Lime Rock Grand Prix

Lime Rock, 2 Sep 1968

All cars are 5-litre F5000 unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. Eagle Mk 5 [502] (George Wintersteen): See full history: Eagle 'Mk 5' 502.
2. Caldwell D8 ['001'] (Sam Posey): Entered by Autodynamics Corp. for Brett Lunger, and first seen in an SCCA National at Lime Rock on 6 July 1968, where Lunger crashed. Later appeared in the Us Pro series driven by Lunger (at Mosport Park 25 Aug 1968, Donnybrook 22 Sep 1968 and Laguna Seca 12 Oct 1968) and by Sam Posey (at Lime Rock 2 Sep 1968). Delano Trott, who was Chief Engineer at Autodynamics at the time the D8 was built, commented in 2019 that one of the team's mechanics, Fred Whittier, "ended up owning the car". He used it as a supermodified at Bryar Motorsports Park and destroyed it in an accident. Trott added "as I recall, he had a head-on with a tow truck running the wrong direction!".
3. Brabham BT21A [4] (Dick Smothers): Sold new to Lou Sell (Fullerton, CA) and first seen in the Pro Formula B race at War Bonnet in late June where Sell qualified on pole and finished second. Then raced in SCCA Regionals and occasional Nationals in California, and in the pro races at Mont-Tremblant and Lake Tahoe at the end of the season. Sold to Sell's backer Dick Smothers (Woodland Hills, CA) for 1968, although Sell also raced it in one SoPac National early that year. To Fred Opert late 1968 in part-exchange for a new Chevron and from him on to Ken Duclos (Boxboro, MA) for 1969. Duclos believes he returned it to Opert at the end of 1969 when he acquired his new BT29 and it next turns up in 1971 with John Sorbello (Lafayette, MA) who widened the cockpit section into a two-seater and added a Chevron B16 body. However, it is possible that the dates of this are wrong and that Bob Isnor (Newton, MA) raced it as a FB before it went to Sorbello. Later to John Kauffman who thought he had bought a Chevron and then to Joe Maria (White Plains, NY) in the early 1990s. It was restored by David Irwin to BT21A spec and was still with Maria in 2007. To Bob Lima (Meadowbrook, PA) by October 2009 and later repainted in Sell's colours.
4. McLaren M4B [200-27B] (Chuck Dietrich): For Chuck Dietrich (Sandusky, OH) in Formula B in 1968, replacing the similar 200-10B that he had raced in 1967. Subsequent history unknown until bought from Joe Zuniga (St. Paul, Minnesota) by James Harayda (Bloomington, Minnesota) in April 1978 as a FB car. Harayda raced it in FB in 1978 then converted it to FC for 1979. Traded to Scott Livingston (St Louis, MO) in 1980 then on to Jon Rhodes (Webster Grove, MO) 1981 who converted it to CSR with an Alfa engine and qualified for the Run-Offs in 1982. Sold to Scott Holman (Frederick, MD) July 1983 and continued in CSR until 1989 when sold to Henry Alexander and Wes McNay. Rebuilt with a new Marc Bahner tub which was modelled on Jim Brown's 1967 monocoque. Restored to Formula B specification and sold to Harry Mathews (Arvada, CO) March 1996 for his Mathews Collection of McLarens. Sold to Shigeru Motohashi (Japan) 2004 and raced in the Japanese Interclub Historic Car event at Tsukuba in 2009.
5. McLaren M4B (Brian Robertson): Brian Robertson (Brockville, Ontario) bought a McLaren M4A for 1968 and raced it in both the US SCCA Pro series and in local Canadian races, generally as #35 and with support from Indusmat Inc. He reappeared with the car in July and August 1969 before replacing it with a new Brabham BT29. To Kris Harrison (Montréal, Quebec) for a handful of events in September 1970 at Trois-Rivières and Mont-Tremblant. Harrison would later found Ecurie Canada, the team that launched Gilles Villeneuve's career. Subsequent history of the McLaren unknown
6. Chevron B14 [FB-68-13?] (Joe Grimaldi): Joe Grimaldi acquired one of four late 1968 Chevrons to arrive in the US. At least three of these were described by Chevron as B14s, including Grimaldi's. He debuted the car at Mosport Park in Aug 1968 and raced it twice more in Pro events. Grimaldi reappeared in August 1969 with what was reported to be a Chevron B15B which he raced three more times. Larry Wright then acquired a Chevron from Grimaldi for the 1970 season which was described to him as a B15 but when Wright advertised the car in 1971, he called it a "late-1968 Chevron FB" which identifies it as a B14. Wright traded the Chevron to Charlie Hayes in May 1971 for a new Brabham BT29.
7. Brabham BT21C (Malcolm Starr): Malcolm Starr (Union City, NJ) and Anthony Koshland (New York, NY) bought a new Brabham BT21C in 1968 but Starr only raced it three times before he advertised it in December 1968. Malcolm cannot remember to whom he sold the car, but he believes it may have been Bill Baldwin, who was mechanic on Starr's Shelby Mustang GT350R in 1965. Malcolm recalls that Baldwin then wanted to race, and "he would have have been living mere miles from me and we shared many contacts".
8. Brabham BT21B (Fred Opert): Fred Opert, the leading US racing car importer in the late 1960s, raced a Brabham in Formula C in 1968. At the end of the season, he advertised it in CP&A (7 Dec 1968) as a BT21B with fuel-injected SCC engine, six-speed Hewland gearbox and "extra light chassis and body". Opert's car was sometimes reported at races as a Formula B and it is unclear whether this was a mistake or whether Opert was driving other cars he had in stock. Sold to Dewey Harless (Portland, OR) for 1969 and raced with great success in FC. Harless advertised it in July 1970, still with its fuel-injected SCC engine but as a BT21, not a BT21B. He retained it until early 1971 when it was sold to Butch Owsley (Aptos, CA/San Jose, CA) who ran it at Laguna Seca in June 1971. Subsequent history unknown.
9. Stebro-Chevron B14 [FB-68-10?] (Peter W. Broeker): Canadian veteran Peter W. Broeker (Pt. Claire, Quebec) bought a Chevron B14 for 1968 and surviving Chevron records imply that it was chassis number FB-68-10. Used in SCCA pro events and also in Canadian Eastern Zone Formula Championship and Championnat de Formule du Québec races in 1968. Retained for 1969 and raced in the Canadian Road Racing Championship and the Molson Championship, often entered as a Stebro-Chevron. Then apparently retained by Broeker until 1974, when he used it in a few races. After Broeker's death in late 1980 the B14 was bought from his estate by Gerry Jones. Jones sold it to Roger Fountain who moved to England in 1988, and sold the car to Chris Ball who had it restored for HSCC racing in the UK.
10. Brabham BT21A (Mike Hiss): To Mike Hiss (Laurel, MD) to replace the earlier Brabham that he "demolished" in practice for the Bridgehampton National in July 1967. He raced the BT21A for the last two Pro races, finished third at Lake Tahoe. Retained for 1968, finishing third at Palm Beach in February and then winning at Marlboro in March. Second in Bridgehampton National and won a Regional at Marlboro but less successful in the Pro series. Last seen when crashed at Lime Rock in September 1968 following a suspension failure. Hiss had by that time moved up to Formula A with a Lola T140 and it is not known whether the Brabham was rebuilt.
11. Brabham BT21A (Fred Ashplant): Raced by Fred Ashplant (Franklin Lakes, NJ) and first seen at Lime Rock in early July where Racing Magazine called it "his new Brabham FB". Won the SCCA National at Bridgehampton two weeks later and the Pro race at Mont-Tremblant in September. Finished third in the NEDiv FB title. Retained for 1968 but used much less that season. In 1969, Ashplant ordered a Brabham BT29 and sold the BT21A to Pete LoBianco (York, PA). However, the BT21A was in Fred Opert's stock during the summer of 1969 and as the car had last been raced as #47, it seems likely that this was the #47 FB Brabham that Opert raced a couple of times before his BT29 arrived.
12. Brabham BT16 [F2-1-65] (Steve Brownstein): Driven by Alan Rees for Roy Winkelmann Racing in 1965. Presumably Rees raced the same car all season. Bought in 1966 from Winkelmann by Bob Fuller (Connecticut), fitted with a Cosworth Mk 12 and raced in FB in 1967. To Steve Brownstein (New York) for 1968 and raced again in FB with the Mk 12. Then traded to Fred Opert for a new Chevron. To Bruce Jensen and raced in Canadian FB in 1969 and then to Bill Pickthorne (Ottawa, Ontario) who raced it in 1970 and at the beginning of 1971. It was then stored for 18 years until bought by Murray Wivell (Brantford, Ontario) in October 1989. Restored and used in US vintage racing for ten seasons, initially with the Ford twin cam engine and then with a Cosworth SCA for the last two seasons. Sold to Ivan Scotti (Zurich, Switzerland) November 2004. This is presumably the ex-Alan Rees BT16 run at the 2013 Solitude Revival by Bruno Weibel of Schaffner Racing.
13. Cooper T88 [FC-1-68?] (Peter Rehl): One of the very last Coopers built was a Formula C car for faithful US customer Peter Rehl (Easton, CT). This T88 was equipped with a 1-litre BRM engine according to Cooper records, presumably one of the 1965-66 Formula 2 P80 engines, and Rehl scored 51 points in NEDiv Formula C, finishing narrowly second to Bill Rutan's Brabham. However, the car also raced as a Formula B car with a standard Ford twin cam, and Rehl managed to finish fourth in FB as well, qualifying for the Run-Offs and finishing third at Riverside as a FB. Rehl bought a new Formula A Cooper T90 for 1969, and the T88 was sold to Ronald L. Stanwicks (Newington, CT). He raced it in 1969 but his son recalls that it was unreliable and did not fit him well. It was sold to Peter Piers in the early 1970s, who stored it for many years. It was eventually sold and is believed to have gone to Italy.
14. Brabham BT23F [1] (Bill Gubelmann): Sold to Bill Gubelmann (Oyster Bay, NY) and fitted with a Vegantune Ford twin cam engine for SCCA 'Pro' and NEDiv Formula B. Raced through 1968 and retained for a few races in 1969 as Gubelmann's BT29 was late arriving. Sold to Al Justason (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) who used it in both the Canadian and US Pro series in 1970 and again in the Canadian FB series in 1971. Sold to Michael Houselander who appeared at two Canadian national events in 1972, Later sold to ‘Dino Delousis’ who fitted a turbocharged 2-litre Ford Pinto engine for libre events but found the car to be undrivable and stored it from about 1974 to 2004 when sold to Dave Darrow (Mississauga, Ontario) and fully restored. Retained until 2007 when sold via race-cars.com to Murray Bryden (Melbourne, Australia). Sold to David Kloster (Kinglake, Victoria) September 2011.
15. Brabham BT21C (Bob Welch): Bob Welch (Alexandria, VA) raced a black #23 Brabham BT21C in 1968, racing in Washington DC Region Regionals, scoring 15 pts in NEDiv FB and also appearing at the Lime Rock Pro FB race in Sep 1968. The car was described as "brand new" at the Marlboro Regional on 26 May 1968. He advertised the car in CP&A 28 Dec 1968. As Welch ordered a Brabham BT29 for 1969, this is likely to be the #23 car entered by Fred Opert for himself to drive early in 1969 as the BT29s were late. Subsequent history unknown.
16. Lotus 32 (Bill Rutan): Bill Rutan (Philadelphia, PA/Essex, CT) bought two Lotus 32s in 1967 or 1968 from Fred Opert, together with two Lotus 35s [and either a 41 or a 44?]. He sold one of the 32s to Carl Whitney and raced the other in local Formula C.
17. LeGrand Mk 7 (Peter Revson): A new car sold to Pete Botsford (Boulder, CO), after he saw the first car on display at the New York Automobile Show (at the New York Coliseum, 30 March - 7 April 1968). The car was used in the 1968 SCCA Continental Championship, starting at Elkhart Lake 27 Jul 1968, where driver Ron Holmes did not start. It was raced by Bob Betts at Thompson 18 August 1968, but he was well off the pace in practice and retired early. Sam Posey then drove it at Mosport Park and was fastest in qualifying, but withdrew after just two laps. Peter Revson was available for the Lime Rock on 2 September but hated the car and quickly disappeared when a ball joint failure curtailed practice. Posey returned to the cockpit for Brainerd on 22 September 1968), and was fourth in practice, but refused to start the race as the car was too dangerous. Barry Blackmore was then brought in for the Ken Miles Memorial Race at Laguna Seca on 12 October but, in his words, destroyed it in practice. The car was stripped at Red LeGrand's shop and the carcass towed back to base, but Botsford had lost interest in the car and it was not repaired.
18. Brabham BT21C (Mike Hayman): Mike Hayman (Washington, DC) raced a Brabham BT21C occasionally in Formula B in 1968 and 1969. He scored just nine points in NEDiv in 1968, and four in 1969, and none of his Pro race entries in the orange-and-blue Brabham resulted in starts. He advertised the car as a BT21C with Vegantune engine in CP&A 30 August 1969. Subsequent history unknown.
19. Brabham BT21C (Nick Craw): Nick Craw (Washington, DC) had a Brabham BT21C for FB in 1968, but appeared rarely at National level, his only points in NEDiv FB coming from a third place at Virginia International Raceway on 29 Sep 1968, right at the end of the regular season. He had entered Lime Rock's Pro race four weeks earlier but did not start and may not have been present. He also finished second in two SCCA Regionals at Marlboro in October and November. Craw, now President & CEO of ACCUS, confirms that he traded the BT21C back to Fred Opert for his new BT29s in 1969 so this BT21C must be the car that he raced in early 1969.
20. Lotus 22/31 (Thomas Richmond): Thomas G. Richmond finished third in CenDiv FB in 1968 in a Lotus. In May 1970 he advertised his car as a Lotus 22/31, noting that it didn't race during 1969.
21. Lotus 21 [936] (Steven Woods): New to Brabham Racing Organisation for Jack Brabham to race in non-championship F1 events in early 1962, until his newer Lotus 24 was delivered. It was reported to have been "destroyed" in a garage fire prior to its first race, but Brabham raced it at Pau and Aintree. Then to Jim Hall and used by him to win the Hoosier Grand Prix Intercontinental race held at Indianapolis Raceway Park in July 1962. Also raced by Hall at the US and Mexican GPs later that year. To J Frank Harrison and his chief mechanic Jerry Eisert, who fitted a Shelby Ford V8 engine for SCCA libre racing. It was raced by Rick Muther for Harrison at two libre races in October 1964. Then used by Al Unser at Pikes Peak in 1965. Later sold to Chuck Trowbridge (Denver, CO) and used in SCCA Formula A with a 3-litre Ford engine in 1967, and then with a 5-litre engine in early 1968. Then to Steven Woods (Farmington, CT) in July 1968, and raced by him in New England for the rest of that season. Next seen when owned by Gil Roth (Pittsburgh, PA) in 1970, then with Jim Corwin (New Buffalo, Michigan) in 1971. Subsequent history unknown.
22. Brabham BT15 (Ted A. Clark): Ted Clark (DeKalb, IL) raced a Brabham BT15 in Formula B in 1968, equipped with a Cosworth Mk 13 engine and running as #56 and typically entered by Team Nappi of Rockford, Illinois. Clark advertised the car in April 1969, saying that it had a Hewland 5-speed gearbox and 7" and 9" wheels. Nothing more known.
23. Brabham BT21C (Howard Brown): From May 1968 to September 1969, Howard Brown (Paoli, PA or Malvern, PA) raced in Pro Formula B and in NEDiv in a Brabham, identified by the Sep 1968 Lime Rock entry list as a BT21C. Brown ran as #76 in 1968 and #69 in 1969 but the colour and identity of the Brabham are not yet known.

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.

1968 US information has been taken from SCCA results sheets with additional information from Autoweek race reports and from some entry lists. Thanks to David McKinney and Wolfgang Klopfer for providing these. Identifying the classes and model of some entries has proved very difficult so all new information would be welcomed.

1969-1971 US information has been collated by Chris Townsend using Autoweek reports. All comments, clarifications, corrections and additions are most welcome.

1972-1976 US information was originally collated by Wolfgang Klopfer, converted to database format by Dawn Harrison and checked by Jim Thurman and Don Capps. Wolfgang's main sources are Autoweek and individual SCCA results bulletins but Autosport, Autocourse and Road Racing Annual have also been consulted.

US SCCA Runoffs, Nationals and Regionals results were collated by Wolfgang Klopfer from Autoweek reports. These reports were usually very brief so the information on the majority of races is limited just to the identity of the FA class winner.

Some race programs have also been used for entry lists and other information. My thanks to Richard Coe for the generous contributions from his collection.

All comments, clarifications, corrections and additions are most welcome. Please email Allen if you can add anything.