OldRacingCars.com

Selangor Grand Prix

Shah Alam, 24 Sep 1978

ResultsLapsTime/Speed
1 Graeme Lawrence March 76B [17] - Ford BDA
#1 Team Rothmans (see note 1)
50 1h 09m 28.7s
2 Malcolm Ramsay Birrana A78 - Ford BDA Swindon
#6 Golden Churn Racing
49 1h 10m 37.0s
3 José "Pocholo" Ramirez Chevron B34 [34-76-21] - Ford BDA
#88 Pocholo Ramirez (see note 2)
47 1h 09m 49.1s
4 Narcisco de la Merced Chevron B34 [34-76-25] - Ford BDA
#22 Narcisso De La Merced (see note 3)

R Albert Poon Chevron B39/B40 - Ford BDA
#66 Albert Poon (see note 4)

  Chong Boon Seng Chevron B29 [29-75-05] - Ford BDA
#8 Chong Boon Seng (see note 5)
On entry list
  Del Schloemmer (F/Atl) 1.6-litre Brabham BT30 [14] - Ford twin cam
#20 Cherie Schloemer (see note 6)
On entry list
  Chong Kim Fah Chevron B34 [34-76-37] - Ford BDA
#21 Team Rothmans (see note 7)
On entry list
  Ian Grey Chevron B20 [72-9] - Ford BDA
#71 Ian Grey (see note 8)
On entry list

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

Qualifying
Qualifying information not available

Notes on the cars:

  1. March 76B [17] (Graeme Lawrence): New to Sonny Rajah with a fuel-injected Hart engine, and run for Graeme Lawrence in South East Asia.
  2. Chevron B34 [34-76-21] (José "Pocholo" Ramirez): New to Fred Opert Racing for Jim Crawley in the IMSA Formula Atlantic series, appearing at Road Atlanta in April and Laguna Seca in May. He then missed the Ontario Motor Speedway as the car was reported to have been "destroyed" in a testing crash at Willow Springs. It was evidently rebuilt in time to be rented by Ric Forest at Edmonton in May. Crawley raced it again at Westwood, when it was pale blue and entered by Opert as #52. This is presumably the car then entered for Lloyd Callaway (Chicago, IL) to drive at Mont-Tremblant, Halifax and Mosport Park in July and August 1976, as his car was also pale blue and entered by Opert as #52. Like RJ Nelkin's similarly semi-private car, it evidently returned to Fred Opert Racing after these three races. It may then have been one of the cars hired from Opert for the SCCA Runoffs by Bill Anspach and Bill Kneeland. It is then thought to be the car used by Eddie Marcello at the Philippines GP in December. In January 1977, Opert took a team out to the New Zealand Formula Pacific series, and chassis 76-21 was identified as the car raced there by Keke Rosberg, winning three of the five races and taking four pole positions. It was then sold to Pocolo Ramirez (Philippines) and raced by him in southeast Asian races from 1977 to 1982. It is believed to have been imported into New Zealand from Asia by Graham Simms. It was then sold to Ken Smith and then Andy Higgins in New Zealand, then acquired by David Gathercole in 2009. He fully rebuilt it to Formula Atlantic specification by June 2011 for Rod Stead, who raced it at HSCC Donington Park in May 2012. Bought from Stead in November 2012 by Andy Huxtable. Raced by Huxtable in HSCC Derek Bell Trophy races in 2013.
  3. Chevron B34 [34-76-25] (Narcisco de la Merced): Invoiced to Fred Opert Racing and believed to be the "brand new" pale blue #75 Chevron B34 raced by Opert's customer Gordon Smiley at Mosport Park in late August 1976. Then raced by Patrick Tambay at Trois-Rivières two weeks later, and by Elliot Forbes-Robinson in the IMSA race at Laguna Seca in early October. It was one of three B34s taken to New Zealand for the Formula Pacific series in January 1977, and was Mikko Kozarowitzky's regular car. After the series, it was sold to Narcisco de la Merced and raced by him in Southeast Asian races from 1977 to 1982. Then to Luis Camus for 1983. Subsequent history unknown.
  4. Chevron B39/B40 (Albert Poon): LC Kwan (Hong Kong), owner of the Equipe 66 garage, bought a Chevron B39 in late 1977 from Fred Opert for Albert Poon (Hong Kong) to drive in Formula Pacific in Southeast Asia. The car was in the UK, not the US, for reasons still to be determined, and before it was shipped to Asia, it was borrowed by Ardmore Racing for Divina Galica to race in the Donington Park F2 event in October 1977, using a Swindon BDX engine. It was described as a brand new B40, and had been fitted with a set of Ardmore's blue, white and red bodywork to which Olympus signwriting had been applied. It was then shipped to Hong Kong in time for the Macau Grand Prix a month later. Although Poon entered his car as a B40, an article in the Malaysia Grand Prix race programme in May 1978 described the car as a "new car which he has just bought in the US". Also raced by Kevin Bartlett at Macau in 1978 and by Andrew Miedecke at Macau in 1979. Then raced by Poon at Macau in 1980, 1981 and 1982. Retained by Kwan in Hong Kong until 1989 when it was sold to Gordon Norris and returned to the UK. Sold in 2022 to Bruce Balchin (Southampton).
  5. Chevron B29 [29-75-05] (Chong Boon Seng): New to Albert Poon (Hong Kong), and raced in Southeast Asian events in 1975. Raced in Southeast Asian 1600cc 4-valve formula events in 1976, and driven by Kevin Bartlett at the Macau Grand Prix in November 1976. Sold less engine to Chong Boon Seng (Singapore) in December 1976 and raced by him in 1977, 1978 and 1979, It was then retained by him until it was sold to Leif Norberg, a Swede then living in Malaysia, in 1985. Then to Tony Armstrong (Australia) in 1989. To Geoff Weiland (Australia) in 1998, then to Peter Addison (Sydney, NSW), then to John Gale (Sydney, NSW) in 2005. In March 2020, the car was bought from Gale by Peter Brennan (Melbourne, Victoria).
  6. Brabham BT30 [14] (Del Schloemmer): Sold new to Ecurie Ecosse and run for Graham Birrell in F2 in 1970. Also raced once by Peter Gethin and by Richard Attwood later in the season. To Peter Westbury early 1971 and raced in several F2 races (also raced once by Dieter Quester) until the team's BT36 was delivered. Sold to Dunnett's Garage, converted to F/Atlantic specification and entered for Ronnie Mackay in libre and F/Atlantic in 1971 and 1972, run by MRE. To Chong Boon Seng for south east Asian racing in 1973 and used by him until 1976. Then to Del Schloemer and raced by him and by Cherie Schloemer in 1977 and 1978. To Wybe Valkema around 1980 and retained to 1982. Then to Australia and with Brian Wilson by 1988. Wilson sold it to Art Valdez (Torrance, CA) and from Valdez it returned to Australia when he sold it to Bob Ilich (Perth, WA) in 2010.
  7. Chevron B34 [34-76-37] (Chong Kim Fah): New to Albert Poon (Hong Kong), who referred to it as a 1977-series B35. It started out with a Cosworth BDM engine for Southeast Asian racing, and was then fitted with a Cosworth BDA for the Macau GP, which was held to Formula Atlantic rules, and the New Zealand Formula Pacific series in January 1977, before returning to the fuel-injected BDM for racing in Malaysia later in 1977. To Chong Kim Fah and Team Rothmans for 1978, but it is unclear whether Chong actually raced it that season. It is then presumably the "B39" that Chong raced in Formula Pacific in 1979. According to later owners, it then moved to Western Australia and was owned by Peter Nicol in 1979, Peter Morris in 1980, Jim Runciman in 1983. Then to Richard Fearon (Victoria) in 1994, Noel Robson (Victoria) at the end of 1998, and Peter Mohr (Queensland) in 2005. Sold by Mohr to Tony Simmons in November 2008, and raced by him through 2009 and in 2010. Next seen with Martin Bullock (WA) and raced by him at Sydney Motor Sport Park in November 2014, and at Barbagallo in 2016. Then taken to the UK by Bullock and raced at Brands Hatch in May 2019.
  8. Chevron B20 [72-9] (Ian Grey): New to John S Green in Formula B specification but there is no evidence of this car being delivered before the end of 1972. Green ran it in the Gap Hill Climb in January 1973, but only circuit raced it once, in the Singapore Grand Prix in April 1973. Green died in early 1974, and the Chevron was sold to David Schollum for Steve Millen in South-East Asian races that year. Then shipped to New Zealand and fitted with a 1980cc Cosworth FVC engine for the 1975 Tasman series. Used by Millen in 1600cc form at Batu Tiga and Macau later in 1975. Sold to Ian Grey in 1976 and raced with a Cosworth BDM at Macau in 1976 and 1977. Later sold to Dick Ward (Perth, Australia) and George Stacey about the end of 1979, and then to Harry Hickling (ACT, Australia). Sold to David Innes late 2014.

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 results of the Formula Pacific races in South East Asian at Macau, Penang, Selangor and Shah Alam were originally provided by Chris Townsend based on the short reports in Autosport and Motoring News plus the information supplied by a wide range of contributors. These have been developed further by Andrew Horrox using material in New Zealand Motoraction. For the Macau Grand Prix, further data comes from Philip Newsome's book 'Color and Noise: 40 Years of the Macau Grand Prix' (Studio Publications Ltd, 1993).

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

Associated Press report, multiple outlets, 26 September 1978. Entry list and other programme details provided by Richard Coe.