Weston-Super-Mare Speed Trials

Weston, 2 Oct 1976

Notes on the cars:

1. Surtees TS8 [007] (Alan Richards): New for Peter Revson at the 1971 Questor GP then for Alan Roillinson in UK series. To Alan Brodie 1972 and raced by Brodie and by Steve Thompson. To Servis Appliances Racing Team 1973 and raced by Ray Allan early in the season. Then possibly the Robin Darlington car in Sep 1973 Reappeared with Colin Andrews (Banbury, Oxfordshire) 1974, then to Steve Cuff (Frome, Somerset) 1975 for hillclimbs. To Alan Richards (Cheltenham) and used in sprints and occasional hill climbs in 1976 and 1977. Used in sprints and occasional hill climbs by Bob Clapham in 1978 and 1979. Then unknown until sold by Brian Redman to Dave Swigler (Panama City, FL) in 1986. Dave believes Brian got it from Richard Attwood about two years earlier. Retained until Swigler sold his collection to Harin De Silva (Palos Verdes Estates, CA) in 2009. Restored by Virtuoso Performance and first raced at Laguna Seca in August 2011. Also raced in New Zealand in the 2011/12 Tasman Revival series and at the Phillip Island Classic in March 2013.
2. McLaren M10A/B [300-08] (Richard White): See full history: McLaren M10A 300-08.
3. Brabham BT35 [6] (Rob Turnbull): New to Nick Cook and used in the British Formula Atlantic series in 1971. Retained for early 1972, but Cook does not appear in the UK after the end of April and this is probably the car taken to the USA to use in the SCCA series in 1972. Used by Rob Turnbull in British hillclimbs in 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1976. Sold to Andrew Fraser (Newton Abbot, Devon), and shared by him and Tim Painter in Sprints in 1977. Retained by Fraser for 1978 and 1979, and appeared at Wiscombe Park events in 1980 and 1982. Then via David McLaughlin to Keith Norman about 1984 and used by him in HSCC events in the 1980s and 1990s. To Rob Haze (Netherlands) between 1992 and 1995, and then back to Norman again. To John Dunham April 2001, then to Ben Tyler 2003, then Peter Shaw 2004, then Dr John Monson 2007.
4. Brabham BT18 [F2-22-66] (John Hart): New to Roy Winkelmann Racing for Jochen Rindt to race in European F2 in 1966, winning at the Nürburgring in April and at Brands Hatch in October. Sold to Reg Armstrong (Northern Ireland), fitted with a 1600cc Ford twin cam and raced in Northern Ireland in 1967. Later to Tommy Reid (Tandragee, County Armagh) for 1969 as a backup to his Brabham BT23 and used in events where the FVA-engined car was not eligible. To John Smith (Ballymena, County Antrim) and raced again in Irish libre racing in 1970. Smith acquired a BT30 for 1971 and the BT18 was sold to English dealer Bobby Howlings who sold it on, less engine, to RAF pilot John Walmsley. Walmsley fitted a 997cc ex-F3 Cosworth engine and ran it in sprints and hillclimbs, winning the novice award at Blackpool in June 1971. He fitted a Vegantune twin cam for 1972. The car was next seen with John Hart on the hills in 1975, when it still had the Vegantune twin cam, but he apparantly fitted a Cosworth FVA for the 1976 season. Then sold to Jimmy Johnstone for 1977, when it was back to its Vegantune powerplant. Traded to dealer David Winstanley (Winsford, Cheshire) for a Brabham BT30 and then unknown until raced between 1979 and 1981 in Monoposto by Barry Whitehurst (Wombourne, Staffordshire). Peter Speakman (Broughton-in-Furness, Cumbria) acquired the car for the 1984 season, and hillclimbed it for many years. It was displayed by Speakman in a Rindt tribute at the Essen Motor Show in 1993. Some time around 2007, this car was bought from David Crowther by Joe Willenpart (Austria). By 2019, this had moved to a private collection.
5. March 74B [7] (Martyn Griffiths): A lightweight car sold to Chris Cramer (Stroud, Gloucestershire), and fitted with a Cosworth BDG engine for British hillclimbs. Retained for 1975, when fitted with a 2.2-litre Hart 422R engine. Then to Martyn Griffiths (Arley, Worcestershire) for 1976, still with the same Hart engine. For 1977, Griffiths too the car to Mike Pilbeam, and he revamped it as the Pilbeam R28, although it still looked much like a 74B and was entered as a March "74P". He won five of the first eight rounds of the British series, and finished second overall. It was completely revamped again by Pilbeam for 1978, now dubbed the "Pilbeam G78", with new side panels, nose and rear wing, and Griffiths again won five rounds. To John Barratt (Garstang, Lancashire), who fitted a 1600cc Cosworth FVA and entered it as the Pilbeam R28. To Alan Newton (Clitheroe, Lancashire) in 1982, when it was described as a Pilbeam MP28, then to Martin Brockhouse (Leeds, West Yorkshire) to use in sprints in 1983. It then appears to have returned to Newton, and was raced by him in 1984 and 1985, but in either 1985 or 1986, Newton crashed it into a tree at Doune. The car was rebuilt by Newton using a set of plans provided by Mike Pilbeam, and was sold by him to Peter Varley in 1987. By this time the car was almost unrecognisable as a 74B, and Varley says there was little of the original car left. Varley later fitted a 2000cc Ford YB engine, and ran the car until he retired. It was then bought back by Alan Newton once again, and has been retained by his sons.

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.

The British Sprint Championship results were originally provided by Paul Parker and Steve Wilkinson and are based on material drawn from Motoring News, Autosport and Speedscene magazines plus results sheets and programmes provided by former competitors and by the organising clubs.

The identification of individual cars is based on the Formula 1, Formula 2, Formula 5000 and Formula Atlantic research work presented elsewhere on the site.

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.