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Österreichring Europameisterschaft

Österreichring, 16 Sep 1973

ResultsLapsTime/Speed
1 Guy Edwards (G5) 2-litre Lola T292 [HU40] - Ford BDG
#8 Barclay's International Racing
(see note 1)
60 1h 46m 11.9s
2 Martin Raymond (G5) 2-litre Chevron B21/B23 [72-26] - Cosworth FVC Smith
#29 Martin Raymond (see note 2)
60 1h 46m 44.9s
3 John Burton (G5) 2-litre Chevron B23 [73-08] - Cosworth FVC Smith
#23 Red Rose Racing (see note 3)
60 1h 46m 52.1s
4 Dieter Quester (G5) 2-litre Abarth Osella PA1 4
#1 Abarth Osella
60 1h 46m 57.8s
5 Jörg Obermoser (G5) 2-litre GRD S73 [055] - BMW Schnitzer 20-4
#22 Jörg Obermoser Eurorace (see note 4)
60 1h 47m 22.0s
6 Toine Hezemans (G5) 2-litre March 73S [8] - BMW M12/6
#25 Trivellato Racing Team
60 1h 47m 48.6s
7 René Herzog (G5) 2-litre GRD S73 [044] - BMW Schnitzer 20-4
#21 Jörg Obermoser Eurorace
58
8 Bert Kuehne (G5) 2-litre March 73S [1] - BMW M12/6
#18 STP March Racing Team
58
9 Paul Blancpain (G5) 1.8-litre Chevron B23 - Cosworth FVC Marti
#10 Memphis Racing Team (see note 5)
58
10 Jorge de Bagration (G5) 1.9-litre Chevron B23 [73-09] - Cosworth FVC
#12 Escuderia Montjuich Tergal [HIRE International]
(see note 6)
55
R John Lepp (G5) 2-litre Chevron B23 [73-12] - Cosworth FVC Smith
#24 Red Rose Racing (see note 7)
57 1:Clutch
R Alain Peltier (G5) 2-litre March 73S [10] - BMW M12/6
#15 Ecurie Vic Elford
38 2:Metering unit drive belt
R Vic Elford (G5) 2-litre March 73S [9] - BMW M12/6
#16 Ecurie Vic Elford
35 1:Misfire
R Gabriele Serblin (G5) 2-litre March 73S [3] - BMW M12/6
#26 Ceramica Pagnossin/Trivellato Racing Team
31 1:Ignition
R Chris Craft (G5) 2-litre Lola T292 [HU55] - Ford BDG
#9 Crowne Racing Team (see note 8)
1:Engine
R José Maria Juncadella (G5) 2-litre Chevron B21/B23 [72-20] - Cosworth FVC Smith
#14 Escuderia Montjuich Tergal [HIRE International]
(see note 9)
1:DNF
R Arturo Merzario (G5) 2-litre Abarth Osella PA1 [004] 4
#2 Abarth Osella
1:Engine
R Pino Pica (G5) 2-litre Abarth Osella PA1 [005] 4
#3 Abarth Osella
1:Engine
R Robin Smith (G5) 1.8-litre Lola T212 [HU26] - Cosworth FVC
#30 Robin Smith
1:Spun; 2:Out of fuel
UNK Philipp Gantner (G5) 2-litre Lola T292 [HU57] - BMW Schnitzer 20-4
#20 Jörg Obermoser Eurorace [Roland Heiler]
(see note 10)

UNK Christian Melville (G5) 2-litre Abarth Osella PA1 [007] 4
#4 Abarth Osella

DNA TBA (G5) 2-litre Alpine A440 [4400] - Renault V6
#6 Alpine Renault (see note 11)
Did not arrive
DNA Jim Busby (G5) 2-litre Lola T292 [HU51] - Ford BDG Richardson
#7 Barclays International Racing With Lola Cars
(see note 12)
Did not arrive
DNA Michel Dupont (G5) 1.9-litre Chevron B23 - Cosworth FVC Smith
#11 Memphis Racing Team (see note 13)
Did not arrive
DNA Hervé Bayard (G5) 2-litre unknown
Did not arrive
DNA Roland Heiler (G5) 2-litre GRD S73 - BMW Schnitzer 20-4
#20 Jörg Obermoser Eurorace
Did not arrive
DNA Jean-Pierre Jabouille (G5) 2-litre Alpine A440 [4401] - Renault V6
#5 Alpine Renault (see note 14)
Did not arrive
DNA Gérard Larrousse (G5) 2-litre unknown
Did not arrive
DNA Jean-Louis Lafosse (G5) 2-litre unknown
Did not arrive
DNA TBA (G5) 2-litre GRD S73 [041] - Ford BDG
#31 Dart Racing with G.R.D. (see note 15)
Did not arrive
DNA Tony Birchenhough (G5) 1.8-litre Lola T290 [HU22] - Cosworth FVC
#32 Dorset Foods (see note 16)
Did not arrive
  Ian Grob (G5) 1.9-litre Chevron B23 [73-05] - Cosworth FVC Smith
#17 K.V.G. Racing (see note 17)
On entry list
  Kurt Rieder (G5) 2-litre Chevron B23
#19 Memphis Racing Team
On entry list
  Cosimo Turizio (G5) 2-litre March 73S - BMW M12/6
#27 Trivellato Racing Team
On entry list
  Fredy Grainal (G5) 1.8-litre Lola T290 [HU17] - Cosworth FVC
#28 Marcel van Hool Racing (see note 18)
On entry list
  Bill de Selincourt,
John Quick
(G5) 1.9-litre Chevron B23 [73-10] - Cosworth FVC
#33 Ember Racing (see note 19)
On entry list
  Fred Stalder (G5) 1.9-litre Lola T290 [HU5] - Cosworth FVC
#34 Fred Stalder (see note 20)
On entry list
  Helmut Bross Lola T290 - Ford
#35 Minolta Cameras (see note 21)
On entry list
  Roger Heavens (G5) 1.9-litre Chevron B21/B23 [72-16] - Cosworth FVC
#36 Roger Heavens (see note 22)
On entry list
Qualifying
1 Chris Craft (G5 2.0) 2-litre Lola T292 [HU55] - Ford BDG 1m 44.1s
2 Arturo Merzario (G5 2.0) 2-litre Abarth Osella PA1 [004] - Abarth 4 1m 44.2s
3 Gabriele Serblin (G5 2.0) 2-litre March 73S [3] - BMW M12/6 1m 44.4s
4 Jörg Obermoser (G5 2.0) 2-litre GRD S73 [055] - BMW Schnitzer 20-4 1m 44.7s
5 Guy Edwards (G5 2.0) 2-litre Lola T292 [HU40] - Ford BDG 1m 44.9s
6 John Lepp (G5 2.0) 2-litre Chevron B23 [73-12] - Cosworth FVC Smith
7 John Burton (G5 2.0) 2-litre Chevron B23 [73-08] - Cosworth FVC Smith
8 Martin Raymond (G5 2.0) 2-litre Chevron B21/B23 [72-26] - Cosworth FVC Smith
9 Dieter Quester (G5 2.0) 2-litre Abarth Osella PA1 - Abarth 4
10 Pino Pica (G5 2.0) 2-litre Abarth Osella PA1 [005] - Abarth 4
11 Vic Elford (G5 2.0) 2-litre March 73S [9] - BMW M12/6
12 Alain Peltier (G5 2.0) 2-litre March 73S [10] - BMW M12/6
13 Toine Hezemans (G5 2.0) 2-litre March 73S [8] - BMW M12/6
14 Paul Blancpain (G5 2.0) 1.8-litre Chevron B23 - Cosworth FVC Marti
15 Bert Kuehne (G5 2.0) 2-litre March 73S [1] - BMW M12/6
16 René Herzog (G5 2.0) 2-litre GRD S73 [044] - BMW Schnitzer 20-4
17 Philipp Gantner (G5 2.0) 2-litre Lola T292 [HU57] - BMW Schnitzer 20-4
18 Robin Smith (G5 2.0) 1.8-litre Lola T212 [HU26] - Cosworth FVC
19 Christian Melville (G5 2.0) 2-litre Abarth Osella PA1 [007] - Abarth 4
20 José Maria Juncadella (G5 2.0) 2-litre Chevron B21/B23 [72-20] - Cosworth FVC Smith
21 Jorge de Bagration (G5 2.0) 1.9-litre Chevron B23 [73-09] - Cosworth FVC

Notes on the cars:

  1. Lola T292 [HU40] (Guy Edwards): Described consistently as the "prototype" T292, HU40 first appeared at Jarama 5 Nov 1972 where it was raced by Richard Scott. It was then Guy Edwards' works car throughout 1973 after which it was updated to T294 specification and sold by Lola to Martin Raymond for 1974. It went to Stewart Chubb for 1975 and continued to race in the European series. In 1976, Chubb sold the car to Steven Payne-Herbert and it was used in Can-Am and SCCA BSR racing until 1980. Payne-Herbert kept the car until 1989 when it was sold for vintage racing and, three owners later, it was being offered for sale by Grand Prix Classics in February 2011.
  2. Chevron B21/B23 [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.
  3. Chevron B23 [73-08] (John Burton): John Burton joined Red Rose Racing for 1973 and drove a new Chevron B23, chassis 73-08. The car was advertised in October 1973 and was sold to young Scottish hillclimber (and future double British Touring Car Champion) John Cleland for British hillclimbs. He used a 1930cc Alan Smith engine and fitted a Chevron B26 rear end to the car. John recalls selling the car to Roger Nathan and delivering it to London but the movement of the car are unknown for the rest of 1975. It was run in French courses de côte by Jean Pierre Lecomte in 1976 and 1977, by Jacques Heuclin from 1978 to 1980 and by Gérard Ferré in 1982. The car was then rebodied as the Sthémo and ran like this from 1985 to 1991.
  4. GRD S73 [055] (Jörg Obermoser): Jorg Obermoser ran a pair of GRD S73s during 1973 and his own car was identified by Sport Auto at Clermont-Ferrand in June as chassis 055. It is assumed that he ran the same car all season. In 1974, the two GRDs were extensively modified by Obermoser's TOJ company and entered as Toj SS02s. The individual history of the two SS02s has not yet been determined.
  5. Chevron B23 (Paul Blancpain): 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.
  6. Chevron B23 [73-09] (Jorge de Bagration): Acquired by Roger Hire a few races into the 1973 season and quickly completed using some B21 parts to run as part of the Hire International/Scuderia Montjuich team. Raced by José Juncadella, Javier Juncadella, Jorge de Bagration and Tim Schenken in European 2-litre events in 1973. Maybe the car raced by Rafael Barrios at Paul Ricard in April 1974 for Hire's Forge Mill Racing. Also appeared at Jarama 20 Oct 1974 for De Bagration. Advertised by Hire at the end of 1974 but not known in 1975 and 1976. With Laurence Jacobsen 1977 and with Tony Sugden for libre racing late 1978. Rebodied as a Skoda Super Saloon for 1979 and raced until at least 1981. Advertised by Malcolm Johnstone 1983. Reported to be with Mike Burtt 1988.
  7. Chevron B23 [73-12] (John Lepp): The second Red Rose Racing Chevron was driven by John Lepp in 1973 and he was allocated chassis B23-73-12. The B23 was advertised by Red Rose at the end of the season and bought by Bob Howlings in March 1974 who intended to race it. However, the car is not seen again and is believed to have been sold by Howlings to a Japanese customer.
  8. Lola T292 [HU55] (Chris Craft): Originally sold to Martin Birrane's Crowne Racing for Chris Craft to run in the 1973 European 2-litre Sports Car championship. The car was fitted with the new Cosworth BDG engine and the team was managed by Keith Greene. Craft won at Misano and Imola and took two further second places to win the championship. In 1974, the car was due to be fitted with the new Tecno P82 flat-8 engine but the project ran late and Birrane eventually sold the car in frustration to the Pederzani brothers. When the Lola-Tecno did finally appear, at Misano in July, it was driven by Jean-Pierre Jaussaud but retired with overheating problems. According to later sale descriptions, HU55 was then sold to well-known Sicilian hillclimb specialist Angelo Giliberti, continuing to Giuseppe Tornatore (Sardinia) in 1980, to Gianpaolo Casazza (Florence) in 2000 and then to Pietro Silva (San Marino) soon after. It returned to England in 2009 and was offered for sale by Maxted-Page in 2011.
  9. Chevron B21/B23 [72-20] (José Maria Juncadella): 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.
  10. Lola T292 [HU57] (Philipp Gantner): Bought new by Roland Heiler in June 1973 to replace the disappointing GRD S73 that he'd been running as part of Jörg Obermoser's Eurorace team. He ran the T292 in 1973 and 1974 as part of Obermoser's operation but it was driven mainly by Philipp Gantner in 1974. The fate of this car is unknown.
  11. Alpine A440 [4400] (TBA): The first Alpine A440, which had the slightly confusing chassis number 4400, was Jean-Pierre Jabouille's car until September and then became the team mule. After winter testing, the car vanished but is believed to have gone to Equipe Archambeaud as a source of spares for their sister A440, chassis 4401. The fate of the two A440s is not yet clear but they are believed to have gone from Larrousse's team to a Frenchman called Barbier and then 4400 is believed to have gone to Jean-Marie Jung for hillclimbs. Jung did not have an engine for the car and is reported to have used a 1600cc Gordini engine. (This may be the Alpine A440 1600 raced by Volet in 1980.) Jung raced the car from about 1982 onwards and was reported to still have the car, fully restored, near Angouleme in 2009.
  12. Lola T292 [HU51] (Jim Busby): SCCA driver Jim Busby bought a new Lola T292 for 1973 and competed in the European championship as part of Guy Edwards' semi-works Barclays International Racing team. He departed for his native California after the September Nürburgring race, leaving him time to secure the SCCA Southern Pacific Division BSR title. He was second in the Run-Offs to Jerry Hansen's sister car, HU60. For 1974, the car was sold to Noah Lacona (W. Des Moines, IA) who ran it in SCCA MidWest Division BSR racing for many years, finishing third at the Run-Offs as late as 1983. In 1977, HU51 was raced by Bobby Rahal at the Road America Can-Am. The car was later sold by Lacona to Joe Buzzetta (St James, NY) who also retained it for many years. He sold it to Larry Connor (Centerville, OH) who sold it to Greg Galdi (Lloyd Harbor NY) in February 2011. Since 1994, it has been looked after by Mark Wehrmann of Wehrmann Engineering (Hauppauge, NY).
  13. Chevron B23 (Michel Dupont): Michel Dupont and Paul Blancpain bought a new Chevron B23 for 1973 and ran it first in the Nürburgring 1000 km in May in preparation for Le Mans. After Le Mans, the car appeared at the Zeltweg 1000 km, Interserie Hockenheim and the Nürburgring 500 km in 1973. In 1974, Dupont ran two Chevrons but both were B19/B21/B23-style cars so this B23 was presumably his main car through 1974. then wearing B26-style rear bodywork. Dupont died in September 1974 and the subsequent histories of his two cars are not yet known.
  14. Alpine A440 [4401] (Jean-Pierre Jabouille): New for the Nürburgring in Sep 1973, chassis 4401 was sold to Equipe Archambeaud for 1974 and raced by Gérard Larrousse, Marie-Claude Beaumont and Bernard Darniche that year. From Larrousse's team, the car is understood to have gone to Jean-Paul Barbier for hillclimbs in 1977 and then to Jean-Pierre Theuil who ran it from 1978 to 1980. In May 2005, chassis "A440-01" was auctioned by Bonhams at Monaco but the history assigned to the car was that of the prototype, an understandable mistake given Alpine's unusual numbering system. Its current location is uncertain.
  15. GRD S73 [041] (TBA): A DART-backed works GRD S73 was due to be campaigned by John Miles in 1973 but it only raced at Paul Ricard before a lengthy disappearance. Dave Walker drove it when it returned late May and he won the second heat at Imola on 3 Jun. He comfortably led at Vila Real in July before the engine went off and led at Estoril a week later before the suspension collapsed and he crashed heavily, doing significant damage. A works car was raced at Fuji on 2 Sep by Vern Schuppan and, with extensive modification, by Tim Schenken at Fuji on 10 October but it is not clear whether this was the same car. The car then travelled from Japan to South Africa for the brief Springbok series at the end of 1973.
  16. Lola T290 [HU22] (Tony Birchenhough): 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.
  17. Chevron B23 [73-05] (Ian Grob): Bought new by Ian Grob and used mainly in minor British and French events at first. Grob took his car to the Springbok series at the end of 1973 and then did a full European campaign in 1974. For 1975, he bought a new Chevron B31 and the B23 was sold to Scottish club racer Tony Charnell. Charnell then bought Grob's B31 for 1976 and the fate of the B23 in unknown.
  18. 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.
  19. Chevron B23 [73-10] (Bill de Selincourt, John Quick): Bought by Bobby Howlings early 1973 for Bill de Selincourt's new Ember Racing team but only raced nine or ten times over the next two seasons. Raced by John Quick and Tony Goodwin in European 2-litre rounds but also by de Selincourt and others in long-distance racing. Last seen in a British club race 28 Oct 1973 but advertised during 1974 and in early 1975. Sold to Allan Cruikshank (Australia) and retained to 2009.
  20. Lola T290 [HU5] (Fred Stalder): 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.
  21. Lola T290 (Helmut Bross): From early 1973 until early 1975, Helmut Bross drove a Lola T290 in European events, mainly in Germany and Austria, supported by packaging company Lang-Verpackungen. His last known event in the car was the Preis der Stadt Stuttgart at Hockenheim in February 1975. The identity of the T290 is not known.
  22. Chevron B21/B23 [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.

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 20 Sep 1973 pp11-12. Blancpain was driving the same car he'd used at the 1000 kms at this circuit (on 24 June, when he'd shared with Dupont). José Juncadella was in the Hire B21/23 used by brother Javier two weeks before and Bagration was in the B23 used by Schenken.