Nürburgring 500 km

Nürburgring, 3 Sep 1972

Notes on the cars:

1. Lola T290 [HU10] (Jean-Louis Lafosse): Chassis HU10 was new at at Dijon in June 1972 replacing chassis HU3 crashed at Vallelunga in April. It was used through the rest of 1972 under the Scuderia Filipinetti banner wearing Flint livery and with FVC and later Chevy Vega EA engines. Also used by Lafosse in French hillclimbs in 1972. Lafosse retained the car for the first race of 1973 and it was also raced by Marie-Claude Beaumont at Clermont-Ferrand in June 1973. In 1975, the car was acquired by Hans-Markus Huber in Switzerland and used in Swiss national racing throughout the late 1970s. He retained the car until about 2005/2006 when he sold it to the US. In 2007, Lola Heritage recorded that HU10 was owned by Jeff Lewis.
2. Chevron B21 [72-2] (Trevor Twaites): This car was sold to Trevor Twaites and raced by him and regular co-driver Brendan McInerney in European events throughout 1972. They continued to drive the Intertech-backed car in early 1973, their last event being the Nürburgring 1000 km in May, It was then acquired by Roy Johnson and Alan Stubbs who were to form Paulenco Racing and driven by José Uriarte at Vila Real in July 1973 and in the Angolan series. It was raced by Chris Skeaping in the Nürburgring 500 km in Sep 1973 and then by Uriarte at Nogaro and the Barcelona 400 km. It was sold to Stewart Chubb for 1974 and driven by Peter Long and others 1974-1975. It is then believed to have been sold to France.
3. Chevron B21 [72-3] (Peter Smith, David Welpton): Sold new to Peter Smith and raced by him and co-driver David Welpton through 1972 and 1973 primarily in distance events across Europe but also in some short British events. Updated to B23 specification for 1974 and raced by Smith with various co-drivers including Rupert Keegan. Co-drivers in 1975 included John Turner. The car was replaced by the ex-KVG/John Hine Chevron B31 for 1976 and was sold to Ray Petry (Boston, MA) for SCCA racing and then for the new Can-Am series that started in 1977. Ray used an ex-Rondel 1840cc BDE engine that he'd bought from Tony Cicale. Raced in Can-Am 1978 to 1980. Ray later sold the car to dealer Mike Gue of Essex Racing, who sold it to Canada. Subsequent history unknown.
4. Lola T290 [HU17] (Fredy Grainal): The history of HU17 prior to September 1972 is unknown but the car was apparently new for Belgian Freddy Grainal. Used at Nürburgring 3 Sep 1972, Montjuich 8 October 1972 and Jarama 5 Nov 1972 as a Marcel van Hool entry. Raced again in 1973, winning two minor Belgian races. Last seen at Barcelona Oct 1973. Subsequent history unknown.
5. Chevron B19/B21 [71-32] (John Bridges): The last new B19 to appear in Europe, B19-71-32 was new for Red Rose Racing boss John Bridges to drive at Jarama 7 Nov 1971. It had the wider B21-spec chassis required to meet 1972 regulations so was retained by Red Rose Racing as a fourth entry in 1972. It was driven mainly by Bridges in 1972 but also by Niki Bosch, Paco Josa and John Watson in European 2-litre events. At the end of the 1972 season it was sold to Bobby Howlings and was almost certainly the car driven by Howlings and John Hine at Vallelunga 25 Mar 1973 and then by Hine at Paul Ricard 8 Apr 1973. The car then disappears from Howlings' Ember Racing team, possibly to Japan or possibly to fellow wheeler-dealer Tony Dean.
6. Chevron B19 [71-9] (John Gray): 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 it was raced by James Wallis (Edenbridge, Kent) in 1983 and 1984. The car's history becomes increasingly murky after this point. For more on this car, see 'Chevron B19 71-9'.
7. Chevron B21 [72-16] (Roger Heavens): Roger Heavens replaced his Chevron B16 with a new B21, chassis 72-16, and raced extensively across Europe as well as the Angolan and South African series. The car was updated to B23 specification for 1973 and raced up to the Angolan series in July. It was then sold to local driver Waldemar Teixeira (with a 1930cc FVC) and raced by him later in 1973 and in the first part of 1974. It was almost certainly the car that went to Bandeira Vieira later in 1974. The Angolan civil war then intervened and the B21 remained in storage in Angola until 1985 when it was sold to Stein Johnsen (Halden, Norway). The car was shipped back to Europe in 1991, and a restoration was started by Steve Sheldon. The restoration was not completed and the Chevron was then not seen for some years until sold at Bonhams' Stoneleigh auction in February 2006 to Eddie McLurg. McLurg later sold it to Mike Fisher (Swindon), who had the restoration completed by Jeremy Bennett of Nemesis Racing in Gloucestershire, and repainted it from the yellow livery it wore in 2006, to maroon with black and white stripes. It was sold by Silverstone Auctioins about 2011, and subsequently went to France. In May 2015, the car was offered again by Bonhams at their Spa auction, but did not sell.
8. Lola T212 [SL210/8?] (Alex Janda): The Lola T210 of Walter Lehmann (Hungen, Hesse, Germany) was identified as chassis 8 when it appeared at the 1970 Spa 500 km. Lehman had been using the car in hillclimbs. Believed to be the car entered by Auto-Lehmann-Racing-Team for Hans Schulze-Schwering (Munster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) in 1971 and then entered by Hans Schulze Schwering for Alex Janda (Höchberg, Bavaria, Germany) in 1972. In November 1972, it was reported that Janda's "T212" had been sold to a Brazilian for a South American series expected to take place in January 1973.
9. Chevron B21 [72-6] (Max Cohen-Olivar): New to Max Cohen-Olivar and raced in European 2-litre sports car rounds in 1972, fitted with an 1800cc Cosworth FVC. Sold to Jacques Alméras for French hillclimbs in 1973, then to Daniel Gache (Avignon, France) for 1974, when it was usually described as a B23. Subsequent history unknown.
10. Chevron B21 [72-8] (Peter Hanson): One of two Chevron B21s acquired by Red Rose Racing for the 1972 sports racing season, 72-8 was driven by John Hine in the early 2-litre races, and shared by him and team principal John Bridges in long-distance events. Hine got a new Chevrolet Vega-engined car at Dijon in June, and 72-8 was taken over by José Juncadella for the rest of the year. This is almost certainly the car shared by Hine and Dave Charlton in the Springbok series in November and December. In 1973, the car appeared at the first race for José's brother Javier Juncadella but Roger Hire then became involved with the team and he provided a new B23 and his relatively recent B21 instead of the ex-Red Rose B21. The fate of the B21 is not known.
11. Chevron B21 [72-26] (Martin Raymond): Bought relatively late in the 1972 season by Martin Raymond (London) to replace his Daren Mk. 3, B21-72-26 was used for the last three races of the European series and then, in upgraded B23 form, for the whole 1973 season. It was unused in 1974 and was advertised by Raymond in November that year. Bought by John Blanckley (London) for 1975 and raced by him and John Calvert that season, after which it was sold to Rolf Götz (Waldenbuch, Germany) and raced from 1976 to 1978, latterly described as a B26. For 1979, Götz bought Blanckley's newer B31 and the fate of the B21 is unknown. Between 1980 and 1982, a car with this identity was advertised by Bob Speak's Barrowford Garage (Nelson, Lancashire) but how it had got from southwestern Germany to Lancashire is unclear.
12. Lola T290 [HU22] (Guy Edwards): The works assisted Barclays International entry, chassis HU22 was driven by Guy Edwards in 1972. It was then sold to Dorset Foods and driven by Tony Birchenhough, Brian Joscelyne and Lee Kaye in 1973 events and this continued into 1974, when Claude Crespin joined the driving group, and 1975, when Ian Bracey became a regular driver. Each year the car was updated at the Lola factory to the latest specification and different chassis plates were added to ensure it gained the best possible prize money. The car was raced at Le Mans every year from 1976 to 1980 and continued to race in Internationals right up to 1983. It was then sold to Nick Mason and stored until brought back to Le Mans for demonstration runs in 1992 and 1993. Birchenough now cares for the car and it appeared at the Le Mans Classic in 2002, 2004 and 2006.
13. Lola T290 [HU5] (Claude Swietlik): This car was acquired by Ecurie Bonnier and run for customer Claude Swietlik throughout 1972, also being raced by Mario Cabral, Gilbert Salles and Hervé Bayard on occasion. In 1973 it was sold to Fred Stalder who founded Racing Organisation Course (ROC) and was used throughout the season in both European 2-litre racing and in French hillclimbs. Based on photographic evidence, this car was retained by ROC for 1974 as a backup for for hire purposes. It appears to be the car used by Albert Dufrêne in French hillclimbs in 1974 and is then believed to have passed to Christian Riehl around 1976.
14. Chevron B21 [72-7] (Niki Bosch, Howden Ganley): Red Rose Racing acquired two Chevron B21s for the start of the 1972 sports racing season, chassis B21-72-7 and B21-72-8. Of these, 72-7 was initially assigned to José Maria Juncadella and raced by him in the 2-litre championship. At Dijon in June, Juncadella took over 72-8 from John Hine, and the team's third driver Niki Bosch was promoted into 72-7. He raced the car for the remainder of the season, including the finale at Jarama in November. Subsequent history unknown, but likely to be the car that went to Henk Bosman.
15. 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 it was raced by James Wallis (Edenbridge, Kent) in 1983 and 1984. The car's history becomes increasingly murky after this point. For more on this car, see 'Chevron B19 71-9'.
16. Chevron B21 [72-20] (Peter Hanson): Bought by Roger Hire for Peter Hanson to drive in European sports car events in 1972, at first with a 2-litre BRM V8 engine, until changing to a normal FVC. Raced in the Springbok series at the end of the year. The car was upgraded to B23 specification for 1973 and joined Roger Hire's new B23 in the Hire International/Scuderia Montjuich team. Raced by both Javier and José Juncadella. This may be the "bitza" Chevron built up for Frank Sytner to drive at the start of the 1974 season. Presumably one of the two "B23s" advertised by Roger Hire in May 1975. Subsequent history unknown.
17. Chevron B8 [CH-DBE-78] (Chris Appleby): A bright yellow B8 bought for 1969 by the Bamford family, sponsored by JCB Excavators Ltd and raced by Pete Brown and Roger Enever in long-distance events, notably the Targa Florio and Le Mans. This car was sold to Bosco O'Brien for 1970 and was one of four B8s appearing regularly in Mondello Parks sports/GT races during 1970. Sold back to England to Graham Lynch for 1971 and raced in northern club racing.
18. Gipsy P II (Romano Martini ("Shangri-Là")): This one-off special was built in 1971, reportedly by Dallara in Italy for Autocostruzioni Gipsy and powered by a 2-litre Ferrari Dino engine. It was raced by "Shangri-Là" (Martini Romano) in 1971 and 1972 and later in Italian hillclimbs. Subsequent history unknown. It was auctioned by Coys in Birmingham in January 2010 (wearing a body radically different to the one it wore in 1972) and was bought by Jim Morris.
19. Chevron B19 [71-24] (Heinz Wechsler): 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.

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.