John Player (British) Formula Atlantic Series Race

Mallory Park, 9 Mar 1975

All cars are 1.6-litre F/Atl unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. Chevron B29 [29-75-04] (Richard Morgan): New to Tom Wheatcroft in February 1975, and tested by Richard Morgan who would be driving it in British Formula Atlantic. Raced by Morgan in the early races of the season, winning one race, until crashed at Brands Hatch in April. Morgan then drove the new Wheatcroft R18, and the Chevron was sold to Brett Riley, who drove it for the rest of 1975. To Ken Bailey (Stretford, Greater Manchester) and raced in Indylantic in 1976. Stored unused during 1977 and advertised by Bailey in November. Sold to Eddie Jordan (Dundrum, County Dublin, Ireland) and used in Irish Formula Atlantic in 1978 in Marlboro livery, winning both the All-Ireland and Duckhams Formula Atlantic Championships. Raced by his teammate Vivian Candy in Ireland in 1979, then sold via Phil Bennett to David Ward (Hesketh Bank, Lancashire) for British libre racing in 1980 and 1981. With Terry Cole for Monoposto racing in 1983, then reportedly broken up for spares by Chevron Cars.
2. Chevron B29 (Jim Crawford): The Chevron B29 used for testing in the US in early 1975 was acquired by Steve Choularton in February for Jim Crawford to race in the 1975 British Formula Atlantic series. It was rebuilt at the Chevron factory and was run by Choularton's SDC Racing from its premises near the factory. At the opening round it was described by Motoring News as "the Florida test car rebuilt" and by Autosport as "based on the original test car taken to the US for customer evaluation", a reference to the car tested over the winter by Bertil Roos, but whether this car was B29-75-01 or B29-75-02 is unclear. Crawford had four successive second places in this car. Prior to the Oulton Park race on 26 May, the car was rebuilt on a new monocoque which Autosport described as having "restored the car to standard specification". That car carried the chassis plate 29-75-15 so was effectively a new car and is covered under that heading.
3. Chevron B29 [29-75-19] (Stephen Choularton): New to Stephen Choularton (Hale Barns, Cheshire) and raced in British Formula Atlantic in 1975, entered by SDC Racing. To Phil Dowsett (Chelmsford, Essex) for the Indylantic Championship in 1976, entered by Sangria Designs and Capital Radio. Then sold to John Ledlie for the Irish series in 1977 but badly damaged at Phoenix Park in September 1977 when Ledlie hit a tree. As one of relatively few B29s left in Britain and Ireland by this time, it may be the car raced by Trevor Templeton in May 1979 and then by Nelson Todd later in 1979, sponsored by Belfast car dealer Isaac Agnew. Subsequent history unknown.
4. March 74B [73B-21] (Val Musetti): New to Stan Mathews (Wicken, Wolverton, Bucks) in June 1973, and raced in British Formula Atlantic. To Chris Oates (Kimberley, Notts) for 1974, but sold mid-season to Val Musetti (London). Retained by Musetti for 1975, when it was updated to 74B specification. It was also rebuilt on another tub about this time, but the details are obscure. Damaged by Derek Cook's March 73B in practice at Silverstone in July, and rebuilt in time for the race on the car's original tub - only to be crashed and damaged again in the race. At the end of 1975, Musetti built up a March "742", which could be said to have inherited the identity of 73B-21, but as the tub had been changed, the chassis plate had long gone, and its appearance and description were radically different, it could be argued that 73B-21 had dissipated by the end of 1975. The successor "742" later went to Bill Wood, then Ray Rowan, before spending much of the 1980s in Monoposto and then being rebuilt as a "712M" for historic racing in the late 1980s.
5. Lola T360 [HU7] (Ted Wentz): Believed to be the new car loaned to Ken Bailey in August for British Formula Atlantic, after he had wrecked his original loan car at Silverstone two weeks earlier. Sold to Planer, owners of the Wella brand, for Ted Wentz, starting with the televised Thruxton race in November 1974. Raced by Wentz through 1974 until it was heavily damaged by Roy James in a testing accident in early October 1975. Wentz hired the works development car for the rest of the season, so it is assumed that HU7 was not repairable.
6. Chevron B27 [27-74-14] (Peter Munro): Chevron build record says sold to Derek Cook, August 1974, so Cook's late season car in British Formula Atlantic. To Peter Munro (Birmingham) for 1975, but his sponsorship fell through, and he loaned the car back to Cook at the British GP meeting after he had wrecked his own car in practice. Cook then managed to wreck the Chevron on lap 1 of the race, and it did not appear again in 1975. To Jeremy Sumner for the 1976 Indyatlantic series, where it was also driven by Mike Wilds and John Scannell. Thought to have been the B27 bought by Christian Bonnifet in 1977, and used in French hillclimbs between 1979 and 1983. In 1997, Jean-Michel Coll (Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales, France) advertised chassis 74-14 as a rolling chassis. It was later reported to be under restoration in the UK.
7. Chevron B27 [27-74-16] (Peter Williams): Sold to Peter Williams (Brentwood, Essex) in June 1974 for British Formula Atlantic; and retained for the 1975 season. To Porsche racer and driving instructor Mike Franey (London) later in 1975 and raced in F/Atlantic with Samatco Ltd backing. Unknown in 1976, but in early 1977, novice racer Martin Murphy (London) won a Formule Libre race at Thruxton in the "ex-Peter Williams Coin Monthly" B27. The car remained in Franey's possession until September 1979, when it was sold to Jeremy Bouckley (Sutton Coldfield, West Midands) as a rolling chassis. Bouckley cannot recall what happened to it, but this car was reportedly owned by Phil Sharp for hillclimbs in 1984. Subsequent history unknown.
8. Brabham BT40 [21] (Cyd Williams): New to Graham Eden Racing, and driven by Cyd Williams in the 1973 British Formula Atlantic championship. Retained by Eden and Williams for 1974. After Williams crashed the car at Brands Hatch in September 1974, it was raced by Richard Morgan and Tony Trimmer later that season. Retained by Eden again for 1975, with Cyd Williams again driving. To David Winstanley (Winsford, Cheshire) of Withers of Winsford for 1976, and raced in the Indylantic championship.
9. Chevron B29 [29-75-06] (Alo Lawler): New to Alo Lawler (St Helens, Merseyside) and raced in the 1975 British Formula Atlantic championship, sponsored by L&B Excavations Ltd. Also used in the Irish championship that year, and in libre racing. Retained by Lawler for 1976, when he raced it in the Shellsport G8 championship, the Irish Formula Atlantic championship, the British Indylantic championship, and in libre racing. Sold to John Eastwood and raced in the Irish Formula Atlantic series. To Joe Greenan (Belfast, Northern Ireland) for 1978, and entered by Irish Racing Cars in Irish Atlantic, then raced by Ken Fildes (Clonskeagh, Dublin) in 1979 and 1980. Sold to English wheeler dealer Bobby Howlings (Congleton, Cheshire) for 1981, and raced by Howlings in rounds of the reintroduced British Formula Atlantic championship. Sold to Stuart Harte (Littleborough, Greater Manchester) and fitted with a 2.2-litre Hart 420R engine for sprints and hillclimbs. After Harte's death, the car was retained by his family until 2011, when it was sold to Jon Waggitt. Waggitt sold it to Chris Porritt in July 2011, and he spent some years returning it to running condition. He first raced it at Laguna Seca in March 2020, then brought it back to the UK later that year.
10. Lola T360 [HU5] (Nick May): New to Nigel Clarkson (Cirencester, Gloucestershire) and raced by him and by Richard Scott (London) in British Formula Atlantic, backed by Hurford Jones Ltd. To Nick May (Sutton, Surrey) for the 1975 British series, entered as a T360B with Strakers of Wimbledon Ltd sponsorship and run by Dave Price Racing. To Brian Robinson (Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham) and fitted with a 2-litre Cosworth BDG engine for Shellsport Group 8 races in 1976. To John Brown for John Morrison (Warwick) to drive in Shellsport G8 and libre racing in 1977, then to Kevin Bowditch (Maidenhead) for a few race appearances in 1978. It was sold to Martin Mansell (Middlesex), who raced it as a Lola "FA79" with Winchmore Hill Garage sponsorship in Formula Atlantic in 1979. Mansell crashed heavily at Brands Hatch in April 1979, and did not appear again. It was next seen in 1990 when it was bought by Robert McGimpsey (Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland) from a dealer somewhere in the English midlands. It was then fitted with a 3-litre Weslake engine, and McGimpsey used it for one season in hillclimbing before the engine and chassis were sold separately. It was bought by two friends in 1993 or 1994, and in 2012 they still had it.
11. March 742 [12] (Ray Mallock): Originally built with a Ford engine and used in back-to-back tests with a BMW-engined car. Then converted to BMW specification and entered by March Engineering for Jacques Coulon in F2 in 1974, sponsored by Antar. In February 1975, the car was converted to 75B specification, and March records show that it was given the identity 75B-U1. However, Motoring News twice reported its chassis number as 742/12 during 1975, suggesting that it still had its 742 chassis plate.
12. Surtees TS15 [06] (Peter Wardle): New to Peter Wardle (Wimbledon, London) and raced in British Formula Atlantic in 1973, winning from pole position at one race Brands Hatch in August. Retained for 1974, again in British Formula Atlantic, and then retained for a third season in 1975. However, towards the end of 1975, Wardle was entering Steve Carvill (Wimbledon, London) in some races, and it is unclear whether the team had a second TS15 by this point, as the pair never appeared together in the same race. Wardle acquired sponsorship from Radio Luxembourg and Applied Racing Techniques for 1976, and both Wardle and Carvill appeared in Indylantic and in Shellsport G8 during that season, presumably both still in chassis 06. Wardle advertised a TS15 in 1983, with FG400 but no engine and a mountain of spares. According to researcher David McKinney, chassis 06 and chassis 07 were with Tony Collinson in 1990, and chassis 06 appears to stayed with its sister through the ownership of Gerry Wainwright, John Elliott, Mark Griffiths and Crispian Besley, who had both cars in 2010. Beesley sold chassis 06 to Dean Forward in 2019, still in unrestored component form.
13. March 75B [1] (Derek Cook): The original March 75B prototype was sold to Derek Cook (Wath-upon-Dearne, Rotherham, South Yorkshire) and was first raced at the 1974 Boxing Day meeting at Brands Hatch. Raced in the British Formula Atlantic series in 1975. To Roy Baker (Ferndown, Dorset), converted to Formula 2, and raced in the European F2 series and the Shellsport Group 8 series in 1976. To Ted Williams (Bristol), fitted with a 2.2-litre Ford BDA or BDG, and raced (as a "752") in British hillclimbs in 1977. Then fitted with a full F2 Hart 420R for the first half of 1978, before Williams bought a 772. To Bob Bailey and raced in the 1600cc class later in 1978 and again in 1979. To Richard Ames (Alderton, Gloucestershire) later in 1979, and raced by him in 1981 and early 1982, by which time it was in 75/782 specification and fitted with a 2.2-litre Hart 420R engine. Ames advertised the car in May and June 1982 and recalls that he sold it to somebody in Scotland. This must be Harvey Gillanders (Ellon, Scotland) who raced a 2.2-litre "75/782" in Ingliston libre races later in 1982. Subsequent history unknown.
14. March 73B [722-24] (Roy Baker): New to Bill Gubelmann (Oyster Bay, NY) to use in the 1972 Yellow Pages Formula Atlantic championship. The car was blue and yellow, and wore #16 all season. Gubelmann won six races and narrowly pipped Cyd Williams to the championship title. The car was sold to fellow American Jas Patterson (Rosslyn Heights, NY) for 1973, repainted red and white, and entered for him by Texaco Team Racing/RIR in the 1973 British season. Patterson crashed heavily at Oulton Park in May 1973, and although the car was rebuilt, he appeared a few races later in what appears to be a new 73B. Patterson raced the 73B for the remainder of 1973 and through 1974, but the 722 reappeared in early November 1974 when an ex-Patterson "722/73B" was acquired by Roy Baker (Ferndown, Dorset) and raced regularly by him through the 1975 season. Subsequent history unknown.
15. March 74B (Norman Dickson): Mike Sullivan Racing started the 1974 Formula Atlantic season with a well-used ex-Jean-Pierre Jaussaud/ex-Colin Andrews March 712M fitted with Falconer bodywork and entered for Richard Robinson. Multiglide then provided funding, and successful Australian F3 driver Alan Jones was persuaded to drive it. Astonishingly, he won his first race in it, but then walked out, describing the car as "hopelessly unprepared". Jones had been promised a March 74B, and after an upgraded March 722 was used at a couple of races by replacement driver Richard Knight, something resembling a 74B arrived for John Sheldon to drive at two late-season races. What this car was remains unclear, but this "74B" was then sold to Norman Dickson (Perth, Scotland), who was successful with it in libre racing in 1975, but off the pace in his few Atlantic races. Subsequent history unknown.
16. McLaren M21 (Roberto Alvarez): One of two cars entered by Astor Club Racing International in British Formula Atlantic in 1975, this car was raced by Roberto Alvarez at Silverstone on 13 April, and then by Tony Trimmer later in the season. This car was next seen when acquired by Tony Dunne, who raced it in the British Formula Atlantic series in 1982. Dunne then entered Alo Lawler in Dunne's McLaren M30 in BRSCC libre in 1984 and 1985, and traded the M21 back to McLaren International in 1986 for the spare M30 monocoque. McLaren International rebuilt the car to Scheckter's F2 configuration, and the car was on display in the Donington Museum for many years. When the other two cars were restored in the late 1990s and none were found to have a chassis plate, McLaren International issued this car with a '1' chassis plate.
17. March 74B [742-23] (Graham Perry): New to Bob Harper, an American Ford and BMW importer based in Hong Kong, and entered in 1974 F2 under the banner of Team Harper. The team was run for him by Mike Earle from the Lec workshops in Bognor Regis, with mechanics Greg Field and Tony Harvey. Chassis 742/23 is believed to be the car raced by David Purley at two races early in the season, before Harper replaced the Marches with Chevron B27s. It was acquired for Chris Meek to race at two events in Ceylon, but he did not have the right licence and the 742 was next seen raced by Graham Perry (Birmingham) in Formula Atlantic in 1975, sponsored by Harrisons of Birmingham. For 1976, it was sold to John Walker (Lancaster) but only seen rarely. Retained by Walker for libre racing in 1977, and by the end of that season it was being described as a 772. To Paul Gardner (Preston, Lancashire) for 1978, again for libre racing.

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 British race results have been compiled by Chris Townsend based on material in Autosport and Motoring News reports in the UK plus the information supplied by a wide range of contributors.

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

BARC results sheet kindly provided by Richard Page of the Formula One Register .