bob Welch (Alexandria, VA) raced a black #23 Brabham BT21C in 1968, racing in Washington DC Region Regionals, scoring 15 pts in NEDiv FB and also appearing at the Lime Rock Pro FB race in Sep 1968. The car was described as "brand new" at the Marlboro Regional on 26 May 1968. He advertised the car in CP&A 28 Dec 1968. As Welch ordered a Brabham BT29 for 1969, this is likely to be the #23 car entered by Fred Opert for himself to drive early in 1969 as the BT29s were late. 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.

1970 US FB results were compiled from Autoweek reports by Jim Thurman; 1971 results were transcribed from Autoweek by Allen Brown and 1972 results were compiled by Chris Townsend from an SCCA results publication.

The US Formula B series did not continue in 1973 but a race was organised in Caracas in March 1973 that fits here probably better than anywhere else, as do the occasional SCCA F/Atlantic and FB races in 1974 and 1975.

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.