OldRacingCars.com

Players (Canadian) Formula B Series Race

Edmonton, 20 Jun 1971

ResultsLapsTime/Speed
1 Jacques Couture Lotus 69 - Ford twin cam Hart
#84 Jim Russell Racing Team (see note 1)
40 1h 03m 21.5s
95.659 mph
2 David McConnell Lotus 69 - Ford twin cam Hart
#86 Jim Russell Racing Team (see note 2)
40 1h 03m 25.0s
3 Craig Hill Lotus 69 [71/69.5.FB] - Ford twin cam Hart
#1 Fother-hill Ltd/Castrol
40 1h 03m 25.3s
4 Derek Johnson March 71BM - Ford twin cam Hart
#93 (see note 3)
40 1h 03m 46.4s
5 Bruce Jensen Chevron B17b [17B.70.04?] - Ford twin cam
#41 (see note 4)
40 1h 04m 30.8s
6 Ian Coristine March 71BM [1] - Ford twin cam Hart
#50 Delta Racing Developments (see note 5)
40 1h 04m 34.1s
7 Craig Fisher Chevron B17b - Ford twin cam
#30 (see note 6)
38
8 Roy Folland Brabham BT35 [18] - Ford twin cam
#20 (see note 7)
38
9 Max Nerrière Lotus 59 [59-F2/XB-41] - Ford twin cam
#42 (see note 8)
38
10 Dave Morris Hawke DL6B - Ford twin cam
#61
36
11 Maurice McCaig Brabham BT35 [19] - Ford twin cam
#58 (see note 9)
35
12 Louis Germain (FF) 1.6-litre Lotus 61M - Ford
#71
33
R Al Justason Brabham BT23F [1] - Ford twin cam
#32 (see note 10)
32
R Max Mizejewski Lola T240 - Ford twin cam
#27 (see note 11)
31
R Bill Middleton Brabham BT21C - Ford twin cam
#31 (see note 12)
28
R Tom Moore Brabham EM-2 - Ford twin cam
#23 Astro Shield
20
R Dave Robertson Hawke DL2R - Ford twin cam
#131
10
R Gary Magwood Hawke DL6B [2] - Ford twin cam
#27
8
R Brian Robertson Brabham BT35 [10] - Ford twin cam Hart
#5 Fred Opert Racing (see note 13)
3
R Ron Householder Brabham BT29 [9] - Ford twin cam
#6 (see note 14)
2
R Barry Fox Brabham BT29 [49] - Ford twin cam
#22
2

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

Qualifying
Qualifying information not available

Notes on the cars:

  1. Lotus 69 (Jacques Couture): Raced by Jacques Couture as part of the Jim Russell Racing Team in the Players Formula B Championship and the Molson Formula Championship in Canada in 1971, winning rounds of both, and in the Seattle round of the SCCA Continental Championship. Unknown in 1972, but advertised by Fred Opert in October 1972 and again in February 1973. Thought to be the car driven by Opert customer Julio César Hidalgo in the FB race at Autodromo de San Carlo, Caracas in March 1973. Subsequent history unknown, but may be the Victor Gagliano/Bob Silvestro car from 1974 onwards.
  2. Lotus 69 (David McConnell): Raced by David McConnell (Montréal, Quebec) as part of the Jim Russell Racing Team in the Players Formula B Championship and the Molson Formula Championship in Canada in 1971. McConnell won one round of the Players series and four rounds of the regional Molson Championship, which he easily won. McConnell bought a new GRD for the 1972 Tasman championship, and the subsequent history of the Lotus 69 is unknown.
  3. March 71BM (Derek Johnson): George Brocklehurst (Montréal, Quebec, Canada) bought a March 71BM but preferred to race it only in minor events, leaving it to Derek Johnson (Montréal, Quebec) in the bigger events. Brocklehurst's car ran as a #93 Todco Racing Team entry. Although it was silver, it seems likely to have been the blue 71BM-5 shown in March records as having gone to a customer of Canadian March importer Gordie Dewar. The car was written off in Johnson's accident in the rain at Trois-Rivières in August when he wrapped it round a telephone pole. [CT]
  4. Chevron B17b [17B.70.04?] (Bruce Jensen): Bruce Jensen (Kitchener, Ontario) raced a Chevron B17b in Canadian Formula B in 1971, entered by Jen-Mac Racing. His car was white, and was entered as #41. Jensen retained the car for 1972, again running as #41. Leighton Irwin recalls that in 1972, the car was modified with a sports car nose designed by Terry Welch and larger rear wing. This created too much downforce, and not realising that stiffer springs were needed, his team struggled with the car on faster circuits. Subsequent history unknown.
  5. March 71BM [1] (Ian Coristine): Gordie Dewar was appointed March importer into Canada for 1971 and his first purchase, chassis 71BM-1, went to Delta Racing Developments for Ian Coristine (Montréal, Quebec) to race in the Players FB series. Coristine finished the season fifth in the red #50 March but crashed in practice for the final race, at Circuit Ste-Croix in October. The car went to Reg Scullion (Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Montréal, Quebec) for 1972 and it was entered for him by Kris Harrison's Ecurie Canada, and prepared by Andy Roe and Tom Greatorex. Ecurie Canada had also bought Wilson Southam's engine manufacturing business, acquiring Greatorex with it, and were preparing the engines in Scullion's car. Scullion started the season racing in Nationals in Texas before returning to Canada for the Players season. He ended the Canadian season in ninth place but then returned to the US to finish second in the SCCA Run-Offs. He retained the car for 1973 as a Scullion-Donolo Racing entry, and it was raced by partner Louis "Lou" Donolo (Montréal, Quebec) once or twice. Subsequent history unknown.
  6. Chevron B17b (Craig Fisher): Peter Broeker (Pointe-Claire, Montréal, Quebec) raced a Chevron B17b in Canadian Formula B in 1970, often descibing it as a Stebro. It replaced Broeker's earlier B14, so the two cars were often confused. The B17b was raced by Craig Fisher and John Powell (both Toronto, Ontario) in 1971, entered by Penguin Racing Enterprise. The later history of the car is not known. Although it has been suggested that this was the car Broeker raced in 1974, when he returned to Formula Atlantic, that car appears to have been his older B14 updated.
  7. Brabham BT35 [18] (Roy Folland): New to Roy Folland (Montréal, Quebec) and raced in the Canadian Formula B series in 1971, prepared by mechanic Andy Aitken. Some reports suggest Folland raced an older BT29 towards the end of that season, but an article in the Montreal Gazette in late August only mentions a BT35. An annotation to the entry list for the Canadian GP support race in September identified this car as chassis BT35/18. To Bill Eagles (Lasalle, Montréal, Quebec, Canada) for the 1972 Canadian FB series, entered by Tex-Made Racing Team. Then to Scott MacKenzie for 1973, entered and supported by Bryant Cougle of Astro Sports, but crashed heavily at Edmonton in June. The chassis was too badly damaged to be repairable, and MacKenzie suffered neck injuries that brought his season to an end. The car was then used as a source of spares for the team's replacement BT35, before being sold. It was acquired by Doug DeFresne (Portland, OR) in 1979, when it still had Astro Sports bodywork with it. It was acquired by Bob Slusher (Portland, Oregon) in September 2005.
  8. Lotus 59 [59-F2/XB-41] (Max Nerrière): New to Craig Hill (Mississauga, Ontario) and run in the Canadian Road Racing Championship and the SCCA Continental Championship for Formula B, entered by Bill Brack Racing Enterprises. Hill ran in a team with Brack's Formula 5000 Lotus 70, with both cars in marching Castrol GTX livery. Unlike the two JRDS cars, which were entered as Lotus 69Bs, Hill's car first raced in Lotus 59 bodywork and was generally billed through the season as the "Castrol GTX Lotus 59". For 1971, the car was sold to Max Nerrière (Toronto, Ontario), who raced it in the Players Canadian Formula B series. Retained by Nerrière for 1972 and for 1973. Subsequent history unknown.
  9. 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".
  10. Brabham BT23F [1] (Al Justason): Sold to Bill Gubelmann (Oyster Bay, NY) and fitted with a Vegantune Ford twin cam engine for SCCA 'Pro' and NEDiv Formula B. Raced through 1968 and retained for a few races in 1969 as Gubelmann's BT29 was late arriving. Sold to Al Justason (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) who used it in both the Canadian and US Pro series in 1970 and again in the Canadian FB series in 1971. Sold to Michael Houselander who appeared at two Canadian national events in 1972, Later sold to ‘Dino Delousis’ who fitted a turbocharged 2-litre Ford Pinto engine for libre events but found the car to be undrivable and stored it from about 1974 to 2004 when sold to Dave Darrow (Mississauga, Ontario) and fully restored. Retained until 2007 when sold via race-cars.com to Murray Bryden (Melbourne, Australia). Sold to David Kloster (Kinglake, Victoria) September 2011.
  11. Lola T240 (Max Mizejewski): Bought by 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", after an initial project involving a March 71BM fell apart. Raced by Mizejewski in two early races of the Canadian FB series, at Edmonton (as #27) and at Mont-Tremblant (as #97). The number #97 appears on a red T240 later in 1971, and in 1972, and it seems highly likely that this was the same car. It was used by Brooks Frybarger (Carmel, CA) in an SCCA Regional at Riverside in October 1971, and then by Gordon Strom (Santa Cruz, CA/Sunnyvale, CA), entered by The Tex-All Comp, at two raced at Riverside in February 1972. Frybarger then raced it in four more northern California FB events from April to June 1972, including the Pro FB race at Laguna Seca in May. Then sold to Charlie Powell (Riverside, CA), also sometimes called Chuck Powell, who raced it in Formula B in 1972 and early 1973. His only known races in the car are at his home town track but he may have ventured further afield. He crashed the car in an SCCA National in Feb 1973, when he flipped sideways and landed upside down on the barrier, resulting in a 10-day stay in hospital. He acquired a replacement car for 1974, now known to be HU6. The fate of this first car is unknown, but it is assumed to no longer exist.
  12. 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
  13. Brabham BT35 [10] (Brian Robertson): New to Brian Robertson (Brockville, Ontario, Canada) and raced by him in the Canadian Formula B series in 1971, entered by Fred Opert Racing. To Al Justason (Toronto, Ontario) for Canadian FB in 1972 and 1973. To Fred Beyer (Ottawa, Ontario) for the Players (Canadian) Formula Atlantic series in 1974 and 1975. History then unknown until it was acquired from Bobby Brown in November 2006 by Kent Copeland (Dallas, TX). Brown is believed to have acquired it from Frank Costey in 2004. Copeland commented that it had been owned in Colorado in 1988, and its last races were believed to have been in 1986. It was red when acquired, but restored to a blue colour. Copeland died in July 2014 and, in May 2015, Todd Upp was advertising the car on behalf of his wife Holly. Sold in August 2022 to Stephen Temple (Santa Cruz, CA).
  14. Brabham BT29 [9] (Ron Householder): This early chassis number would have raced in 1969 but its first owner is still unknown. Working backwards from its modern ownership, it would have been the black-and-yellow BT29 raced by Allan Lader (Gresham, OR), until Lader got a new 1970-spec BT29 in July. The older car was sold to Ron Householder (Portland, OR) and raced by him in SCCA, CASC and ICSCC events in 1971, 1972 and 1973. Householder sold it to Paul Anderson (Huntington Beach, CA) who entered it for Pete Halsmer in SCCA events in 1974. Then to Bill Hill (Olympia, WA) in March 1975. Hill drove this car, mainly in ICSCC events, until April 1980 at least, and Hill advertised the car "for rent" in mid-1980. Retained by Hill until his death. It was sold by his widow to David Irwin (Evergreen, CO) in December 2017.

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 1971-1973 Canadian Formula B race results have been compiled by Chris Townsend based on material in Canadian Motorsport Bulletin, results sheets where available and from information drawn from Canadian newspapers.

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.