Grand Prix de Pau

Pau, 25 Apr 1971

All cars are 1.6-litre F2 unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. Lotus 69 [69.F2.1] (Reine Wisell): New for Emerson Fittipaldi to race in F2 in 1970. The F3 star was initially entered by Jim Russell, and the car was prepared by Russell mechanic Ralph Firman, but by the third race of the season it was entered by Team Bardahl and had changed to Bardahl yellow, with Russell having vanished from the operation. The Lotus 69 was sold to the new works-backed LIRA tea, for 1971, and raced by Reine Wisell in F2, winning at Pau in April. To Stephen Choularton (Hale Barns, Cheshire) for British Formula Atlantic in 1972, and also driven by his young mechanic Jim Crawford in libre at Croft. Unknown in 1973 and 1974, but to Warren Booth (Blackburn, Lancashire) for libre in 1975. Retained for 1976 and 1977, when it was fitted with a 2-litre Richardson BDA. Believed to be the 2-litre Lotus 69 then raced by Clive Astley in north-western sprints in 1977 and 1978. Subsequent history unknown, but according to historian David McKinney, the car was found in a north of England pigsty in the late 1980s, and acquired by Fredy Kumschick (Lucerne/Luzern, Switzerland), who restored it for historic racing. Raced regularly by Kumschick through the 1990s.
2. Tecno 71/F2 [71/2/6] (Jean-Pierre Jabouille): New for Équipe ELF Tecno and raced by Jean-Pierre Jabouille in F2 in 1971. This car was sometimes reported as "T00 716". Also driven by Nanni Galli at Thruxton. It was also raced at Mantorp Park in August where Tino Brambilla "disappeared into the bushes at great speed" in Heat 1 and went off at exactly the same place in Heat 2, "creasing" the suspension. It was rebuilt for 1972 as a F3 car for Luigi Fontanesi to drive under the Tecno Racing Team banner. He was second in the big International at Nürburgring in April and took pole at two Monza races. He was then one of the drivers chosen to test Tecno's new F1 car, but sudenly left the team after Hockenheim in May. The subsequent history of his F2/F3 Tecno is unknown.
3. March 712M [11] (Jean-Pierre Jaussaud): New to the Shell Arnold team for Jean-Pierre Jaussaud to race in F2 in 1971. Raced by Ferrari F1 driver Clay Regazzoni in the final race of the season. To Colin Andrews for 1972, now wearing the 712M-9 chassis plate, and raced in Formula Atlantic in 1972 and 1973. Acquired by Mike Sullivan Racing/Multiglide International Racing, for Formula Atlantic again, first driven by Richard Robinson, then by Alan Jones, who astonishingly won the high-profile Martini International support race at Silverstone in May, and finally by Richard Knight. Subsequent history unclear, as three separate former Sullivan/Multiglide cars went to Norman Dickson in Scotland, to Kim Mather in Lancashire, and to the partnership of John Colley and Rhoddy Harvey Bailey in Derbyshire. Which was which may never be known.
4. Chevron B18 [18.71.3] (François Mazet): New to Chevron's European agent Jo Siffert and raced by him in the F2 races at Bogotá in February 1971. Driven by Siffert in some European F2 races later in 1971, but more usually by François Mazet, who finished fourth at Pau but otherwise had a difficult season. Raced by José Dolhem at the final race of the year. It appears the Chevron was returned to Bolton after 1971 and found its way into the hands of Roger Hire, who was also running a Chevron B21 with Peter Hanson. The car was then leased to Willie Green and fitted with a 1.9 Alan Smith Cosworth FVC for the Rothmans 50,000 libre race in August 1972. Then unknown until July 1982, when "chassis no. 3 ex Siffert" was advertised by Richard Parkin (Manton, Leicestershire). Parkin recalls selling it to a dentist in Solihull, possibly named Tony Griffin, so maybe the Chevron B19 owner of that name. It was next seen when sold by John Harper to Robert Campbell (Dukinfield, Cheshire), who registered his fully restored red "ex-Jo Siffert F2 Chevron B18-71/3" with the HSCC in May 1989. Raced by Campbell from 1988 to 1991, then sold in 1993 to Sheila and Tim Hassel, who did not race it. To Denis Welch in 1999, but again not raced. Sold to a Swiss owner in 2003. Next seen in 2014, when a red B18 was advertised by Lutziger Classic Cars, showing the 1990 HSCC papers and a "71/3" chassis plate.
5. Tecno 71/F2 [71/2/4] (Patrick Depailler): New for Équipe ELF Tecno and raced by Patrick Depailler in F2 in 1971. This car was sometimes reported as "T00 714". Also raced by François Cevert and used by Jean-Pierre Jabouille at least once. Subsequent history unknown.
6. Brabham BT30 [18] (Carlos Reutemann): New to Automovil Club Argentina for Carlos Reutemann to race in F2 in 1970 and 1971. Last seen at Rouen June 1971, after which it was replaced by a BT36. It was then sent to Argentina to be used as a race school car but the details of its life remain unknown. Found and acquired by Richard Vignoles (Argentina) in 2008. To Carlos Lioni (Argentina) 2009.
7. Brabham BT36 [1] (Tim Schenken): New to a new team, Rondel Racing, run by ex-MRD F1 chief mechanic Ron Dennis and ex-MRD F1 and Indy mechanic Neil Trundle, for Tim Schenken to race in F2 in 1971. Sold to dealer Bobby Howlings, and used by him in libre racing in March 1972. Then sold to Tate of Leeds (Racing) for Malcolm Wayne to race in Formula Atlantic, but leased to Graham Hill to use in the early F2 races at Thruxton and Hockenheim before his BT38 was delivered. Sold back to Howlings in May 1972, then to Arthur Moore for libre, but crashed on his debut. For Moore in libre again in 1973 with a Cosworth FVA engine, and in 1974 and 1975 with a 1800cc Cosworth FVC. Then to Howlings (yet again) who raced it in Shellsport G8 in early 1976, again fitted with a 1800cc Cosworth FVC. To John Tait and used in Shellsport G8 in 1976 and 1977. To Eddy D'Hoe in Belgium in 1978, and hillclimbed with an FVA engine. To Regis Jumez 1980, and used in French hillclimbs. Later back via Howlings, who may have taken it back when he sold Jumez a Chevron B48, in 1984 to collector Anthony Mayman, then via John Harper and Ted Walker to Peter Williams in 1989. To Andrew Fellowes (Benowa, Queensland, Australia) 2002, then to Ian Rimmer in 2009. Sold by Rimmer to a customer of Damon Milnes in 2020, then sold again by Milnes to Leif Bosson (Helsingborg, Sweden) in 2022.
8. Brabham BT36 [2] (Graham Hill): New to Rondel Racing for Graham Hill and Bob Wollek to race in F2 in 1971. To John Macdonald (Hong Kong) for 1972, and fitted with a Hart 416 twin cam on carbs for Southeast Asian racing. To Eddie Marcello (Philippines) in 1973, and then to Rod Ocampo (Philippines) 1975, who last raced it in 1976. It then went to Romeo David in 1977, but the engine failed during practice and it did not race again. Later given to Louis Camus. Acquired from Camus by Leif Norberg, a Swede then living in Malaysia, in 1988, and it was restored for him in 1996 by Peter Denty Racing (Thetford, Norfolk). Sold to Andrew Fellowes (Benowa, Queensland, Australia) in 2004. To Alan Telfer in 2011.
9. March 712M [4] (Max Jean ("Jean Max")): New to Frank Williams Racing, and raced in F2 in 1971 by Henri Pescarolo, Andrea de Adamich, and "Jean Max", who crashed heavily at Rouen in June. Suggestions that the car was replaced by a new car, 712M/25, after that accident appear to be unfounded. Used by Pescarolo for the remainder of the 1971 European season. At the Torneio Brasiliero, it was raced by Pescarolo in the first two races, then by Carlos Pace at Porte Allegre, and by local driver Nestor Garcia Veiga at Cordoba. This is almost certainly the "ex-Pescarolo" March sold to Tino Brambilla for 1972, and raced by brother Vittorio at several F2 events, using an 1800cc Novamotor BDA. According to later owner Fabio Montani, this is the car that went to Ettore Ricci and Scuderia Nettuno for 1973. A few modifications were made to the car, including fitting a 2-litre Armoroli BDA engine and a Hewland FG400 gearbox to replace the original FT200, and it was entered as a Somalita, but all the race reports, including Autosprint's, simply called it a March 712M. The last time the car was seen in F2 was at Vallelunga in October, when Fernando Spreafico drove it, but the Armoroli BDA engine broke on the warm-up lap. The car was then bought by Adriano Parlamento (Turin), so this would be the March "732" that Parlamento used in hillclimbs from 1974 onwards. Parlamento last raced it in 1979, and after a season racing small saloons, he acquired a March 75S sports car for the 1981 season. The March 712M/732 was acquired by Fabio Montani (Milan) and restored. It is hoped that photographs were taken of the car in Parlamento's distinctive bodywork to prove the identity of this car. It was advertised by Montani in December 1994, when it was said to have new skins and suspension, and a Richardson BDA engine, but with the old parts available.
10. Lotus 69 [69/71.5.F2] (Emerson Fittipaldi): New to Team Bardahl for Emerson Fittipaldi to race in F2 in 1971, first appearing at Pau in late April. This car was sometimes reported as "69-F2-71-14", or some such variation, but this appears to have been its frame number, not its chassis number. Emerson won at Jarama, Crystal Palace and Albi that season, and also won two races in the Torneio Brasiliero at the end of the year. This car was rebuilt at the factory and fielded as a works entry for Emerson in 1972, supported by Colin Chapman's Moonraker Power Yachts venture, and with fitted with a Cosworth BDF. Fittipaldi won at Hockenheim, Rouen and Österreichring in 1972, and also won one race at Interlagos in October. Sold to Johnny Blades (Whitley Bay, Northumberland) for 1973, still in its 'Moonraker specification' with Cosworth BDF, and very successful in libre racing. Then to Andy Barton (Newcastle upon Tyne) late 1973, and raced in libre for the next two seasons, latterly with a 1600cc BDA. Then to David Muter (Sedghill) for three more seasons of libre racing. Later via Vincent Hayden (Salisbury) mid-1980s for historic racing, Jim Bennett (Denver, CO) late 1980s, Mike Taradash (Palos Verdes, CA) early 1990s, John Delane (Redondo Beach, CA) and Frank Sytner (Monaco) 2007. Sold by Sytner to Roger Bevan (High Wycombe) late 2008, and restored to exact Bardahl livery.
11. Brabham BT30 [21] (Vittorio Brambilla): Entered by Scuderia Picchio Rosso for Enzo Corti in F2 in the first few races of 1970, then reappeared in June, entered by either North Italian Racing or Scuderia Ala d'Oro for Tino Brambilla for the rest of the season. Returned in 1971, still entered by Scuderia Ala d'Oro for Tino Brambilla but raced once by Vittorio Brambilla at Pau in April and crashed. The car was reported to have been written off, and Sandro Angeleri's Ala d'Oro team bought replacement March 712Ms.
12. Lotus 69 [71/69.3.F2] (Gerry Birrell): New to J&J Stanton for Gerry Birrell to race in F2 in 1971. Hired to José Ferreira for the Torneio Brasiliero at the end of the year. To Brian Small in 1972, and fitted with a Cosworth BDA for Formula Atlantic races late 1972, and a handful of appearances in 1973. To Roy Baker (Ferndown, Dorset) July 1973, but again only seen in a handful of races. This is likely to be the "F2 chassis" with Hart BDA advertised by MRE (Bourne End, Buckinghamshire) in November 1973. To Ken Fildes (Clonskeagh, Dublin) for the new Irish Formula Atlantic series 1974 and 1975. Entered by Fildes for a young local lad Eddie Jordan in 1976. To Mark Birrell (Liverpool) in 1977. Acquired from Nick Overall by Richard Hinton (Albury, Hertfordshire) in early 1978, who started the restoration. Sold in 1985 via Chuck McCarty to Richard Spelberg (Dusseldorf, Germany) and retained in his collection until his death in the late 1990s. Subsequent history unclear, but this car was owned by Hermann Unold by 2005, when he raced it in HSCC DBT events. It was bought from him by Eric Peterson (Germany) in 2014, and advertised by him in April 2018. Bought in 2018 by Paul Matty and owned by him until 2021, when it was sold to Malcolm Thorne (Stanford Bridge, Worcestershire).
13. Tecno 71/F2 [71/2/2] (François Cevert): New for Équipe ELF Tecno and raced by François Cevert in F2 in 1971. This car was sometimes reported as "T00 712" and is probably the car reported later in the season as "T00 722" and "T00 720". Converted to Formula 3 for 1972 and entered by Scuderia Nettuno for Gabriele Gatta to drive. Subsequent history unknown.
14. Brabham BT30 [26] (Alistair Walker): To Alistair Walker Racing for Walker himself to race in F2 in 1970 and the first part of 1971. Sold to Tommy Reid in Ireland but not used by him and with dealer Bobby Howlings (Congleton, Cheshire) by July 1971. Used by Howlings in libre from July to September 1971 and then to George Dudley (Witney, Oxfordshire) and appeared at two libre races, the last in May 1972, but did not start either race. Dudley has not been found in any results after 1972 with this car but it must surely be the "ex-Alistair Walker" BT30 with 1600cc FVA advertised from Witney, Oxfordshire in March 1976. Later owners of BT30/26 have traced it back to 1978, when Peter Robinson (Studley, Warwickshire) was running it in hillclimbs. Robinson had acquired it with a FVA but it dropped a valve so he replaced it with a BDA. He retired it at the end of 1979 and transferred the engine into the BT29X which he then ran until he retired. The engineless BT30 was bought for Julian Majzub (Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire) by his father at the end of 1979 and was later joined by the BT29X to acquire parts that belonged to the BT30.
15. Lotus 69 [69.F2.4] (Wilson Fittipaldi): New to Jochen Rindt Racing Ltd, managed by Bernie Ecclestone, for Jochen Rindt to race in F2 in 1970. According to Richard Spelberg's research, this car was Rindt's previous Lotus 59B chassis 59-F2-19 converted to Lotus 69 specification for 1970. Sold for 1971 to Wilson Fittipaldi's new Team Bardahl, managed by mechanic Richard Divila, but Fittipaldi could not get on with it, and it was soon replaced with a new March 712M. The Lotus ended up with dealer Bobby Howlings, who drove it at Croft on 19 September, after which it was evaluated briefly by Peter Hanson as a possible route back into single-seaters. Instead it was sold to another wheeler-dealer, Brian Classick, who raced in in libre in October. In early 1972 Classick entered it in libre for Willie Green then it was sold to John Coulter for libre later in the season, and then sold to Johnny Blades, who raced it once at the end of 1972. Blades advertised the car as "ex-Rindt, ex-Coulter" in November 1972, and as "ex-Rindt" in March 1973. As Rindt's Lotus 59B had been rebuilt into his Lotus 69, this is the only car that can have been. The car was acquired soon after this, possibly directly from Blades, by a major but very private collector of Lotuses, and remained in his collection, unseen, for over 20 years. According to historian David McKinney, the car was being stored by Peter Spooner in the mid-1990s, but when Spooner later died, the Lotus 69 was sold by his son David Spooner in lieu of storage charges to Joe Willenpart (Austria) around 2003.
16. Pygmée MDB16 [MDB16-171] (Patrick Dal Bo): A Constructions Mechanique Pygmée entry for Patrick Dal Bo at the start of the 1971 season. Raced up to June, after which Dal Bo took over the ex-Jean-Pierre Beltoise chassis 271. His original car was raced twice by Helmut Marko in August, then driven by "Jimmy" Mieusset at Albi, but DNQ. According to the research of Gérard Gamand, Editor of Autodiva, chassis 171 went to Richard Daniel for 1972. Daniel raced the car in courses de côte through 1972, and then photographs show that it was sold to Daniel Gache (Avignon, Provence, France) for French hillclimbs in 1973. His car was described as being fitted with a 1990cc Alan Smith Cosworth engine, the same as Daniel's engine in 1972. Gache's last known appearance in the Pygmée was at Mont Ventoux in early September 1973. Gache acquired a Chevron B21 for 1974, and the subsequent history of the Pygmée is unknown. Gérard Gamad lists this 171 as owned by André Bourjaillat in 2005, and being restored for him by Wasserman Racing Service in 2010.

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

Neither Autosport nor Motoring News give all chassis numbers. Emerson Fittipaldi has a completely new car (AS 29 Apr 1971 p14) quoted as 69/71.14.F2. Wisell's car is ex-Emerson, Beltoise has Lauda's car and Max has Pescarolo's. Vittorio Brambilla's accident completely the ex-Ernesto Brambilla BT30/21 which does not reappear.