SCCA Continental Championship for Formula B/C Race

Brainerd, 15 Aug 1971

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. Chevron B18 (Freddy van Beuren): Freddy van Beuren (Estad de Mexico, Mexico) raced a orange/yellow Chevron B18 as part of the Fred Opert team in Formula B in 1971. The car was advertised by Opert in October 1971 but was not sold and is likely to be the car that van Beuren raced in Bogotá in February and March 1972. Van Beuren then took over as chief instructor at the Opert Racing School at Bridgehampton, and the next time he and the B18 were seen was at Brainerd in September 1972. The B18 was then taken over by Bill Brack for two late-season races, and was advertised by Opert in February 1973. It is probably the Opert-entered car raced by Bobby Dennett at Caracas in March 1973. Subsequent history unknown, but thought to be the car sold to Dean Lundgreen.
2. March 71BM [4?] (Bob Lazier): Robert Lazier (Vail, CO) raced a black March 71BM in the SCCA Pro Formula B series and in SCCA Nationals in 1971. The car was sold to James King ( East St Louis, IL) for 1972, when it was repainted green and yellow and entered as #22 in Pro FB and in Nationals. King qualified the car for the 1972 Runoffs, but retired. This may be the car he raced at Mid-America Raceway in May 1973, before his March 73B was delivered. Subsequent history unknown.
3. Brabham BT35 [39] (Allan Lader): New to Allan Lader in 1971 to replace the Brabham BT29 he had wrecked at Mexico City in June. Entered by Pacifico Inc. (Gresham, OR), and used by Lader to win at Road America in August and Mosport in September. Based on an annotation in a race program, this car is believed to be chassis BT35/39 (although a F3 car appeared in Germany in 1972 which is said to have the same chassis number). Presumably the Brabham BT35 entered by Pacifico for Frank Fitch at Riverside 24 Sep 1972 and, by extension, the Brabham raced by Fitch in other west coast events in 1972. Enetred by Fitch once in 1973. Subsequent history unknown.
4. March 712M [71BM-2?] (Bill Gubelmann): New for Bill Gubelmann (Oyster Bay, NY) and used in British Formula Atlantic at the start of the season, winning at Oulton Park 21 March, and then in the SCCA Pro Formula B series. The car was often described as a 712M but it seems more likely that he used the same 712BM all season. Also raced with a BDA in the Formula A race at Lime Rock in Sep and in one round of the Canadian series. Sold via Joe Grimaldi's The Race Shop to Frank Del Vecchio (Trumbull, CT) and used in NEDiv FB and in a couple of rounds of the Pro series. Sold back via Joe Grimaldi at the end of 1972; Frank thinks it went to a Canadian, and it is very likely to have been the car driven by Ken Huband, Norm Joy and David Westgate in 1973 and 1974. Sold to Mauro Lanaro (Montréal, Quebec) to replace the 71BM he lost in a transporter fire in 1974. Significantly modified in 1976 as the Lanaro Special with triangular sidepods, a different nose, and with its Cosworth BDA engine laid on its side. This car went through many evolutions, and was still being raced by Lanaro right up to 1995 when it was used in a vintage event. Lanaro eventually rebuilt to original 71BM specification about 1999. In late 2018, it was part of a package of cars bought from Lanaro by David Clubine (Brantford, ON), and was sold to a collector in Ontario.
5. Brabham BT35 [9] (Nick Craw): New to Nick Craw, and raced initially in the British Formula Atlantic series at the start of 1971 before moving to the North American SCCA series in May. Borrowed by Alan Lader for the 1971 SCCA Runoffs. Raced by Craw at Bogotá in early 1972, then sold to Bob Schutt (Kirkwood, MO) for Midwest Division SCCA FB in 1972 and 1973. Sold to Dorsey Schroeder (Manchester, MO) and raced by him 1974, 1975 and 1976. Then to Mike Mahan in 1976 or 1977 for autocross, and next to Greg Scharnburg in 1980, also for autocross. In October 2001, it was bought from Scharnburg by Mike Winebrenner (Sellersburg, Indiana).
6. Lola T240 (Jim Sarich): Jim Sarich (McLean, VA/Rockville, MD) drove a silver/black/orange #67 Quicksilver Racing Ent Inc Lola T240 in the 1971 US FB Pro series. Nothing more known.
7. Lola T240 (Rocky Moran): Rocky Moran (Arcadia, CA) raced a black #10 Lola T240 in the 1971 US FB Pro series. At the end of the season, Rocky recalls that he sold it to someone in Boulder, Colorado. This must be Bill Bachman (Boulder, CO/Nederland, CO) who raced a Transcendental Racing Lola in MWDiv Formula B in 1972. Bachman raced the Lola in a Wichita Region SCCA National at Hutchinson in June 1972, finishing second overall and winning the two-car FB class. He ended the season on 16 points and qualified for the Runoffs, Although he was a non-starter at Road Atlanta, his car was identified in the programme as a Lola T240. He retained the car for 1973, finishing third in class at MAR in May, but he did not add to his score so it is possible this car went to fellow Boulder resident Carl McIntyre who raced a Lola T240 in MWDiv FB later that season. Subsequent history unknown.
8. Lola T240 (George "Skipp" Walther): Skipp Walther (Dayton, OH) raced a royal blue or blue/silver #24 Lola T240 in the 1971 US FB Pro series. His last appearance was at Road America in August where he retired for unknown reasons. He did not appear in the CenDiv or NEDiv FB points table, implying he limited his appearances to the Pro series. Nothing more known.
9. Brabham BT35 [32] (Raúl Pérez Gama): Raúl Pérez Gama was one of several Mexican customers of Fred Opert racing in the early 1970s. For 1971, he had a brand new orange-and-yellow Brabham BT35 and raced as part of the Fred Opert Racing team in Pro Formula B events with entry number #66. He retained the car for the two Bogotá races in early 1972 after which BT35-32 has been identified as the car driven in SCCA events by Gordon Strom (Santa Cruz, CA or Sunnyvale, CA) in 1972 and for the following three seasons, retaining the car's original orange and yellow colours throughout. For 1976, Strom acquired a Chevron B29 and the Brabham may have been traded back to Fred Opert.
10. March 71BM [11?] (Joe Grimaldi): March dealer Joe Grimaldi ran a white #21 March 71BM in Pro Formula B events in 1971 and early 1972 for himelf and also for Dale Lang (Wilton, CT). Nothing more known.
11. Brabham BT21C (Bill Middleton): Bill Middleton (Temple City, CA, an eastern suburb of Los Angeles) raced a black Brabham BT21C in Formula B in 1971. He acquired a new Lola T240 in late August 1971. Nothing more known
12. Chevron B15b [FB-69-4?] (Jim Grob): Jim Grob (Ft Lauderdale, FL but later Pompano Beach, CA) raced a Chevron B15b in Pro racing in 1969 and also scored 24 points in Northeast Division FB, representing Northern New Jersey Region. He retained the car for 1970 and again for 1971, then mainly focusing his efforts on SCCA Divisional racing in Southeast Division. He finished second to Hugh Kleinpeter's sister car in 1970 but then won the Division in 1971. He changed to a new Chevron B20 for 1972.
13. Chevron B18 (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.
14. Brabham BT29 (Mike Rand): Matt Spitzley (then from Aspen, CO), had a Brabham BT29 for 1970 entered by his Spitzford Racing team (Detroit, Michigan). For 1971 the car was sold to Mike Rand (Riverside, CT/Greenwich, CT) who raced it in NEDiv FB, finishing third overall. It then went to Peter Regna in New Jersey for 1972, after which Regna recalls selling it to Ken Duclos. Duclos, however, does not remember buying it.
15. Chevron B18 [18.A.71.4?] (Warren Flickinger): Warren A. Flickinger II (Denver, CO) raced a gray Chevron B18 in the 1971 Pro Formula B series, entered as #42. After three races, he moved into SCCA Nationals, quickly amassing 16 points in Midwest Division FB, thanks to third place at Bonneville Raceway Park, third in class at Continental Divide at the beginning of October and then second at Fort Sumner a week later. Flickinger moved up to Formula A for 1972, and the subsequent history of the Chevron is unknown.
16. Brabham BT29 [33] (Philip Geraldi): This Brabham BT29, believed to be chassis BT29-33, was bought new by Michael F. Hall (Chicago, IL) and used in SCCA racing where Hall won the 1970 CenDiv FB title. He also raced it in the Pro series in the latter half of the season. Hall retained the red-and-yellow BT29 for the first half of 1971 but replaced it with a new BT35 in August and sold the BT29 to Phil Geraldi (Valley Stream, NY), who had previously raced a LeGrand in NEDiv FB. Geraldi raced it for the rest of 1971 and in 1972 then sold it to Charles J. Derbes III (Metairie, LA) in the spring of 1973. Derbes won the SWDiv Formula B title in this car in 1974 and attended the Run-Offs, finishing 12th. He was second in the Division in 1975 and tied with Warren Pauge for the 1976 title. Chaz Derbes has retained the BT29 ever since, still owning it in 2012.
17. Brabham BT35 [19] (Maurice McCaig): New to Maurice McCaig (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), and raced in the Canadian Formula B series in 1971 and 1972. To Hugh Cree (Georgetown, Ontario) for Canadian FB in 1973, and then for Canadian Formula Atlantic in 1974. Advertised by Cree in November 1974, when it had a 1972 big valve Hart. History then unknown until it was advertised in Victory Lane August 1990 by Bill Schley (Hartland, WI), who described it as a "very original car in excellent condition" with a Hart BDA and FT200. Oddly, in the same edition of Victory Lane, Bob Hildreth and Ken Petrie from a Denver, Colorado number advertised a BT35 with the same "# 35-19" serial number, which was "original unrestored" and "in storage for 12 years".
18. Brabham BT29 [41] (Dick Doherty): Bought new by Allen Karlberg (Seattle, WA) and raced in Formula B in the Pacific Northwest in 1970. Sold to Dick Doherty (Hollywood, CA) for Ron Dykes (Marina del Rey, CA) to race in early 1971 SoPac Div SCCA Nationals, where he was unbeatable in the category, and then by Doherty himself later in 1971 and in early 1972. Believed to have gone to Byron Hatten (Altadena, CA) and raced by him some time between mid-1972 and mid-1973 after which it was bought by Frank Monise Jr (Pasadena, CA). Monise raced it in 1973/74 before crashing it heavily at Laguna Seca and wrecking the frame. He bought a second BT29 and eventually sold the remains of BT29-41 to Barry Blackmore (San Marino, CA) who had it rebuilt with a new frame fabricated by Wayne Mitchell and stamped 'W12191'. This rebuilt, rechassised car was sold to Australia and was with Mitch Evans (Auckland, NZ) by 2009.
19. Brabham BT35 (James Gutfreund): New to Jim Gutfruend (Des Moines, Iowa), and raced by him in 1971 and 1972. To Joe Freeman (Boston, MA) for 1973, and raced by him for three seasons, finishing fourth in North East Division in 1974 and qualifying for the Runoffs. He planned to sell the car at the end of 1975, but in a final practice session at Lime Rock in October 1975 he hit a stalled B Production Camaro and had to be cut out of the wreck. The salvageable parts were sold to his fellow racers.
20. Brabham BT29 [48] (Thomas E. Kornell): Sold new to Tom Kornell (Seal Beach, CA) and raced in SCCA Divisional and Pro Formula B in 1971 and 1972. Kornell added a sports car nose and a more substantial rollhoop amongst other changes. He ordered a Brabham BT41 for 1973 and the BT29 went to Fred Opert as a trade. Subsequent history unknown.
21. Lola T240 [HU8] (Chuck Wannemacher): Identified as the red Lola T240 raced by Chuck Wannemacher (Ottoville, Ohio) in CenDiv and Pro FB events in 1971. Retained for 1972 but only seen rarely that season. To Ed Kasprowicz (Detroit, Michigan) for 1973 and raced in the Pro event at Watkins Glen that October. Retained for 1974 and 1975, continuing to race in CenDiv Regionals and Nationals, and picking up a surprise second in class at Mid-Ohio in July 1975. Subsequent history unknown.
22. March 71BM [3] (Ron Dykes): New to Chuck Willis's CRW Racing (Anaheim, CA) and leased to Jean de la Bruyere (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) for Max Mizejewski (Woodland Hills, CA) to race in SCCA Formula B in 1971 as "The Edmonton Flyer". De la Bruyere then split from CRW and Ron Dykes (Marina del Rey, CA) then took over the 71Bm for Pro Formula B races and SCCA Nationals for the rest of 1971. Sold to Bob Newton (Cupertino, CA) and run in Pro FB and SCCA Nationals in 1972, 1973 and 1974. It was also raced by Craig Fraser (Santa Cruz, CA) in 1973 and 1974 before Newton's last known appearance in it in late 1974. To Jim Van Horn (Orange, CA) and raced in Cal Club Regionals in late 1975. Van Horn bought a newer Chevron B27 for 1976, but returned to the March for 1977, which was rebuilt to 76B specification by Marc Bahner and fitted with a BDA engine. The car was registered with the SCCA in September 1977, but curiously used the chassis number of a March 722, 722-38. Van Horn raced this car up to 1980. To Bill Hill (Olympia, WA) in 1981, fitted with a Mazda engine and a sports car body and raced the car in SCCA ASR and in Can-Am as the "Marzda" or the "Banana Crate". Crashed in an SCCA Regional (NW Region) at Olympia Airport in September 1986. Hill then bought a Lola T360 and the March chassis stayed in the rafters of his garage for many years. After Hill died, the car was sold to Phil Creighton (Georgia) in mid-2017, and then by him to Kevan McLurg (Brighton, UK) in 2018. Sold to Bruce Balchin (Southampton) in July 2019.
23. Brabham BT29 [5] (Jiro Yoneyama): Nick Craw (Washington,DC) bought one of the first Brabham BT29s from local Brabham dealer Fred Opert, a car identified by Ted Walker of the Brabham Register as chassis BT29-5. Craw raced in SCCA events from August 1969 onwards, finishing second in the SEDiv FB championship by a single point, and in two Pro races. He continued with a BT29 in 1970 in Pro racing as part of Fred Opert Racing and to the best of his and Opert's recollection, used the same car. He bought a Brabham BT35 for 1971 but before this arrived in the US, he raced the BT29 once more, winning a National at Summit Point in April 1971. The car appeared in Fred Opert's stock list on 1 May, and on the reverse of one of this list, as sent by Opert's secretary Jeannie to Brabham historian Denis Lupton in 1971, a handwritten comment gives Craw's car as "BT29-5". A column by Craw in June 1972 said the car was sold to Jiro Yoneyama, a Japanese driver who raced a Brabham BT29 in US Formula B as part of Fred Opert's team. His car was white and ran as #76. The Road America entry list noted it was using a Hart engine. He was not seen after Road America in August 1971, and the BT29 was then sold to Gary Gove (Tacoma, WA) who raced it in SCCA Regional and ICSCC events in 1971 and 1972, It was reportedly crashed in 1972 and its later history is presently unresolved.
24. Lola T240 [HU4] (Syd Demovsky): New to Syd Demovsky (Chicago, IL) and his red #11 Demovsky Racing Lola T240 in the 1971 Pro FB series. Retained for 1972 and again did a full season, still red and still using #11. In June 1973 it was sold together with HU5 by Charlie Hayes to Eric Steele of Formula Cars Inc (Mansfield, Ohio). It is believed that the two cars were intended for the Mid-Ohio Racing School. Subsequent history unknown. A car with this chassis number raced by Bob Juggins in 1996/97.
25. Brabham BT29 (Rudolfo Junco): After Rudolfo Junco's wrecked his usual Brabham BT29 in an accident in the warm up session at the FB race at Monterrey, Mexico, in June 1971, he was allocated another BT29 as part of the Fred Opert Racing operation. This #80 car was advertised by Opert later with mention that it was the car driven by Bill Brack at Mosport Park 19 Sep 1971. In October, Opert's advert called it a 1970 BT29 with 1971 wings and rollbar. This is presumably the car raced by Junco at the two Bogotá Formula B races in February and March 1972. Subsequent history unknown.
26. Lola T240 ("Bud" Jackson): Howard E. 'Bud' Jackson (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) drove a blue #32 Lola T240 in Central Division SCCA Formula B events in 1971 and also in the Pro race at Brainerd. He raced the car again in 1972, this time using #63. He retained the car again for 1973 and finished second in the Falstaff Classic at MAR in May, but "destroyed" the car at Road America in June when he hit the guard rail just after the start/finish line, leaving Jackson in hospital with cuts, bruises, and a broken ankle.
27. March 705 (Mike Hayman): Mike Hayman (Washington, DC) raced an orange-and-blue #0 March 705 in SCCA Formula B in 1970 and 1971. Surely then the orange-and-blue or orange-and-black #0 March entered by Bob-Kat Racing (Washington, DC) for Frank Simpson to drive in the Pro FB race at Watkins Glen in August 1972, and then for Tim Simpson at Road America two weeks later and also at Bridgehampton in October. It was entered at #0 at first, Hayman's regular number, and later as #10. It was called a March 705 when Frank drove it, but then a 702 at Road America, and simply as a March at Bridgehampton. Subsequent history unknown.
28. Brabham BT29 [1] (John Angus): John Angus bought the first BT29, ordering the car as early as late summer of 1968 but taking delivery in August 1969. He ran it in Regionals in late 1969 before participating in the Pro series in 1970. He swapped from a Vegantune to a Racing Services engine for 1971 and continued in Nationals. Angus continued with the car in 1972, when Ron Dykes also drove it in the Bogotá races and again in 1973, when the car continued to be competitive at National level. To Marc Bahner (Santa Ana, CA) for 1974, and rebodied by him with March bodywork. Raced by Bahner in local SCCA events in 1974 and 1975. Bahner retained the car for many years, advertising it in December 1996 as "absolutely new - needing paint and assembly".
29. Brabham BT35 (Mike Hall): New to Michael Hall (Chicago, Illinois) for CenDiv SCCA Nationals and some local Pro FB events in 1971, acquiring the BT35 relatively late in the season after starting the year in a BT29. He retained the car for 1972, winning the CenDiv FB title. In October 1972, the "ex-Mike Hall" red BT35 was advertised by Fred Opert, noting that it had a "Rondel sports car nose". Subsequent history unknown.
30. Brabham BT29 (Peter W Nye): Syd Demovsky (Chicago, IL) raced a yellow #11 Brabham BT29 in Pro events in 1970. At the end of the year the car was sold via Joe Grimaldi (Race Shop) to Peter Nye (Ann Arbor, MI) who fitted it with a HRE twin cam and raced it in Pro events and in some SCCA events through 1971. At the end of that season he sold it less engine to Jim Lloyd (Indianapolis, IN) who converted it to Formula C and won the CenDiv FC title in 1972 and 1973. Lloyd retained the car and later restored it to Formula B specification for vintage racing. He advertised it in fully-restored condition in February 1991.
31. Lola T240 (Chuck Sarich): Chuck Sarich (McLean, VA/Rockville, MD) drove a silver/black/orange #57 Quicksilver Racing Ent Inc Lola T240 in the 1971 US FB Pro series. Nothing more known.
32. Brabham BT29 [38] (Mike Eyerly): John Ranson Lewis III, who raced as Randy Lewis (Sunnyvale, CA), had a blue Brabham BT29 for 1970 which was entered as #7. He raced the car through the full Pro season, finishing fourth at Sears Point in June and at Road America in August, end ending the season in eighth place in the championship. He did not compete in SCCA Nationals. The car was sold to Bunny Ribbs (San Jose, CA) for Mike Eyerly to drive in FB in 1971 (#63) and 1972 (#80). Jon Milledge also drove Ribbs car at Brainerd in Sep 1972. Ribbs, father of future Trans-Am star Willy T. Ribbs, advertised the car at the end of 1972. This is presumably the blue #80 Brabham BT29 raced by Lee Midgley at Road America in August 1973 and driven by Archie Snider at Trois-Rivières a week later. Subsequent history unknown.
33. Brabham BT35 (Russ Tyndall): Russ Tyndall (Addison, IL) raced a blue or blue/red Brabham BT35 in SCCA Nationals and in at least one Pro FB race in 1971. The car was entered at #7 in Nationals and at #87 in Pro races, by World Battery Racing and Tyndall Sign & Display. His last known outing was when he retired after 3 laps at MAR in September 1971. Born in Chicago in 1937, Charles "Russ" Tyndall died in December 2017. Nothing more is known of the Brabham, but it may be the one raced by Terry Allard in 1972.

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.