British Sprint Championship 1975
The top six runners were much as they had been in 1974, except that John Ravenscroft was rarely seen and his place at the top table was taken by David Franklin and his nippy little Ensign. There were few new cars in the single seater classes as Bob Rose retained the McLaren M14D, Dave Harris his M10B/M14D and Johnty Williamson his Surtees. Among the smaller cars, David Render now had a 2-litre BDA for his Brabham BT35 but Rob Turnbull was still making do with 1600cc, as was Franklin in his Holbay-propelled Ensign.
Harris was completely on top in 1975, winning four events and finishing second in three more. Franklin won two but the Ensign was underpowered on some tracks, so was nearly caught for second in the title race by the consistent Rose. Hillclimbers again stepped in to win some events, Alister Douglas-Osborn winning at Curborough and Wellesbourne in October in his Pilbeam-Brabham R15, and Tony Griffiths again winning Weston in his ex-F1 Brabham BT33.
The races
23 Mar 1975 > Longridge
30 Mar 1975 > Yeovilton
20 Apr 1975 > Curborough
18 May 1975 > Wroughton
26 May 1975 > Bassingbourne
08 Jun 1975 > Curborough
15 Jun 1975 > Duxford
07 Sep 1975 > Wroughton
28 Sep 1975 > Yeovilton
04 Oct 1975 > Weston-Super-Mare Speed Trials
05 Oct 1975 > Curborough
11 Oct 1975 > Wellesbourne
RAC British Sprint Championship events shown in bold
1975 RAC British Sprint Championship table
1 | Dave Harris | 5-litre McLaren M10B/M14D - Chevrolet V8 | 68 pts | 4 wins |
2 | David Franklin | 1.6-litre Ensign LNF3/73 - Ford BDA Holbay 1.6-litre March 733 - Ford BDA Holbay | 54 pts | 2 wins |
3 | Bob Rose | 5.7-litre McLaren M14D - Chevrolet | 54 pts | 1 win |
4 | David Render | 2-litre Brabham BT35 - Ford BDA | 49 pts | |
5 | Johnty Williamson | 5.7-litre Surtees TS11 - Chevrolet | 49 pts | |
6 | Rob Turnbull | 1.6-litre Brabham BT35 - Ford BDA | 45 pts | |
7 | Alister Douglas-Osborn | Pilbeam-Brabham R15 - Ford BDG | 27 pts | 2 wins |
8 | Martyn Griffiths | McLaren M10B - Chevrolet V8 | 27 pts | |
9 | Simon Riley | McLaren M10A/B - Rover V8 | 25 pts | |
10 | Dave Hartley | Brabham BT18 - Buick V8 | 18 pts | |
11 | Richard Lester | Lola T100 - Ford BDA | 17 pts | |
12 | Tony Griffiths | Brabham BT33 - Cosworth DFV V8 | 16 pts | 1 win |
13= | Clive Bracey | Vebra Mk1 - Chevrolet turbo | 12 pts | |
13= | Martin Steele | Lyncar 003 - Ford BDA | 12 pts | |
15 | Terry Smith | March 733 - Ford twin cam Holbay | 10 pts |
The points system for the championship remained the same as that used for the Hill Climb championship, awarding 10 points for the fastest time in the runoff, then 9 for second and on down to one point for tenth place (R.A.C Motor Sport Year Book 1973 p114 and 1976 p102 had no change between them). There was no longer an extra point awarded for beating the course's previous record time. With nine rounds taking place, the best seven results would count (ibid. p102).