SCCA Continental Championship for Formula B/C Race

Sears Point, 21 Jun 1969

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

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. 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.
3. 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).
4. 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).
5. Brabham BT21 (Michael Brodie): Mike Brodie (Mill Valley, CA) ran a red Brabham BT21 in a handful of 'Pro' FB races in 1969. He had acquired the car directly from Brabham, and recalls that it was a BT21, not a BT21A or BT21C. It replaced a Lotus 35 that he had raced in 1968. Later that season, he took the car to the east coast, where it was raced by Jon Woodner at Road America and Lime Rock. Mike cannot recall who he sold it to. Subsequent history unknown.
6. McLaren M4A (Judd Mangurian): Bought second hand from Frank Williams by Anthony Lloyd in California early in 1968 and fitted with custom built front and rear wings by Paul Lamar of Chaparral fame. After Lloyd's death in a non-racing accident, the McLaren was raced by Judd Mangurian working out of Centaur Racing (Hawthorne, CA) in 1969 and 1970 before being sold. Mangurian also died in 1971, aged just 26, and the car was sold for him by Centaur Racing to Leroy Brandon (Los Angeles, CA). The car was then fitted with a BRM Phase III engine and Hewland FT200 gearbox. Brandon ran it in SCCA races at Riverside 18 July 1971, Orange County Raceway 8 August 1971, the Great Salt Lake Road Race 6 September 1971, Riverside 13 February 1972 and at Holtville 12 March 1972. In the latter race he retired due to the front bulkhead cracking. After repairing the car, he sold it. Subsequent history unknown.
7. Brabham BT21C (Jay Jamison): Jay Jamison (San Diego, CA) bought a Brabham BT21C mid way through the 1968 season which he later described as a 1968½ BT21C. He first raced it at the Riverside SCCA National on 4 Aug 1968 and also appeared in the Sears Point Pro FB races on 22 Jun 1969 but had still only raced the car three times when he advertised it in Sep 1969. A few months later, Jamison bought a new Brabham BT29 from Wayne Mitchell and his BT21C appears to have been taken in trade as just such a BT21C ("four races from new") was advertised by Mitchell's John's Imports and Racing Enterprises in March 1970.
8. Brabham BT21B [8] (Don Delamore): According to later owner Mark Shillingburg, this car was bought new by Courtesy Chevrolet in California, and was raced for them by Don Delamore (San Jose, CA) in 1969 and 1970. He advertised the car in Dec 1970 wth two Vegantune engines, adding that it had never been damaged. Shillingburg reports that Courtesy Chevrolet then sold the car and it did not race again. With Mark Shillingburg (Evergreen, CO) in 2014.
9. McLaren M4A (Skeeter McKitterick): Skeeter McKitterick raced a McLaren M4A in Formula B in 1969 using a fuel-injected Alfa Romeo engine built by John Shankle's company, Shankle Automotive Engineering (Van Nuys, CA). The car was owned by San Diego Alfa Romeo dealer International Automotive although the original plan was for it to be run as part of a four-car team run by Automotion, Dick Barbour's Porsche business on Mission Gorge road in San Diego. The next owner of the car was probably Phil Lester (Van Nuys, CA) in 1970. Soon after it passed to Bruce McCaw (Seattle, WA) who raced it once or twice with the Alfa engine and found that the bag tanks leaked. It was put aside until reassembled by Tony Garmey between 1993 and 1998 at McCaw's Vintage Racing Motors. Sold in 1998 to Pat Hart as a rolling chassis. Sold to Tony Garmey (Seattle, WA) in 2012 with a Ford twin cam engine and Hewland Mk 5 gearbox.
10. Brabham "BT23B" (Lee Midgley): Lee Midgley and Bob Griffith owned an Alfa Romeo dealership in Riverside, CA and are best remembered for their exploits racing production-based Alfas in SCCA racing. In 1969, they ventured into Formula B with a Brabham BT23 of some type. It was described as a BT23B when it appeared at Sears Point in June 1969 but as this is a 2.5-litre Climax specification, that seems unlikely. In the entry list for the Sep 1969 Thompson race, it was just described as a BT23. As no ex-F2 BT23s are likely to have reached the US by June 1969, It is more likely to have been a BT23G.
11. Lotus 44 [44-F-3?] (Peter Darr): To Ron Harris Team Lotus (RHTL) for 1966 and first raced by Mike Spence at Reims in July. It then became Jim Clark's regular car for the rest of the season, finishing second at Montlhéry in September but it was not competitive against the Brabham BT18s. Advertised in December 1966 and probably the car sold to the US. John Hick (East Orange, NJ) had a Lotus 44 for Formula C in May 1968 but later that season the car had transplanted to the west coast and was raced by Peter Darr (Government Camp, OR) in Formula B. Raced again in FB by Darr in 1969 and advertised in September 1969 as "Clark's own". Sold to Robert "Denny" Ericson (Spokane, WA) of Repco NW in 1970 and then to Don Breidenbach (Oakland, CA) by 1973. Breidenbach raced the car in SCCA Regionals in 1973 before buying himself a brand new March 74B for 1974. Last seen when advertised by Breidenbach in February 1974. Subsequent history unknown. Philipp Buhofer owned a Lotus 44 in 2019 that was said to be 44-F2-3. The car's preparers say that it is the car owned at one time by Cedric Selzer, then sold to Japan. It was later sold by Lutziger Cars to Philipp Buhofer some time before 2014.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. McLaren M4B [200-10B] (Dow "Jack" Byers II): New to Robert Amey in June 1967 to be driven by Chuck Dietrich (Sandusky, OH) in Formula B, winning the FB class in six Central Division SCCA Nationals and also finishing firth in the Pro race at Mont-Tremblant. Dietrich bought a pair of new M4Bs for 1968 and his 1967 car was sold to Henry H. Hester (La Jolla, CA). Hester ran it in SCCA Nationals through 1968 and then sold it to Dow J. Byers II (San Diego, CA) who used it through 1969 and into early 1970. Probably the car of Clifton Wells (Lynwood, CA) at Ontario in July 1971 and Riverside in April 1972. Believed to have gone to Chuck Hayes at some point but history then unknown until owned by Ed Donnelly (Los Angeles, CA) in 1987. Then via Jim Miller and Rob Merrel (both now deceased) to Jim Brown (San Diego, CA) in 1991 who commissioned a complete restoration including a new tub built by Marc Bahner. In 2004, Brown sold the car to Brian Andrews (San Francisco, CA) who raced it in CSRG events in 2005 and 2006. Sold by Andrews via Fantasy Junction (Emeryville, CA) to Bill Hodder (Nagambie, Victoria, Australia) in 2011.
18. Titan Mk3 (Ernie Haze): Ernie Haze Jr. (Palo Alto, CA) raced a red #89 Titan in Formula B in 1969, appearing in only two Pro events, at Laguna Seca in May and Sears Point in June. Entered by Motor Sport Illustrated in the June 1970 Laguna race but may not have arrived. Nothing more known.
19. Lola T62 [SL62/8] (Robert J. Schmidt): John Surtees' 1966 F2 car according to Lola records, and raced only at Karlskoga in August 1966. To Robs Lamplough (London) at the end of 1966 and raced in 1967 F2 and libre, when it was described as having been updated to T63 specification. Then to John L'Amie in Ireland for 1600cc class racing. Sold to the US in Sep 1968, and almost certain to be the car imported by Pierre Philips of Pierre's Motor Racing (Portland, OR) and raced by Robert Schmidt (Portland, OR) for Formula B in 1969. From Schmidt it was sold to Sans Thompson (Banks, OR), who in turn sold it to Robert 'Bob' Tracy (Hillsboro, OR), who raced it in local Formula B in 1973. While owned by Tracy, the Lola was crashed by David E.B. 'Deb' Ward in 1974 at a driving school at Kent. Many years later, it was acquired by Lawrence Hayes, still in Tracy's livery, and sold by him via Rob Shanahan in February 2012 back to Robs Lamplough.
20. 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.
21. 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.

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.