Lothian Chemical Company Challenge for Libre Cars

Ingliston, 17 May 1981

Notes on the cars:

1. March 792 [31] (Jim Evans): New to John Cooper to drive in the Aurora AFX series in 1979, using Hart engines. Also raced by Eddie Jordan in the Donington Park F2 race in August. Not seen in 1980, but reappeared in 1981 when it was used by Kim Mather in F2 and Formula Atlantic. Also driven by Jim Evans that year in libre racing. To John Travis for libre in 1982.
2. March 782/792 [782-13] (Andy Barton): Ingo Hoffmann's car at Thruxton 27 Mar 1978 and presumably all season. Raced by Cheever at Rouen. Believed to be the car then bought by Andy Barton and used in libre racing and Formula Atlantic until the end of 1981.
3. March 80A [1] (Stuart Lawson): New to Bernard Hunter (Edinburgh, Scotland) and raced in the British Formula Atlantic series and libre racing, entered by Colin Bennett Racing. Retained for the first libre races at the start of 1981, then raced by Stuart Lawson and Ted Dzierzek in Scottish libre in April and May. To Tony Brown, and raced in hillclibs in early 1982, but Brown soon returned to the Martin BM16 that he had run from 1979 to 1981. The 80A was acquired by Stewart Phillips (Enfield, Middlesex) and raced in libre races from July 1982 onwards, entered by Winchmore Hill Garage.
4. March '75/782' [73B-18] (Stewart Robb): According to surviving March records, this was a F/Atlantic car built for Geoff Friswell (Coventry) and raced by him in the UK series through 1973 and 1974. It was then sold to Andy Barton (Newcastle upon Tyne) as a libre car and upgraded to 74B and then 75B spec over the next two seasons, also acquiring a F2 BDG engine at times in 1976. Barton sold it to Bob Rollo (Prestonpans, Scotland) for 1977, as an Atlantic again, and it then went to Stewart Robb (Alloa, Scotland) during 1978 in F2 spec. The car was rebuilt on a "new" 752 tub after a crash in 1978 and then rebuilt to 782 spec by Robin Smith after the 1979 season. It was raced again by Robb as a "March 75/782" with steel 2-litre Cosworth BDG engine from 1980 to 1982 and was sold to Roger Andreason at the new Chevron Cars Ltd around 1984. A "March 75/782" which had been "completely rebuilt over winter" was advertised from an Epsom number in August 1985.
5. March 772P [U1] (George McMillan): New for the works March F2 team in 1977, fitted with a works BMW engine, and raced by Patrick Neve in the opening F2 race at Silverstone, qualifying and finishing third. Then raced by Alex Dias Ribeiro at Thruxton, taking pole position and again finishing third. Jochen Mass took over the drive for Hockenheim and the Nürburgring, winning both races, after which Ribeiro drove it once more at Vallelunga. Bruno Giacomelli, who had been racing a works March 772-Hart, then took over the 772P-BMW for the next six races, winning at Mugello in June. Driven again by Ribeiro at Donington Park in October. Sold to Norman Dickson (Perth, Scotland), fitted with a Hart 420R, and used with great success in libre. Retained by Dickson as a hire car in 1979. To George McMillan (North Berwick, Scotland) for 1980, and fitted with a Swindon BDX engine for libre over the next three seasons. Retained unused in 1983 when McMillan raced a Ralt RT2, and then sold to someone "down south" to use as a GT or Special Saloon. The car reappeared in France a little later, having been acquired by hillclimber Jean-Jacques Lecorre. It was stored briefly in the garage of Alain Prat, and then sold to Jean-François Pelletier (Chinon, France), fitted with a Cosworth BDD, and raced by him from 1984 to 1990. This car was advertised in France in January 2016, with no explanation of where it had been since 1990. By this time it had been restored to Giacomelli's SCAINI livery. It was next seen in 2019, when raced by Pascal Gerbout in Historic F2.
6. Chevron B40 (Martin Dunn): New to KWS Autotechnik for Klaus Ludwig in the BRSCC F2 Trophy at Donington Park in October 1977, where both Autosport and Sport Auto are clear that the car was using a Hart 420R engine, not a BDA-based engine. Believed to be the car raced by Willi Deutsch at the Nürburgring in April 1978, but this remains unclear. Bought from Ludwig by Iain McLaren (Broxburn, Scotland) in damaged form and "painstakingly rebuilt" for libre and Aurora racing in 1978. To Bob Leckie (Aberdeen, Scotland) for hillclimbs and libre in 1979, then Bob Milne (Aberdeen, Scotland) for libre in 1980, then Martin Dunn (Evanton, Scotland) for libre at Ingliston in 1981. Sold next to George Coghill, who fitted the Chevron-Hart with a Lotus Esprit body for Scottish GT racing in 1982 and 1983. The car returned to "unclothed" form in 1985, when Coghill fitted a 3-litre Ford V6 engine for Scottish libre racing, the Hart 420R having blown up. The car had a 1700cc BDA engine in it when Coghill sold it to someone in the north of England, and recalls taking a Vixen in trade. This must be the 1700cc Chevron B40 entered by John McCartney at Harewood in September 1987, then with a 1990cc Hart engine at Harewood in May 1988, but a month later he was running the B53 instead, with a BDG engine. Retained by McCartney until November 1996 when it was sold to Nick Crossley (Sussex). The car is said to have been restored by Foxcraft Engineering in 1995/6. Raced (or at least entered) by Crossley in Historic F2 in 2000. At some point sold by Crossley to John Ruston and Gareth Burnett (Newmarket, Suffolk), and raced by Burnett in Euro F2 and HSCC Derek Bell Trophy races in 2006. Burnett raced it again in the DBT in 2008. Sold in 2018 to Richard George (Marsh Green, Kent), who took it to Paul Fox of Foxcraft again to be rebuilt.
7. Chevron B53 [53-81-01] (Gary Gibson): Built by the new Scottish-based Chevron company for 1981 for Gary Gibson (Belfast, Northern Ireland) to race in the Irish Formula Atlantic series, and often called a "McChevron". Apparently debuted in a libre at Ingliston on 17 May, then raced in the Irish series, winning at Kirkistown on 27 July. The car was also raced by P J Fallon in the final race of the season. Retained by Gibson for 1982 and again raced in the Irish series, winning at Mondello Park in April. Later that season, Robin Smith produced the Chevron B56 for Gibson, and the Irishman moved to that car for 1983. The B53 was later sold to Robert McGimpsey (Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland) who fitted a 2-litre Cosworth BDE or BDG engine, turbocharged at some stage, and raced the car in Irish hillclimbs in 1987. It was then acquired by Chevron enthusiast John McCartney (Horwich, Lancashire) for British hillclimbs in 1988, 1989 and 1990. Subsequent history unknown.
8. Surtees TS19/TS20S [04] (Graham Hamilton): Alan Jones received a new car, Surtees TS19/04, in time for the 1976 Austrian GP, and raced this for the rest of the season. It was raced by Vittorio Brambilla in the South American races at the start of 1977, before being sold to Olympus Cameras for Divina Galica to race in Shellsport Group 8. It was acquired by Alo Lawler in 1978, but was quickly sold to John Cooper, then to Robin Smith. Smith updated it to "TS20S" specification in 1980, and added sports car bodywork for a couple of Can-Am events in 1981. It was sold to Ken Moore and then Rod Tolhurst, both of whom ran it in HSCC F1 in 1983 for Willie Green and John Narcisi. Its next seven owners did not race it, but it returned to competition in TGP in 1999, then raced regularly until 2012. It returned for Monaco in 2016.
9. March 792 [20] (Bob Leckie): New to Norman Dickson (Perth, Scotland) and raced in the F2 section of the 1979 British F1 series, prepared by Colin Bennett. Due to be raced by Angelo Piccione at the Misano in August but he was too slow in testing. Sold to Paul Gibson in October 1979 and used mainly in libre racing at Croft but also appeared in rounds of the British series at Thruxton and Monza. Sold to Bob Leckie (Aberdeen, Scotland) for libre racing in 1981 but sold on in mid-season to John Bothamley who used it in the last few races of the Ingliston season. Taken to John Maguire in Coventry that winter who used the engine, gearbox, suspension, uprights, brakes and other components in the construction of a GT car for 1982, with Maguire's space frame chassis and Lotus Esprit bodywork. The tub, nose, rear wing, sidepods and rear bodywork were returned to Scotland and sold to Norrie Galbraith who planned to fit the running gear off his March 782 and put it in the 792 tub. Unfortunately Galbraith was killed in the 782 just weeks later. The 782 tub was scrapped but 792 tub and the remains of the 782 were sold to Bobby Howlings who eventually sold them to Willy Widar in Belgium. The 782 parts and 792 tub were evidently then built into a car which took the identity of 782-26. With its components scattered, the 792 has effectively ceased to exist.

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

Autosport note that Evans was in Kim Mather's March 792.