OldRacingCars.com

SCCA Continental Championship for Formula B/C Race

Continental Divide, 8 Jun 1969

ResultsLapsTime/Speed
1 Mike Eyerly Brabham BT18 - Ford twin cam
#7 (see note 1)
38 1h 14m 41.8s
81.22 mph
2 Ed Leslie Titan Mk3 - Ford twin cam Lucas
#84 (see note 2)
38 1h 15m 38.8s
3 Ray France Brabham BT21A - Ford twin cam
#2 (see note 3)
37
4 Bruce Redding Brabham BT14 [FL-3-65] - Ford twin cam BRM
#95 (see note 4)
37
5 John F. Sirmons Lotus 41C - Ford twin cam BRM
#29
37
6 Matt Spitzley Brabham BT21B [24] - Ford twin cam Vegantune
(see note 5)
37
7 Carson Baird Brabham BT16 - Ford twin cam
#81 (see note 6)
36
8 Doug Brenner Lotus 41C [41C-FL-38?] - Ford twin cam
36
9 Roy Grange LeGrand
35
10 Nigel P. Bates Winkelmann WDB2 [3] - Ford twin cam
#43
35
11 Stefan Rzesnowiecky Winkelmann - Ford twin cam
34
12 Mike Jocelyn (FF) 1.6-litre unknown - Ford
33
13 Larry Huff (FC) Lola
32
14 Norman Harvey Blitzwagen
#69
29
15 Charlie Adams Brabham BT21C [12] - Ford twin cam
#64 (see note 7)
30 lost battery
16 Gerald Crow Brabham BT21C - Ford twin cam
(see note 8)
28 engine failure
17 Bob Ilg Winkelmann WDB1 - Ford twin cam
#31
28 retired - unknown
18 Warren Flickinger Chevron - Ford twin cam
#5 (see note 9)
27 retired - unknown
19 Dave Rines Brabham BT18 - Ford twin cam Vegantune
#12 (see note 10)
23 suspension
20 Malcolm Starr Lotus 59 [59-FB-9] - Ford twin cam
#6 (see note 11)
20 fuel injection
21 William Monson Brabham BT21C [2?] - Ford twin cam
#15 (see note 12)
18 oil pressure
22 Gerhard Klose LeGrand Mk 6 - Ford twin cam BRM Phase IV
#1
16 retired - unknown
23 Rudolfo Junco Winkelmann WDB1 - Ford twin cam
#21
14 engine failure
24 Dave Dours Lotus 41C - Ford twin cam BRM
#32 (see note 13)
14 broken throttle spring
25 Dick Smothers Chevron B14 [FB-68-14?] - Ford twin cam
(see note 14)
13 body damage
26 Fred Opert Brabham [BT21A?] - Ford twin cam
#47 (see note 15)
12 ring and pinion
27 Jim Ellingson Lotus 22
#17
13 oil pressure
28 Stan Schooley Winkelmann WDB2 [2] - Ford twin cam
12 retired - unknown
29 Joe Alves Brabham BT21A [7] - Ford twin cam
(see note 16)
7 engine failure
30 Harvey Snow (FC) 1.1-litre Titan Mk3
(see note 17)
0 spun, couldn't restart
  Karl Knapp LeGrand Mk 6 - Ford twin cam
#8
On entry list
  Terry Hogan McLaren M4A - Ford twin cam
#20
On entry list
  Doug Champlin Titan Mk3 - Ford twin cam
#27 (see note 18)
On entry list
  Jon Milledge Brabham BT21 - Ford twin cam Racesales
#91 (see note 19)
On entry list
  Dan Davis Lotus - Ford twin cam
#92
On entry list
  Steve Griswold Brabham BT16 - Ford twin cam
#93
On entry list

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

Qualifying
Qualifying information not available

Notes on the cars:

  1. Brabham BT18 (Mike Eyerly): Bill Gubelmann (Oyster Bay, NY) ran a red Brabham BT18 with 1.1-litre Cosworth SCC engine in Formula C in 1967, winning seven Nationals and setting lap records right down the east coast. He advertised the car in Autoweek on 18 November 1967 as a late 1966 BT18 chassis with 140bhp Cosworth SCC engine, and it then went to Fred Opert, presumably traded on Gubelmann's new BT23F. From Opert it was sold to Mike Eyerly (Salem, OR) and raced in the Pacific northwest, winning several Regional SCCA events. He kept the orange BT18 when he moved into the SCCA national Formula B series in 1969 and completely dominated the series, winning six of the first nine races and finishing second in another two. Advertised in October 1969. Subsequent history unknown.
  2. Titan Mk3 (Ed Leslie): Ed Leslie (Monterey, CA) raced a yellow Team CIRT Titan in the first four races of the 1969 SCCA Pro Formula B championship. He was entered as #81 on three occasions and #84 on the other. Finished third at Laguna Seca in May and second at Continental Divide in June. After retiring from the Sears Point race in June with a blown head gasket, he was not seen again. Leslie also appeared in Northern Pacific Division's first two SCCA Nationals, finishing second in both. Earl Jones then appeared at #81 on the entry list at the next two races and it is possible that he took over Leslie's car. However, both had appeared together at the opening race of the season so there must have been two distinct FB cars. For 1970, Butch Owsley (Aptos, CA) bought the ex-Ed Leslie FB Titan to use in the SCCA Pro series and in the FRA series. Subsequent history unknown.
  3. Brabham BT21A (Ray France): Terry Petmecky (Austin, TX) raced a Lotus 22 in SWDiv Formula B in 1967 but met with little success against the dominant Gus Hutchison team of Lotus 41Cs. Right at the end of the year he took delivery of a Brabham BT21A and finished second in the National at Selma in this car. In 1968 he took the Brabham to Bob Winkelmann but was forced to give up racing due to eyesight problems. F1 driver Alan Rees was holidaying in the Las Vegas area in early 1968 when he raced the car for Winkelmann in the SCCA National at Stardust Raceway. Winkelmann also entered it for Tony Settember at the Tuscon National in April 1968 and it is likely to be the car in which Settember scored 6 points in SoPac FB in 1968. Winkelmann advertised the car in CP&A 23 Mar 1968 as a "Winkelmann-Brabham BT21" with Winkspeed engine. To Ray France (Redondo Beach, CA), and raced during 1968 and 1969, entered as #2 by Centaur Racing Associates. This may have become the basis of the blue-and-gold #29 "Centaur Brabham" raced by France in 1970.
  4. Brabham BT14 [FL-3-65] (Bruce Redding): This BT14 was bought new by John Mitchell and raced in northern English libre racing in 1965 and 1966. It was missing for most of 1967, but was sold late that year to Steve Pfeiffer (San Francisco, CA) and equipped with a BRM Phase 4 twin-cam for 1968 Formula B racing, now described as a BT21. It was sold to Bruce Redding (Monterey, CA) for 1969 but crashed early in the season and extensively rebuilt. Redding thereafter entered it in 1969 and 1970 as a Ford Special, Gravelle Special or even as a Honda Special. It was later sold to Steve Jizmagian (San Francisco, CA) in early 1971 and crashed again, then to Tom Gouldstone (Santa Rosa, CA/Napa, CA) in November 1972 and crashed again - each time at Laguna Seca. By 1975, Gouldstone was describing it as a BT18/21. It was sold to Dick McGovern in 1978. It was retained by McGovern until 1994 when sold to George Goodare (Sydney, NSW, Australia) and restored. Later to Brian Wilson in September 2000 then to John Gale in November 2001. Sold to Richard Longes late 2008 and raced in 2009 Tasman Revival races.
  5. Brabham BT21B [24] (Matt Spitzley): Matt Spitzley ran a Brabham in SCCA Nationals and in the 'Pro' FB series in 1969. His car is identified in the July 1969 Seattle entry list as a yellow and red Brabham BT21 but has been identified by Ted Walker as the ex-Guthrie Tasman BT21B [24] (10 Tenths ref 1544290).
  6. Brabham BT16 (Carson Baird): Carson Baird (Birmingham, AL or Beltsville, MD) drove a Brabham in Formula B in 1968, racing in three Pro events and also scoring 15 pts in NEDiv Nationals. His car was identified at Mosport Park 25 Aug 1968 as a BT18 but when he traded the car to Fred Opert for a new Chevron, Opert described it as a 1965 F2/FB, indicating a BT16. He entered a Chevron for the Run-Offs but did not start and evidently gave up on the car as he was in a Brabham again at the start of the 1969 season. He upgraded to a Winkelmann WDB2 mid-season. Nothing more is known about the Brabham.
  7. Brabham BT21C [12] (Charlie Adams): New to Charles W. Adams (Springfield, IL, but then living in Manhattan Beach, CA) via Jim Russell, who then had a racing school at Willow Springs. Charlie Adams was a regular in Formula B with this car from mid-1968 to 1971, his car being green, and entered as #64. Adams won the Southern Pacific Division FB title in 1969 but did not score any points in 1970 and his appearances in the Pro series ceased after the Laguna Seca race in June. In 1971, he scored just two points in the SPDiv championship, for fifth place at the Riverside National in July, and only appeared at one Pro race, the Edmonton round in August. Subsequent history unknown, but the BT21C was bought in the US by Australian Gary Simkin who was working there, and returned with him to Australia in March 1983. It was sold to George Goodare (Sydney, NSW), rebuilt and used in historic racing. It was owned by Peter Addison (Sydney, NSW) then sold to Howard Blight (Sydney, NSW) 1989. and then via Rob Bailey (Victoria) 1998 to Nereo Dizane (Sydney, NSW) December 1998. Dizane died in 2004, aged only 53, but his collection of cars has been kept together by his wife Anna Dizane (Wantirna, Victoria).
  8. Brabham BT21C (Gerald Crow): Gerald Crow (Denver, CO) appeared in the 1969 US FB season in a Brabham, identified by the Brainerd entry list as a BT21C-Ford. The car was described at Seattle in July as green/yellow. Fred Opert Racing mentioned his debut in this car at Wentzville (Mid-America Raceway) at the end of March 1969 and said that it was a BT21C with Vegantune engine. Nothing more known.
  9. Chevron (Warren Flickinger): Warren A. Flickinger II (Golden, CO) raced a Chevron in Formula B in 1969. Flickinger was born in April 1947 and was described in 1969 as a pre-med student and karate instructor from Denver. His car was usually entered as #5, was described as yellow/coral and had Vegantune and later HRE engines. The identity of the car remains a mystery but it is most likely to have been an ex-F3 B9 as all the B14s and B15s can be identified at this point and the B7 appears to have run in FC during the time, not FB. He raced this car until a Regional race at Texas International Speedway in July 1970 when he "flipped his car a number of times". He then acquired a Winkelmann WDB2. Flickinger, later of Denver, CO, went on to race a Chevron B18 in FB in 1971 and then a F5000 Lola T300 for two seasons. Nothing more is known of his 1969/70 Chevron and it is quite possible that it was destroyed in the accident.
  10. Brabham BT18 (Dave Rines): R. David Rines (St Louis, MO) raced a "F2 Brabham" in Formula B in 1969. Rines raced this car consistently in the 1969 Pro series until engine failure at Thompson in September, after which he entered his Brabham-Climax at Sebring. Rines' advert for the car in October 1969 described it as a BT18 with Vegantune engine. Rines had previously driven a Brabham BT7-Climax in Formula A and we're very keen to locate him to ask about this car.
  11. Lotus 59 [59-FB-9] (Malcolm Starr): Malcolm Starr (Union City, NJ) bought a new F2-spec Lotus 59 from Lotus East (Millerton, NY) for 1969 and raced it in Pro Formula B events that season. Malcolm recalls selling to to "a fellow named Woodbury from Virginia" which would be the William J. Woodbury Jr (Springfield, Virginia) who raced a Lotus "69" at Mid-Ohio in September 1970, and at least one SCCA National in early 1971. Woodbury retained the car when he stopped racing, and still had it when he died in early 2022. The car was offered for sale in August 2022 on behalf of his widow.
  12. Brabham BT21C [2?] (William Monson): Nick Reynolds (Sausalito, CA), a musician with folk group "The Kingston Trio", bought a new Brabham BT21C for 1968 which he used in SCCA Nationals, finishing second in NorPac Division and fifth at the ARRC. He sold the car to Dr William T Monson (Kent, WA) for 1969, and Monson went one better, taking the red BT21C to the SCCA Northern Pacific Division title and placing well in the 'Pro' series when it visited his home town. It was then sold to Gary Gove (Tacoma, WA) who raced it locally in 1970 and 1971. Gary cannot recall who he sold it to but recalls that it was an early car, either BT21C/2 or BT21C/3.
  13. Lotus 41C (Dave Dours): Dave Dours appeared in 1969 in a Lotus variously referred to as a Lotus-BRM and a Lotus 41, implying it was one of the 41Cs.
  14. Chevron B14 [FB-68-14?] (Dick Smothers): Bought late in 1968 by Dick Smothers of Smothers Bros Racing (Fullerton, CA) and first raced in the Donnybrooke Grand Prix at Brainerd 22 September 1968 . Chevron records appear to identify this car as chassis FB-68-14. Smothers had a blue #29 Chevron FB for 1969 and this is very probably the same car, even though it was sometimes referred to as a B15B. Loaned to Joe Alves (Sherman Oaks, CA) for 1970 but not raced after blowing the engine in practice at Sears Point in June 1970. Alves eventually sold the car some time between 1975 and 1978 but it is then unknown until owned by a D Hullinger around 1992 who started a restoration. It passed to Gabe Lakatosh (Los Angeles, CA) in 1998 who completed the restoration and raced it infrequently. Then sold to Jeff Giannini (Puyallup, WA) in 2003 who has raced it continuously since then. It had a full restoration in 2008 and is maintained by J&L Fabrication (also in Puyallup, WA).
  15. Brabham [BT21A?] (Fred Opert): Raced by Fred Ashplant (Franklin Lakes, NJ) and first seen at Lime Rock in early July where Racing Magazine called it "his new Brabham FB". Won the SCCA National at Bridgehampton two weeks later and the Pro race at Mont-Tremblant in September. Finished third in the NEDiv FB title. Retained for 1968 but used much less that season. In 1969, Ashplant ordered a Brabham BT29 and sold the BT21A to Pete LoBianco (York, PA). However, the BT21A was in Fred Opert's stock during the summer of 1969 and as the car had last been raced as #47, it seems likely that this was the #47 FB Brabham that Opert raced a couple of times before his BT29 arrived.
  16. Brabham BT21A [7] (Joe Alves): New to Dave Webster (Newport Beach, CA) for Formula B in 1967, finishing second in SPDiv division. To Joe Alves (Sherman Oaks, CA), who raced it from the start of 1968 to mid-1969, finishing fourth in SoPac FB in 1968 and fifth in 1969. Then to John Coolick (Wilmington, CA) who raced it in local Formula B, generally at Riverside, from 1970 to 1975. Advertised by Coolick with a big valve twin cam engine in October 1975. Subsequently to Eric Stromwall 1977, then Todd Bishop 1979, and then John Dixon 1989. Bought by Tim Kuchel (Adelaide, Australia) in early 2006, then sold to Frank Arronis (Sydney, Australia) in 2020.
  17. Titan Mk3 (Harvey Snow): Harvey Snow (San Jose, CA) raced a white Team CIRT Titan in Formula C in west coast SCCA and Pro events during 1969, qualifying for the Run-Offs. Retained for 1970 and again qualified for the Run-Offs. Subsequent history unknown.
  18. Titan Mk3 (Doug Champlin): Son of a wealthy oil family, Doug Champlin (Enid, OK) raced a gold-and-blue #49 Titan-Ford in Formula B in 1969 but it only appeared very rarely. Champlin then decided to buy a F1 Brabham BT26 and entered it for Gus Hutchison in Formula A late 1969 and through 1970. Later a noted firearms manufacturer and aircraft collector, Champlin died in May 2013. Nothing more is known of his Titan.
  19. Brabham BT21 (Jon Milledge): Jon Milledge (Mountain View, CA) visited England to buy a Brabham for 1968. Having found that factory prices were outside his budget, he was persuaded by Frank Williams to buy a BT21 development car from MRD which Williams then had modified by Arch Motors and built up to full BT21C specification. He focused on the FRA 'Pro' series in 1968, winning at Vaca Valley and Santa Ana, and also won two NorPac Nationals, beating eventual champion Mike Eyerly. He continued his battle with Eyerly in the Pro series in 1969, beating him at Riverside and finishing second at Laguna Seca and Sears Point. The BT21/21C was sold to Mike Hansen (Belmont, CA) for 1970 who used it to win the 1970 Northern Pacific Division Formula B class. The car was then blue-and-white and entered at #40 as a BT21C. He swapped to a new Brabham BT35 for 1971 and retained his title. This is presumably the "ex-Hansen" "BT21/29" advertised by Hayes Racing Equipment (Santa Ana, CA) in March 1971. Subsequent history unknown.

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.

1970 US FB results were compiled from Autoweek reports by Jim Thurman; 1971 results were transcribed from Autoweek by Allen Brown and 1972 results were compiled by Chris Townsend from an SCCA results publication.

The US Formula B series did not continue in 1973 but a race was organised in Caracas in March 1973 that fits here probably better than anywhere else, as do the occasional SCCA F/Atlantic and FB races in 1974 and 1975.

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.