OldRacingCars.com

SCCA National (New England Region)

Thompson Speedway, 9 Jun 1968

ResultsLapsTime/Speed
1 WP Fred Stevenson Lotus 41C [41C-FL-44] - Ford twin cam

2 Peter Rehl (FC) 1-litre Cooper T88 [FC-1-68?] - BRM P80
("Cooper-BRM") (see note 1)
1st in FC
3 John F. Sirmons Lotus 22 - Ford twin cam

4 Fred Ashplant (FC) Cooper

5 Joseph Trotter (FC) Brabham

6 Harry Reynolds (FC) 1-litre Brabham BT15 - Ford Cosworth MAE
(see note 2)

7 Oliver Grant Brabham BT15 - Ford twin cam
(see note 3)

8 John Woodard (FC) Cooper

9 Fred Opert (FC) 1.1-litre Brabham BT21B - Cosworth SCC
(see note 4)

10 Mike Hiss Brabham BT21A - Ford twin cam
(see note 5)

11 Edmund C Hessert Brabham BT21C - Ford twin cam Vegantune
(see note 6)

R Jim Bean (FC) Brabham

R Chuck Schroedel (FC) 1.1-litre Brabham BT18 - Cosworth SCC
(see note 7)

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

Qualifying
Qualifying information not available

Notes on the cars:

  1. Cooper T88 [FC-1-68?] (Peter Rehl): One of the very last Coopers built was a Formula C car for faithful US customer Peter Rehl (Easton, CT). This T88 was equipped with a 1-litre BRM engine according to Cooper records, presumably one of the 1965-66 Formula 2 P80 engines, and Rehl scored 51 points in NEDiv Formula C, finishing narrowly second to Bill Rutan's Brabham. However, the car also raced as a Formula B car with a standard Ford twin cam, and Rehl managed to finish fourth in FB as well, qualifying for the Run-Offs and finishing third at Riverside as a FB. Rehl bought a new Formula A Cooper T90 for 1969, and the T88 was sold to Ronald L. Stanwicks (Newington, CT). He raced it in 1969 but his son recalls that it was unreliable and did not fit him well. It was sold to Peter Piers in the early 1970s, who stored it for many years. It was eventually sold and is believed to have gone to Italy.
  2. Brabham BT15 (Harry Reynolds): Harry Reynolds (Pottstown, PA) drove a FC Brabham in 1968 which was identified in the Lime Rock 7 Jul 1968 results sheet as a BT15 and in the Mid-Ohio 21 Jul 1968 results sheet as having a MAE engine. Reynolds told Candian researcher Rupert Lloyd Thomas that it came from Fred Opert and was virtually new. He believed it may have been driven by Bobby Brown at some point and may originally have been bought for Ford of France. He recalls the chassis number as "3". The car went from Reynolds to Randy Neiman (Pottstown, PA), who converted it to Formula Ford. Neiman drove it in a Regional at Cumberland in July 1971. Subsequent history unknown.
  3. Brabham BT15 (Oliver Grant): Oliver Grant (Norfolk, VA/Wheaton, MD) raced a Brabham in Formula B in late 1967 and the first half of 1968. A Revs Institute photograph shows that it had a 1966 bodywork section but short rear uprights, implying that it was a 1966 Brabham BT15. Nothing more known.
  4. Brabham BT21B (Fred Opert): Fred Opert, the leading US racing car importer in the late 1960s, raced a Brabham in Formula C in 1968. At the end of the season, he advertised it in CP&A (7 Dec 1968) as a BT21B with fuel-injected SCC engine, six-speed Hewland gearbox and "extra light chassis and body". Opert's car was sometimes reported at races as a Formula B and it is unclear whether this was a mistake or whether Opert was driving other cars he had in stock. Sold to Dewey Harless (Portland, OR) for 1969 and raced with great success in FC. Harless advertised it in July 1970, still with its fuel-injected SCC engine but as a BT21, not a BT21B. He retained it until early 1971 when it was sold to Butch Owsley (Aptos, CA/San Jose, CA) who ran it at Laguna Seca in June 1971. Subsequent history unknown.
  5. Brabham BT21A (Mike Hiss): To Mike Hiss (Laurel, MD) to replace the earlier Brabham that he "demolished" in practice for the Bridgehampton National in July 1967. He raced the BT21A for the last two Pro races, finished third at Lake Tahoe. Retained for 1968, finishing third at Palm Beach in February and then winning at Marlboro in March. Second in Bridgehampton National and won a Regional at Marlboro but less successful in the Pro series. Last seen when crashed at Lime Rock in September 1968 following a suspension failure. Hiss had by that time moved up to Formula A with a Lola T140 and it is not known whether the Brabham was rebuilt.
  6. Brabham BT21C (Edmund C Hessert): Dr Edmund C. Hessert Jr (Haddonfield, NJ) was a surgeon at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia and was a regular in SCCA events in the mid-1960s. With backing from Ellwood F. Thum's Abrasive Alloy Co team (Riverside, NJ), he bought a brand new Brabham BT21C-Vegantune for 1968 but although he was photographed in the car at a launch, only one entry for it has so far been found. The car wore #99 and appears to have been white with black stripes. Hessert moved into NASCAR for 1969. The later history of the Brabham is unknown.
  7. Brabham BT18 (Chuck Schroedel): Chuck Schroedel (New York, NY) raced at Brabham BT18 powered by a 1.1-litre Cosworth SCC engine in Formula C in 1968 and early 1969. He then acquired a BT21 from England and his team, Springdel Racing, then sold the BT18-SCC to Mike Rand who ran it in late 1969 before acquiring a BT21B. The BT18 went back to Springdel Racing but its later history is not yet known.

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.

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

Competition Press & Autoweek 29 Jun 1968 p15, Pit Talk August 1968 p11.