Tag Archives: Formula 5000

For The Whole Family – Eagle 74A #74A004

After building Eagle Mk5 chassis, based on the ’67 Belgian Grand Prix winning Eagle Mk 1, for two consecutive Formula A champions Lou Sell (’68) and Tony ‘A-Z’ Adamowicz (’69) Dan Gurney’s All American racers refrained from building any more Formula A renamed Formula 5000 cars until 1974 while he focused on his Indy programme.

Eagle 74A, Michael Lyons, Gold Cup, Oulton Park

At the end of 1973 AAR built a Formula 5000 Eagle 74A show car which I believe has never been raced, three more 74A’s followed two for the Jorgensen Steel supported works team and one, today’s featured chassis #74A004, that was built for Francisco Mir Racing based in Santa Monica, California.

Eagle 74A, Michael Lyons, Gold Cup, Oulton Park

Francisco Mir Racing entered #74A004 for Nestor Garcia Veiga to drive in the second and third rounds of the 1974 SCCA/USAC Formula 5000 championship. Nestor came recorded a 6th place finish at Mosport but failed to qualify for the final at Watkins Glen.

Eagle 74A, Michael Lyons, Gold Cup, Oulton Park

With sponsorship from Mr Marty Italian Lella Lombardi was then employed to drive #74A004 at Ontario California where she finished 14t after finishing 5th in her heat ahead of her team mate James Hunt running in a Mr Marty Lola T332.

Eagle 74A, Frank Lyons, Silverstone Classic

Hitherto ’74 works driver Elliot Forbes-Robinson drove #74A004 at Laguna Seca where he retired and at the final round of the ’74 Championship John Morton drove the car to a seventh place finish.

Eagle 74A, Michael Lyons, Gold Cup, Oulton Park

Mike Koslowski bought #74A004 in 1975 the only result I have found for it in his owner ship was a did not start, DNS, when he entered Ron Dykes, who qualified 23rd, for the race that turned out to be the last ever SCCA USAC Formula 5000 event at Riverside in October 1976.

Eagle 74A, Frank Lyons, Gold Cup, Oulton Park

The ownership trail of #74A004 continued in the USA until 2002 when Ian Giles brought the car to the UK. Since 2005 the car has belonged to the Lyons family, son Michael Lyons with the black helmet is seen driving the car at this years (2014) Gold Cup meeting where he came second in the first race and won the second. Father Frank Lyons is seen driving the car at Silverstone in 2012 and Oulton Park in 2011, Mother Judy Lyons has also raced this car on occasion.

Thanks for joining me on this “For The Whole Family” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Maserati Monday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Wider Longer Lower – Chevron B28 #B28-74-01

Like Lola’s Eric Broadley a year earlier, Chevron Cars founder Derek Bennett decided that the way to go with the Chevron B28 1974 Formula 5000 challenger was wider, longer and lower.

Chevron B28, Simon Taylor, Silverstone Classic

Unlike Eric, Derek did not have such a good time convincing his customers that the B28 was a step forward they should invest in, with the VDS team being the only takers of two new B28’s, despite the fact that the previous years Chevron B24 had been successful winning the British F5000 title with Teddy Pelitte at the wheel and the Tasman F5000 series with Peter Gethin at the wheel, while Lola cars had not won any F5000 championships since 1971 !

Chevron B28, Simon Taylor, Silverstone Classic

With works support and Swiss Morand tuned fuel injected Chevrolet motors the VDS teams B28’s with reigning champion Teddy Pelitte and newly crowned Tasman Champion Peter Gethin raced exclusively in the 18 round Rothmans sponsored European F5000 championship.

Chevron B28, Simon Taylor, Silverstone Classic

By the season’s end Peter Gethin’s four victories were only good enough to secure 2nd place in the championship to Bob Evans driving an almost ubiquitous Lola T332 model while poor Teddy Pelitte driving what is believed to be today’s featured chassis only completed 7 laps of the opening two races before his season started getting any momentum.

Teddy managed several second place finishes, to Peter at Monza and wound up a distant fourth in the final championship standings. Interestingly the last race of the European Championship season was won by Vern Schuppan driving a Chevron B24 with the B28 suspension modifications.

Today’s featured chassis #B28-74-01 appears to have remained in the UK, with Tony Dean driving the car with Rockerfella’s, discotheque, sponsorship for most of the 1975 season before entering it for Brazilian Ingo Hoffman for the last four races of the season while he sorted out some problems with Her Majesties government regarding the import of cigars from the USA, said to have been smuggled in to the UK inside a spare car called the KEC Special, KEC denoting King Edward Cigar.

In 2012 present owner Simon Taylor, seen driving the car at Silverstone in these photo’s, had #B28-74-01 painted in the blue Thursday’s, discotheque, livery that was seen on the sister chassis #B28-74-02 in 1975 when it was driven by Australian F1 refugee Dave Walker for RAM racing.

Thanks for joining me on this “Wider Longer Lower” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Maserati Monday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Giant Killer – Chevron Chevrolet B24 #B24-73-02

Having developed a passion for engineering through his interest in model aeroplanes Lancastrian Derek Bennett took an apprenticeship in mechanical and electrical engineering to become a mechanic, during this time he was exposed to (British) Stock Car racing.

It was not long before Derek graduated into building, maintaining and racing vehicles in the British Clubmans series for small Ford powered vehicles and into Formula Junior.

Chevron Chevrolet B24, Oulton Park

In 1965 demand for copies of his Clubmans racer led Derek to establish Chevron cars assisted by mechanic Paul Owen based in a former mill in Bolton, well away from the regular stomping ground for racing car manufactured that with few excetions could be found in the arc from Southwest London, round Brooklands and Heathrow Airport to the East and Silverstone to the North.

In 1966 Chevron branched out into building a successful series of up to 2 litre / 122 cui sports cars and in 1967 the company expanded to build it’s first 2nd and 3rd tier open wheelers for Formula 2 and Formula 3.

Chevron Chevrolet B24, Oulton Park

In 1972 Chevron built it’s first over 2 litre 122 cui open wheeler the 5 litre / 302 cui stock block Chevrolet V8 powered Formula 5000 Chevron B24 which Lancastrian Brian Redman drove in four races, claiming one victory at Oulton Park driving the B24 having won the previous race at Mondello Park a month earlier in a McLaren M10.

Today’s featured car #B24-73-02 was the second built in 1973, third overall from 8 built according to factory records, though as usual this does not tell the whole story, but I’ll be spare you that particular diversion here.

Chevron Chevrolet B24, Oulton Park

#B24-73-02 appears to have been entered on three occasions carrying the #32 in British races as a factory entered car for Peter Gethin. The first two races held on consecutive days were at Brands Hatch where Peter won the Rothmans Formula 5000 championship round on the cars debut.

The next day the weekends feature event, The Race Of Champions, was a race for contemporary Formula 5000 cars and Formula One cars including entries from Lotus, BRM and McLaren all of whom had won championship Formula One events in the previous 12 months.

Chevron Chevrolet B24, Oulton Park

Starting 8th on the grid Peter managed to steer his Formula 5000 stock block Chevron to an unlikely victory as his faster Formula One rivals fell by the way side to hold off Denny Hulme in the latest McLaren Cosworth M23 and formula one debutant James Hunt in an ancient Surtees TS9.

There is a myth that this was the only occasion in which a Formula 5000 car beat a Formula One car in such a non championship challenge race, this is not quite true there was a long forgotten event called the 1969 the Madrid Grand Prix at Jarama in which Tony Dean driving BRM #P2615 powered by a V12 BRM was beaten by Keith Holland driving an F5000 Lola T142 and Peter Gethin driving an F5000 MacLaren M10A, but the field at Brands in 1973 was certainly more contemporary and competitive.

Chevron Chevrolet B24, Oulton Park

Chevron then entered Peter for one more British F5000 race at Mallory Park where Peter finished forth before the car was sold to Douglas Shierson Racing who entered the car carrying the same Marathon sponsorship for Peter in the US L&M series now running the #8 race number.

The B24 did not prove quite so competitive in the 1973 US series where only championship protagonists Brian Redman driving a Lola T330 and Jody Scheckter a Trojan T101 found victory lane. Peters best result came at Lagunna Seca where finished second.

Chevron Chevrolet B24, Oulton Park

After 1973 #B24-73-02 remained in the USA where, Roger Bighouse 1974 /1975, Pat McGonegle 1976 continued to enter the car in open wheel F5000 events. For 1977 Pat McGonegle converted the car to closed wheel CAN Am 2 spec, scoring a best 6th place finish at Road America in ’77 driving #B24-73-02 which Pat raced until the end of 1978.

Danny Johnson was the next owner and he raced #B24-73-02 sporadically between 1978 and 1982 scoring a best 5th place at Edmonton in 1981.

Chevron Chevrolet B24, Oulton Park

Similarly intermittently Mike Engstrand drove #B24-73-02 from 1985 to 1987 scoring a best 4th place finish in the cars last in period appearance in the 1987 Canadian American Thundercars Pueblo event.

Chevron Chevrolet B24, Oulton Park

#B24-73-02 now belongs to Greg Thornton. In 2012 the car caught fire and was badly damaged and it is seen here at Oulton Park after it’s rebuild from the fire damaged remains.

Chevron Chevrolet B24, Oulton Park

Thanks for joining me on this “Giant Killer” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l more psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at a another Italian vehicle once owned by John Lennon. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Lower Cleaner – Lola Chevrolet T330 #HU4

The 1973 Formula 5000 season which played out in three championships across three continents saw winning cars produced by four different manufacturers namely Chevron, McRae, Trojan and Lola. It was the last named that won most of the races in all three series with their T330 model, a lower and cleaner version of the 1972 T300, like chassis #HU4 featured today which took part in all three series.

Lola T330, Michigan International Speedway

(Photo Copyright Mark Windecker 1973)

According to Old Racing Cars.com chassis #HU4 was first raced at Surfers Paradise in the fourth round of the Tasman Series by Gary Campbell where he retired with an overheating motor. Gary crashed during practice for the next race at Warwick Farm and the car was then bought by Australian Bobby Muir who repaired it and took it to Riverside, where Chuck Jones and Jerry Eisert became co entrants with Bobby for the first round of the US L&M Formula 5000 championship.

Bobby’s best result was a 10th at Riverside after which followed a string of five retirements until Road Atlanta where Bobby crashed in practice and failed to take the start. The photo’s by Mark Windecker show #HU4 and Bobby sitting in it at Michigan International Speedway.

Bob Muir, Lola T330, Michigan International Speedway

(Photo Copyright Mark Windecker 1973)

After missing Pocono #HU4 was entered into the final US race of the season at Seattle by Chuck and Jerry for Clay Regazzoni who was about to transition from BRM to back to the Ferrari formula one Team. As this linked picture show’s the #74 had a new nose with a single full width wing mounted above it, an idea Ferrari had first used at the 1973 Italian Grand Prix three weeks earlier. #HU4 was also fitted with larger radiators requiring deeper ducts at the request of engine builder Ron Armstrong.

Clay Regazzoni, Lola T330, Brands Hatch

(Photo Chuck Jones Collection)

Clay retired in Seattle, but that did not prevent the Jones Eisert team from sending the #HU4 to Brands Hatch for the final race of the Rothmans European Formula 5000 championship where these two photograph’s from Chuck Jones Collection show Clay, who finished 12th, at the wheel.

Clay Regazzoni, Lola T330, Brands Hatch

(Photo Chuck Jones Collection)

In December 1973 AW Brown acquired #HU4 and ran if four Damien Magee in the 1974 European Formula 5000 Championship until the engine blew at Zandvoort and the team was disbanded. Damien scored #HU4’s all time best result a 4th place finish in the series second visit to Brands Hatch. Damien finished the season driving a 1973 Trojan #T101 chassis #T101-105.

#HU4 does not appear to have raced again until it started appearing in Historic Events in 2001. When I finally get around to looking for cars for the GALPOT Museum high on my list of cars to purchase will be #HU4 in it’s funky #74 orange Jones, Eisert and Regazzoni livery which hit the spot when this 14 year old first laid eyes on it in a magazine.

Chuck Jones and Clay Regazzoni would team up again in 1977 when Chuck was involved with the Ensign Formula One team and Clay was chosen as the driver.

My thanks to Jerry Entin for kindly securing permission for me to use Mark Windecker’s photos from Michigan International Speedway and the photo’s from Chuck Jones Collection taken at Brands Hatch.

Thanks for joining me on this “Lower Cleaner” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”. I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at another stylish ISO Rivolta. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Going It Alone Again – Trojan Chevrolet T101 #T101-102

This month’s Saturday posts will feature 4 Formula 5000 cars built for the 1973 season. Formula 5000 was an open wheel Formula for vehicles fitted with stock block motor up to 5 litres / 302 cui which ran from 1967 in the USA 1969 in Europe and 1970 in the Antipodes coming to a stop in 1975 in the Antipodes and 1976 in the US and Europe.

With the fall in competitiveness of the McLaren Can Am and Formula 5000 programmes, in 1972, McLaren Cars focused it’s attention on it’s Formula One and USAC Champ car programmes with the McLaren M23 and McLaren M16 respectively.

 Trojan Chevrolet T101, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

This left Trojan in a difficult spot since their business had been increasingly built on manufacturing McLaren Can Am and Formula 5000 open wheel cars under licence since the demise of their own Elva branded operations in 1964.

 Trojan Chevrolet T101, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

A compromise to keep Trojan going was reached which saw Trojan fuse an open wheel Formula 2 McLaren M21 chassis with a strengthened rear bulkhead to the rear end from the 1972 McLaren M18/M22 Formula 5000 car with a ubiquitous Chevrolet small block for power. McLaren Cars would not countenance the use of their name with the new car so it was called the Trojan T101. Former Brabham designer Ron Tauranac was brought in to help develop the model once it was built.

 Trojan Chevrolet T101, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

In all six T101’s were built and of the first five built for the 1973 season, the first four were driven to race victories in the UK and USA by the likes of Keith Holland, Brett Lunger, Jody Scheckter and Bob Evans. Scheckter won four races in the USA on his way to becoming L&M Champion in the SCCA Series.

 Trojan Chevrolet T101, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

Today’s featured car #T101-102 was sold new to Sid Taylor, for Brett Lunger, Brett won on his debut in the car at Snetterton and set an all time 124 mph outright lap record, on the old long circuit in the 4th round of the Rothmans European Formula 5000 championship. Brett also won the 10th round at Mallory Park. Vern Schuppan raced #T101-102 in the opening four races of 1974 and thereafter it was driven by a variety of drivers of increasing obscurity in events of equally increasing obscurity in to the 1980’s which included, Leen Verhoeven, Damien Magee, Jim Kelly, Robin Hamilton, Jon Bradburn and Anthony Taylor in 1982.

 Trojan Chevrolet T101, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

Simon Hadfield acquired the remains of #T101-102 in 2006 and has restored it, as seen here at last years Race Retro, with the livery and #11 originally seen on Alan McKechnie’s T101-104 raced by Bob Evans to victory at the second Snetterton round of the 1973 Rothmans European Formula 5000 championship.

Thanks for joining me on this “Going It Alone Again” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now.

18/12/13 My original post inadvertently incorrectly implied that Trojan #T101-102 was jointly entered by Sid Taylor and Jerry Entin for Brett Lunger, in fact Brett’s car was solely entered by Sid Taylor, however Sid and Jerry did jointly enter the Trojan #T101-103 driven by Jody Scheckter in the 1973 L&M Series. Apologies for any confusion.

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Criptic Details – GALPOT Quiz

I thought it would be fun to look at some details I caught on camera in recent weeks and set a a cryptic details quiz. There are no prizes answers will be given next in next Wednesdays blog.

Quiz

It’s a ’58, but which letter ?

Quiz

Another slippery MOPAR, but which model ?

Quiz

What was the code name that Product Planning Dept leader Erick A. Reikert lent to the base model of this RS Turbo ?

Quiz

Surnames names of two US presidents who might be associated with this door handle.

Quiz

What was the most popular block used in the Formula A / Formula 5000 open wheel series ?

Quiz

Which Brazilian went on to become a three time world champion after running into the rear end of Martin Brundle’s Formula Three Ralt RT3 ?

Quiz

Enzo Ferrari described this as “The most beautiful car ever made” what is it ?

There are no prizes but if you would like to e-mail your answers to me at info@www.psychoontyres.co.uk before mid night Monday where ever you are I’ll publish a list of anyone who gets all the answers right or failing that the person or persons who get the highest scores on Wednesdays, please do not give away answers on fb links. Wishing you all good luck.

Thanks for joining me on this “Criptic Details” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”,
I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at the last in the present series of racing Corvette’s. Don’t forget to come back now !

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