Singapore Grand Prix for Cars

Singapore, 2 Apr 1972

All cars are 1.6-litre 1.6 2v unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. March 722 [40] (Vern Schuppan): New to Australian Vern Schuppan to drive in the British Formula Atlantic championship. Fitted with a BRM Ford twin cam engine, and first seen in practice at Mallory Park in late March, but Schuppan left before the race to catch a flight to the Singapore GP. Schuppan finished second in Singapore, and third in the Malaysian GP a week later. Then returned to the British series, now with a BDA, and won four rounds. The car was then fitted with Falconer bodywork and an Amon-Woods engine rebuilt by Geoff Richardson, and raced in the Rothmans 50,000 and in two late-season F2 races. After a single F2 race in 1973 fitted with a Richardon BDG, the car went to Southeast Asia, winning the Singapore GP with a Ford twin cam fitted, then competed in the JAF Grand Prix at Fuji with the BDG, and back to the 'twink' for Macau. He raced the car in British Formula Atlantic briefly in early 1974, then sent it back to Asia where he won the Macau GP in November, by which time it had been fitted with 732 bodywork and a Lola T360 rear wing. It then became a fixture at Macau up to 1977, being driven by Alan Jones and Derek Daly. Patrick Tambay also raced for Theodore Racing in the Malaysian and Penang Grands Prix in 1977, where it was still in 732 form but was billed as a 752. It reappeared at Macau for Schuppan in 1979, now in 76B bodywork. After one more race in the hands of Roberto Moreno, the car was retained by Yip and placed in the Macau Grand Prix Museum.
2. Brabham BT36 [2] (John Macdonald): New to Rondel Racing for Graham Hill and Bob Wollek to race in F2 in 1971. To John Macdonald (Hong Kong) for 1972, and fitted with a Hart 416 twin cam on carbs for Southeast Asian racing. To Eddie Marcello (Philippines) in 1973, and then to Rod Ocampo (Philippines) 1975, who last raced it in 1976. It then went to Romeo David in 1977, but the engine failed during practice and it did not race again. Later given to Louis Camus. Acquired from Camus by Leif Norberg, a Swede then living in Malaysia, in 1988, and it was restored for him in 1996 by Peter Denty Racing (Thetford, Norfolk). Sold to Andrew Fellowes (Benowa, Queensland, Australia) in 2004. To Alan Telfer in 2011.
3. Brabham BT30 [BT29/23] (Leo Geoghegan): Entered by Fred Opert Racing for Evan Noyes (Cedarville, MI) in the 1971 Tasman series, where it was fitted with a 1.8-litre Cosworth FVC. This was not the same BT29 that Noyes had used in Formula B in 1970, as that car was later advertised by Opert in the US. Sold to Graeme Lawrence (New Zealand) after the Tasman series, fitted with a Hart twin cam and used in races in South East Asia in early 1971, then with the FVC again for races in New Zealand and Australia. To Leo Geoghegan for SE Asian races in 1972, then to Ken Smith in New Zealand. Next seen when advertised by Bill David (Taupo, New Zealand) in June 1974, still with its FVC and twin cam engines. Raced by Frank Bray and entered by David in 1975, then to Peter Hughes and fitted with a Fiat engine for 1976, then a BDA for 1977. Observed by David McKinney in 1977 to be chassis BT29/23.
4. Lotus 59/69 [F3-2] (Ken Smith): Entered by Michael Spence Ltd for Tetsu Ikuzawa in F3 in 1969. Autosport noted that he was "giving his 59 its first outing" at Silverstone on 17 May 1969 and Motoring News called it "c/n 2". In September, it was reported that the car had been sold to Eddie Jacobsson, but Izukawa continued with it through October. Then entered by Mike Ticehurst's Motor Racing Enterprises for James Hunt at Thruxon in November. To Mike Stow for 1970 and, after a single F3 race, converted to Formula 2 for David Cole to drive at Crystal Palace in May, where he failed to qualify. Raced by Stow in a libre at Silverstone and then sold to New Zealander Ken Smith who entered it for Gold Star races from October onwards. Raced by Smith in the 1971 Tasman series as a Lotus 69, as the car now had 69-style bodywork, and using a 1.8-litre Cosworth FVC. Retained for Gold Star and International races in 1972, and also used at races in Singapore and at Batu Tiga with a Ford twin cam engine. According to Graeme Vercoe, the car was later owned by Simon Seagrave, Malcolm Webb and Steve Bullot as a Formula Ford car. Vercoe adds that it went via David Manton (Tauranga) to Allan Cattle (Auckland) in 1989. Subsequent history unknown.
5. McLaren M4C (Jan Bussell): New Zealand F3 driver Howden Ganley performed some testing for his friend Bruce McLaren on the Can-Am M8A in early 1969, and as part of the deal was able to build up a car for a Formula 2 campaign. The car used a McLaren M4A monocoque but with special bodywork designed to make it a "mini-M7". Money problems and delivery delays meant that Ganley never raced it, focusing instead on a successful F3 season. The McLaren was next seen when advertised by Jim Gleave of MRE (Bourne End, Buckinghamshire) in May 1971 as a "brand new" McLaren 'M4C' built for Ganley. It was sold to Jan Bussell (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) in time for the Malaysian GP in early September. The car was then reported to have used second-hand M4B F1 suspension and a new body based on the M7 F1 cars. As well as the designation 'M4C-1', it was also reported to carry the chassis number 'FJB4' for Bussell. It was modified to take a Ford twin cam engine and used by Bussell at the Malaysian GP, the Macau GP in November 1971 and at the March 1972 Singapore GP, during which it was damaged by fire. Its history is then unknown until it was found in Malaysia by RAF engineer Irwin Lindsey and brought back to England where it was sold in June 1984 to McLaren's Leo Wybrott. Wybrott subsequently reported that the car had been built using the original monocoque from M4A/2, crashed at Brands Hatch in August 1967, and he restored the car over some period to the same specification as M4A/2. It was on display in the Donington Museum and at the Midland Museum from 1992 until 2005, when Leo moved to Australia, and the M4A moved to the Fremantle Motor Museum in West Australia.
6. Brabham BT16 (Lionel Chan): Hengkie Iriawan, or Heng Kyeow Ooi as he was then known, raced a Brabham "bitza" in two races in Malaysia and Singapore in early 1968. It is presumably the car he raced at Macau the previous November. According to Eli Solomon's "Snakes & Devils" it was probably a Brabham BT16. He quickly moved on to a new Elfin 600, and the Brabham reappeared two years later having been bought from Iriawan by Lionel Chan. Chan was killed while racing this car after an accident at the Singapore GP's Long Loop in 1972.
7. Palliser WDB4 [1] (Hengkie Iriawan): New for Vern Schuppan to drive as the Palliser Racing entry in the British Formula Atlantic series in early 1971. Taken out to Singapore in April 1971 and sold there to Hengkie Iriawan, who raced it in Southeast Asian events in 1971 and early 1972, still fitted with its BRM Ford twin cam engine. Iriawan died on 23 April 1972 in a go-kart crash at Ipoh in Malaysia, and the Palliser was sold to Jan Bussell (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), who raced it in 1972, 1973 and 1974. Subsequent history unknown.
8. Brabham BT30 [5] (Albert Poon): Sold to Frank Williams Racing Cars and entered for Piers Courage and Richard Attwood in F2 in 1969. Then sold to Albert Poon (Hong Kong) and raced by him at the Macau GP in November 1969. Retained by Poon for South East Asian racing in 1970, 1971 and 1972. Reported to have been scrapped.
9. Brabham BT15 [BT14/BT15 "FJB2"?] (Percy Chan): Jan Bussell bought a twin-cam Brabham from Howden Ganley which was always described as a BT14. The car is said by John Blanden to be AM88, by Bryan Miller to be AM66 and is recorded by Ted Walker as F2-4-66. It is also said that Ganley had built up an unused F3 chassis, quite probably a BT15, while working at MRD and sold it to Bussell with a Ford twin-cam engine supplied by Red Rose Motors. As a BT15 with a twin-cam was virtually identical to a BT14, the description would make sense. According to Ted Walker again, it later went to P Chan (i.e. Percy Chan) in 1972 and then to Bruce Winder in New Zealand in 1973. It was not raced in NZ and is unknown until (according to John Blanden) it was bought by John Dymond in NZ in 1999. It was restored in NZ and raced in historics in 2000 before moving to Dymond's native Australia. Owned by Dymond until his death in 2006, then with his family as part of Team Penrite. Raced by Keith Simpson for the team in 2010 and 2011.

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.

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

Autosport 13 Apr 1972 p6, 'Snakes & Devils' (Eli Solomon, 2008, ISBN 978-981-261-584-8). Entry list and other programme details provided by Richard Coe.