Nürburgring 500 km

Nürburgring, 5 Sep 1971

Notes on the cars:

1. Chevron B19 [71-9] (John Lepp): Sold to Central Garage (Mirfield) Ltd for John Lepp to drive in the 1971 European 2-litre series. Sold to James Gray for 1972 with Peter Gaydon as co-driver and then to Ian Harrower and James Bell for 1973 and 1974. Sold to Tony Wadsworth and rebodied with an Imp body as the Special Saloon "Chimp" and driven by Jonathan Buncombe. Banned almost immediately and sold to Paul Howarth for historic racing in 1977. Then raced by Vin Malkie from 1978 to 1982 after which is was raced by James Wallis (Edenbridge, Kent) in 1983 and 1984. The next part of the car's history is increasingly cloudy but it appears to be the car owned by Kevin Wilkins in 2009.
2. Lola T212 [HU22] (Jean-Pierre Jabouille): Bought by Karl von Wendt Racing for 1971 and entered for Helmut Marko at the first few races, winning the opening round at Paul Ricard in April and qualifying on pole for the next round at the Salzburgring. The car was damaged at Silverstone in June and Marko used the team's sister car HU23 thereafter. HU22 returned to the team and was raced by Jean-Pierre Jabouille at the Nürburgring in September (where Autosport noted that it was the car that had won the opening round) and by Gijs van Lennep at Zandvoort a few weeks later. The car was taken as a spare to the Springbok series but raced at Kyalami by Gijs van Lennep and Jackie Pretorius. Subsequent history unknown but said to have been sold to a Greek hillclimber. A car with this number bought from the US by Ian Giles then sold to Bryan Jedinak in the US in 2005 before returning again to the UK via Giles again and bought by Neil Primrose in 2009.
3. Lola T210 [SL210/14] (Guy Edwards, Terry Croker): Terry Croker bought SL210/14 in August 1970 to replace his Lola T70 for use in the Interserie championship. Croker used it in the 1971 European 2-litre series, sharing with Guy Edwards at the Nürburgring in September. It was sold to Rolf Skoghag for 1972 who continued to race it until June 1973. It is then reported to have passed through the hands of Mike Gue and John Webb before reaching Bill Sainsbury (Vancouver, Canada) for 1976. After racing in DSR in 1976 it is reported to have passed via MacKenzie Racing 1977 and at least one other Canadian owner to Robert Grant (UK) in 1985 who sold it to Bengt Ljungbergh (Sweden) later that year. Ljungbergh retained it to 2007 when it was sold via Chris Fox to Geoff Lister. It was for sale in November 2010.
4. Chevron B16 [DBE-4] (Brian Robinson, José Dolhem): Brian Robinson ran a Chevron B16 in 1970 and 1971 before upgrading to a Chevron B21 for the 1972 season. He sold the B16, still complete with its early FVC, to John White (Byfield, MA) who raced it in BSR racing for several seasons.
5. Lotus 62 [GT-1] (Dave Brodie): The Chevron GT had achieved huge success in 1968, success that was somewhat embarrassing for Lotus whose Lotus 47 Europa had been thoroughly eclipsed. For 1969, Lotus produced a spaceframe Lotus 62, lightly disguised as a GT prototype, fitted with the new Vauxhall-derived LV220 2-litre engine which would be the basis of the Lotus 904 engine. Two cars were built and John Miles and Brian Muir drove this prototype at the BOAC 6 Hours at Brands Hatch in April 1969. Although it won its class and was generally successful on its rare outings, only two were ever built and the project was dropped at the end of 1969. Chris Barber bought this car and entered it for Trevor Taylor and Dave Brodie at a few races in 1971 fitted with a LV240 engine.
6. Chevron B8 [CH-DBE-84] (Richard Knight, Michael Knight): Bought by TorLine Ltd and entered for Guy Edwards and Mike Franey in long-distance events in 1969. Sold to Ed Negus for 1970 and fitted with a distinctive high roof centre to accommodate Negus's height. Raced widely in European events in 1970. For 1971, the car was sold to the French-based English brothers Mike and Richard Knight who used it in long-distance events, notably the Targa Florio, winning the 2-litre G5 class, and the Tour de France. It was later owned by Tony Gordon, Grahame Bryant, Peter Alderman and John Lloyd before being bought by Jerry Hooper (Shropshire) in 1997. Hooper was still racing the car in 2007.
7. Lola T212 [HU23] (Gijs van Lennep): One of two Lola T212s bought by Karl von Wendt Racing for 1971 and the team car originally allocated to Von Wendt himself. Raced at Paul Ricard in April by Von Wendt and Jean-Pierre Jabouille and then at Salzburgring in May by Gijs van Lennep. As Von Wendt had retired from driving, HU23 was not take to Silverstone in June but when Helmut Marko damaged the other team car, HU22, at that race, he moved over to HU23 for the rest of the season. He won in this car at Clermont-Ferrand, Hockenheim and Imola in June and July and also raced at Nürburgring and Zandvoort in September. Presumably Marko's car at the ADAC-Sauerland-Bergpreis in October. Then shipped to South Africa for the Springbok series and raced by Marko and John Love in six events. Subsequent history unknown but said to have been sold to a Belgian driver and crashed at some point in the 1970s. A car with this number owned by Ian Webb in the early 1980s and rebuilt on a reskinned monocoque for use in historic racing, initially by Richard Eyre and then John Foulston. Nicola Foulston sold it to a M. Defornay in 1986 but it is then unknown until owned by Richard Griot (Seattle, WA) in the late 1990s then to Walt Cox (Seattle, WA) 2005, Steve Read 2008 and Gregoire Audi 2010.
8. Martin BM8 [1] (Brian Martin, Edward Negus): The Martin BM8 was Brian Martin's regular car for the 1971 season and was then sold to David Good for hillclimbs in 1972. Good came very close to winning the class-based Leaders title, only to crash on his first class run at the final round of the championship. The BM8 was raced by Richard Brown in hillclimbs in 1974 and 1975, and by John Stuart in 1976 before fading from view for a few years. It was with Simon Phillips in 1982 and then raced by Stoic Racing (Ian Harrower, John Piper and others) with a BDX engine in 1983-84. It passed through the hands of Ian Barrowman and Mike Campbell-Cole in the 1990s before landing with Howard Matloff (San Diego, CA) by 1998.
9. Chevron B19 [71-16] (Gérard Larrousse): Jo Siffert for Gerard Larrousse 1971 - Hans Affentranger 1972-1977 - to Dieter Pflüger 1978 - Peter-Paul Dürig 1983 - Richard and Suzy George 2000. For a more detailed history see Chevron B19 71-16.
10. Martin BM7 [1] (Edward Negus, Brian Martin): The Martin BM7 was raced by Brian Martin in 1970 and then by Edward Negus in 1971, during which time it was fitted with a 1600cc FVA engine and was sometimes described as a BM8. In 1972, the car was rebodied by Martin as a "BM9C" with a Chevron B16-style centre section and sold to Chris and Mike Oates who used it in club racing. The next few years are unclear but by 1976 it had been sold to Peter-Paul Durig in Switzerland and was used in Swiss national events over the next five seasons. In 1982, it returned to the UK when Richard Brown bought it from Durig (the BM10 going in the opposite direction). It was then sold to Jim Gathercole who restored it back to BM7 specification and raced it in historics for three seasons. It then went to Karl-Reiner Vogeler in Mar 1986 and to Bernd Seidler in Mar 1993. Seidler restored the car again in 1999 and it was offered for sale by Bonhams in 2004 and 2005. Subsequent history unknown.
11. Chevron B19 [71-22] (Clemens Schickentanz, Willi Kauhsen): Paul Kersten bought a Chevron B19 via dealer Jo Siffert for Clemens Schickentanz to race in 1971. Its history after 1971 is uncertain but it appears to have been the "B21" (later "B23" and even "B26") raced in French hillclimbs by Jacky Daumet (Alès, France) from 1973 to 1977.
12. Chevron B19 (Michel Dupont, Dominique Martin): Swiss driver Michel Dupont drove a B16 in 1971 until a crash at Imola. He reappeared at the Nürburgring 500 km in September with a B19 of unknown origin and continued to run this car through 1972, including sharing it at Le Mans with Pierre Bodin and Pierre Blancpain. Dupont continued to drive a Chevron sports car until the end of the 1974 season. It was described as a B21 at Imola 17 Sep 1972, a B23 in 1973, a B23/26 in 1974, a B26 on two occasions and then back to a B23 at the end of 1974.
13. Chevron B19 [71-24] (Bernd Terbeck): Chassis 71-24 was sold to Harry Hundt, head of Duckhams Oils Germany, who hired Bernd Terbeck to race the car in German national events. Terbeck retired early in 1972 and Hundt then entered it for Heinz Wechsler in 1973 and 1974, mainly in Bergrennen. Hundt then wound up his team but passed the Chevron to Wechsler who continued to race it in 1975 before selling it to Rolf Farber in mid-1976. It then passed to Wilfried Güllert for 1977 then Dieter Josting in 1981 and Claus-Peter Beckhäuser in 1983 when it moved into historic racing. The car passed to Robert Harvey in 2004 and to Peter McLaughlin (Hannover, NH) late 2008. It was for sale with at Grand Prix Classics (La Jolla, CA) in May 2011.
14. Lola T212 [HU18] (Peter Westbury): One of two cars delivered to Ecurie Bonnier and raced under the Scuderia Filipinetti banner. HU18 is identified by Sport Auto as Jo Bonnier's personal car and is likely to be the car used at Paul Ricard April 1972 by Claude Ballot-Léna. A surviving Bonnier invoice shows that HU18 was sold to Enzo Osella in May 1972 and a 2011 advert by Marcel Roks quotes a 1985 HVIF which identifies HU18 as the car then owned by Roberto Filannino and Pasquale Barberio. Barberio raced a 1300cc Lola T212-Abarth in Italian domestic racing in 1973 and the Roks advert says he kept the car until 1976. Later owners are given as a Mr. Girollami 1976, Stefano Sebastiani 1982, Victor Myette 1994, Andy Wolfe (Cambridge, UK) 1998 and the current owner in 2001.
15. Chevron B19 (Arthur Blank): Arthur Blank (Zurich, CH) had a Chevron B16 in 1970 which he is said to have crashed at some point during 1970. A new frame was built locally and clothed as a B19, using surviving components from the B16. This car was raced during 1971 with an Opel engine and Steinmetz-Automobiltechnik support. According to euromontagna.com, Blank drove a B19 at Swiss championship events throughout 1972 and then a B21 at two Swiss events in 1973 which may well be the same car.
16. Lola T212 [HU18] (Jo Bonnier): One of two cars delivered to Ecurie Bonnier and raced under the Scuderia Filipinetti banner. HU18 is identified by Sport Auto as Jo Bonnier's personal car and is likely to be the car used at Paul Ricard April 1972 by Claude Ballot-Léna. A surviving Bonnier invoice shows that HU18 was sold to Enzo Osella in May 1972 and a 2011 advert by Marcel Roks quotes a 1985 HVIF which identifies HU18 as the car then owned by Roberto Filannino and Pasquale Barberio. Barberio raced a 1300cc Lola T212-Abarth in Italian domestic racing in 1973 and the Roks advert says he kept the car until 1976. Later owners are given as a Mr. Girollami 1976, Stefano Sebastiani 1982, Victor Myette 1994, Andy Wolfe (Cambridge, UK) 1998 and the current owner in 2001.
17. (Gilghes) NSU Special (Heinz Gilges): Heinz Gilghes raced his "strange looking 1300cc NSU-powered special" at the Spa 500 kms in September 1970.

Sources

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' original 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.