European Formula 5000 Championship 1969
 |
|
| European champion | |
| Driver: |
 Peter Gethin
|
| Season dates | |
|---|---|
| Number of races: | 12 |
| 1970 season> | |
The European Formula 5000 Championship 1969 , which was also referred to as the Guards F 5000 Championship 1969 in view of the series sponsor , was the first season of the newly established European Formula 5000 Championship . It comprised 12 races that were held from April 4 to September 28, 1969. With the exception of three races in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, all races took place on British and Irish tracks. British driver Peter Gethin , who drives for the Church Farm Racing Team, and Surtees factory driver Trevor Taylor dominated the championship. Each of the two won four races. The first championship title went to Gethin, although he had only participated in eight of the twelve races.
background
Formula 5000 goes back to the American Formula A racing class . The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) introduced this formula in 1965 as the North American counterpart to Formula 1 . Its regulations initially corresponded to the Formula 1 of that time. In order to enlarge the field of starters, the SCCA allowed engines with a displacement of up to 5.0 liters (5000 cm³) in Formula A from 1968. The extended Formula A proved to be successful in the USA: as early as 1968, the SCCA Continental Championship , based on this formula, ran over eight races and had more than 20 regular participants. As a result, efforts arose worldwide to adopt the concept of this series for other regions. In Europe, these considerations were largely due to the racing car manufacturer Motor Racing Developments (MRD), who operated the Brabham Formula 1 racing team and at the time owned the British Brands Hatch circuit . MRD manager John Webb saw this as an opportunity to create an additional market for their own racing cars and also to better utilize the Brands Hatch circuit through additional racing events. In 1969 the European Formula 5000 Championship was held for the first time.
overview
Regulations
The engine regulations were based on the US Formula A. Eight-cylinder engines based on high-volume engines were permitted. The displacement was limited to 5.0 liters (302 cubic inches) displacement. An underlying camshaft and valve control via tappets or bumpers were prescribed . Changes to the standard cylinder blocks, cylinder heads and camshafts were not allowed. In order to achieve the largest possible starting field, pure racing engines with a maximum displacement of 2.0 liters were also permitted in the debut year. The organizers thus referred to Formula 2, which is popular in Europe . This opening did not apply in the following year.
With regard to the chassis, the technical regulations of Formula 5000 largely corresponded to those of Formula 1. The dimensions of the cars were very similar to the contemporary Formula 1 cars. In terms of aerodynamic aids, too, Formula 5000 followed Formula 1. At the start of the season, the cars in both series were often provided with high, partially adjustable wings; some chassis had such spoilers at the front and rear. In Formula 1, the high spoilers were banned from the Monaco Grand Prix (May 18, 1969) for safety reasons. Formula 5000 promptly took on this development: after the fourth race of the season in Mallory Park , high-standing spoilers were no longer permitted here either.
The minimum weight of the cars was dependent on the engine. For the eight-cylinder cars it was 567 kg (1250 pounds ) and for the small two-liter cars it was only 431 kg (950 pounds), each excluding a driver and gasoline.
Teams and designers
In contrast to Formula 1, it was not customary in Formula 5000 for teams to design their own cars. Various manufacturers supplied chassis to independent customer teams.
Only Surtees competed with a works team in the Formula 5000 championship in 1969.
There were also individual customer teams supported by the factory:
- McLaren delivered the M10 to the Church Farm Racing Team, which was run by the stepfather of the racing driver Derek Bell and which was primarily involved in the Formula 2 European Championship . For its use in the Formula 5000, which Peter Gethin contested, Church Farm Racing received technical and financial support from McLaren in 1969, so that it had the status of a quasi-works team. Church Farm was the only team that consistently used a McLaren chassis in 1969.
- Lola Cars was initially involved in the Formula 5000 as a pure chassis supplier. Lola offered the T142 , which was largely identical to the T140 developed for the US Formula A. It was the most widespread vehicle in the 1969 season. In the early summer of 1969, Lola began to support the British Epstein Cuthbert Racing team , which had emerged from the Paul Hawkins Racing team after the death of Paul Hawkins and with former motorcycle world champion Mike Hailwood went to the start. Lola delivered preferred chassis parts to Epstein Cuthbert and also took over the preparation of the Chevrolet engine.
There were also individual cars from Brabham , BRM and Lotus . In addition, some unique and self-made items were reported. This included the all-wheel drive Hepworth FF 4WD , which the designer David Hepworth brought to the start in two races with different engines for Bev Bond and Tony Lanfranchi . At the last race of the season, Cooper's last newly developed racing car, the T90, made its debut . Bob Waters entered a Conchord car for two races ; the car used many used parts of a Lotus 30 and Lotus 40 and had a 4.7 liter eight cylinder Ford engine. Observers described the car as a "disaster".
Engines
In 1969, mainly US eight-cylinder Chevrolet engines were used. The 5.0 liter units were based on the small block engines used in Chevrolet's Camaro Z28 production sports car . Depending on the stage of processing, they either had a carburettor or a mechanical fuel injection. Their power was between 430 and 465 SAE hp . In one case, a similar engine was used by Chevrolet's sister company, Oldsmobile .
A number of teams used a 4.7 liter Ford engine instead of a Chevrolet eight-cylinder in 1969. The engine was originally used in the Ford GT40 sports car and developed between 350 and 375 SAE hp in racing trim.
The Formula 2 engines that came into use in 1969 were regularly designed by Ford or Cosworth (type FVA) with four cylinders. They were based on a high-volume block that Ford had developed for use in the Cortina sedan . In contrast to the large eight-cylinder engines, profound changes to the series designs were permitted here. The Ford and Cosworth engines usually had two overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder. Their output was around 220 bhp. In one case, a four-cylinder engine from BMW (type M10 ) was also used.
Teams and drivers
Formula 5000 cars
Formula 2 cars
| team | chassis | engine | No. | driver | run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Brian Nelson
|
Lola T60 | ford | 2 |
Brian Nelson
|
6th |
|
Richard Heeley
|
Lotus 22 | ford | 6th |
Richard Heeley
|
6th |
|
LM Duffy
|
Lotus 35 | ford | 7th |
Damien Magee
|
6th |
| Cooper Mk.3 | ford | 8th |
Ken Fildes
|
6th | |
 Irish Racing Cars
|
Brabham BT23 | Cosworth | 10 |
Tommy Reid
|
6th |
| Brabham BT30 | 11 |
Alan Rollinson
|
5-6 | ||
|
Kevin Murphy Racing
|
Brabham BT18 | ford | 16 |
Frank Keane
|
6th |
|
John Watson
|
Lola T100 | ford | 22nd |
John Watson
|
6th |
|
Colin Holohan
|
Brabham BT15 | ford | 26th |
Colin Holohan
|
6th |
|
FIRST
|
Brabham BT30 | Cosworth | 78 |
Peter Westbury
|
8th |
|
Steve Thompson
|
Lola T60 | ford | 89 |
Steve Thompson
|
4-5, 8-11 |
|
Dave Berry
|
Brabham BT16 | ford | 91 |
Dave Berry
|
4-5, 9, 11-12 |
|
Brian Cullen
|
Brabham BT23 | ford | 90 |
Brian Cullen
|
9 |
|
Ian Raby Racing
|
Brabham BT14 | ford | 93 |
Tony Barchou
|
5, 9, 11-12 |
|
Graham Eden
|
Chevron B10 | ford | 93 |
Graham Eden
|
9, 11 |
|
John Millar
|
Chevron B10 | BMW M10 | 94 |
John Millar
|
9, 11 |
|
Tony Charnell
|
Lola T55 | ford |
Tony Charnell
|
11 |
Racing calendar
The first season of the European Formula 5000 Championship comprised 12 championship races. Most of them were held in two successive runs, the results of which were added together. There were also several races without championship status.
Season course and race reports
Peter Gethin won the first four championship races in a row and had already gained 2000 championship points after the first third of the season. The temporarily second placed David Hobbs had less than 1000 points at that time. Gethin skipped the four summer races at Mondello Park , Koksijde , Zandvoort and Snetterton ; instead he drove several Formula 5000 races in the USA. During the summer, Gethin did not give up leadership in the championship. He returned to the last three races of the season regularly, but no longer dominated the events as it did before the summer break. Trevor Taylor, who drove for Surtees or the Team Elite , had won three races in a row during Gethin's absence; in Hockenheim , the fourth victory closed, while Gethin who finished only fourth. Before the penultimate championship race, Gethin's lead over Taylor was just 195 points. At the first run of the last race of the season, Gethin collided with Taylor. Both drivers dropped out. None of them could take part in the second run. Gethin thus won the first European Formula 5000 championship.
Guards F5000 Championship Round 1
| space | driver | team | time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Peter Gethin
|
Church Farm Racing
|
57: 28.00 |
| 2 |
David Hobbs
|
Surtees
|
58: 49.60 |
| 3 |
Keith Holland
|
Alan Fraser Racing
|
58: 06.60 |
| PP |
David Hobbs
|
Surtees
|
1: 30.60 |
| SR |
Peter Gethin
|
Church Farm Racing
|
1: 31.20 |
The opening race of the European Formula 5000 Championship took place on April 4, 1969 ( Good Friday ) in Oulton Park . The race went over 37 laps and had a total distance of 100 miles (160.9 km). 25 vehicles were registered, 15 showed up for training, and 13 eventually started the race. Andrea de Adamich, who finished fourth in qualifying, did not start. He had damaged his factory Surtees so badly in a training accident that it could not be repaired in time for the start of the race, and Robin Widdows ( Sid Taylor Racing ) was unable to start due to a technical defect.
De Adamich's team-mate David Hobbs started from pole position, Peter Gethin from second. Six vehicles retired in the course of the race, so that at the end of the race there were only five drivers left on the track. Gethin won the race ahead of Hobbs and Keith Holland . Doug Hardwick finished fourth in his privately entered Lola T142 , Ulf Norinder ( Sports Cars Switzerland ) fifth, and the Canadian Horst Kroll ( Altona Racing Partnership ) came in sixth ahead of Mike Walker ( McKechnie Racing ).
Guards F5000 Championship Round 2
| space | driver | team | time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Peter Gethin
|
Church Farm Racing
|
1: 03: 00.06 |
| 2 |
Keith Holland
|
Alan Fraser Racing
|
|
| 3 |
Willie Forbes
|
Willie Forbes Racing
|
|
| PP |
Peter Gethin
|
Church Farm Racing
|
1: 30.80 |
| SR |
Peter Gethin
|
Church Farm Racing
|
1: 31.60 |
The second championship race took place on Easter Monday 1969 at Brands Hatch . It went over 40 laps. 22 vehicles were registered, six of them did not show up for training or the race. In qualifying, the first three drivers were within 0.4 seconds. Peter Gethin started the race from pole position, David Hobbs and Mike Hailwood ( Paul Hawkins Racing ) started from positions two and three. Hobbs initially led the race until he retired on lap eight due to a suspension defect. Hailwood, who had been second up to that point, then took the lead from Gethin, but retired on the tenth lap after an engine failure. Gethin then led the field safely until the end of the race. He scored the second win of the season. Mike Walker ( McKechnie Racing ), Ziel = Keith Holland ( Alan Fraser Racing ) and Ulf Norinder (Sports Cars Switzerland), who drove Lola chassis with almost equivalent Chevrolet engines, battled for second place . Walker later retired due to an engine failure and Norinder dropped to ninth after a puncture, leaving Holland second without any further duels.
Kent Messenger 5000
| space | driver | team | time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Peter Gethin
|
Church Farm Racing
|
|
| 2 |
 Frank Gardner
|
Sid Taylor Racing
|
|
| 3 |
Keith Holland
|
Alan Fraser Racing
|
|
| PP |
Trevor Taylor
|
Surtees
|
0: 47.61 |
| SR |
Peter Gethin
|
Church Farm Racing
|
0: 47.00 |
The third championship race of the 1969 season was supported by the Kent Messenger newspaper . In view of this, it was referred to as the Kent Messenger 5000 . It took place again on May 11, 1969 at Brands Hatch . It went over two runs of 41 laps each. Compared to the previous race, the route had been changed. 17 drivers were registered. Trevor Taylor , who competed for the Surtees factory team, took pole position in qualifying. Frank Gardner ( Sid Taylor Racing ) was second fastest , and Peter Gethin ( Church Farm Racing ), who led the championship, clocked the third fastest qualifying time. Trevor Taylor did not take part in the first run because his car had a clutch failure before the start. Gethin won the first run by 11 seconds ahead of Gardner, who was 2.6 seconds ahead of Andrea de Adamich (Surtees). In the second run Gardner led the field before Gethin took the lead on lap 10. He also won this run; this time his lead over the second placed Gardner was more than 20 seconds.
Guards F5000 Championship Round 4
| space | driver | team | time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Peter Gethin
|
Church Farm Racing
|
1: 02: 53.60 |
| 2 |
David Hobbs
|
Surtees
|
1: 03: 06.40 |
| 3 |
Mike Walker
|
McKechnie Racing
|
|
| PP |
Peter Gethin
|
Church Farm Racing
|
0: 43.8 |
| SR |
Peter Gethin
|
Church Farm Racing
|
0: 44.0 |
The fourth race of the season took place on May 26, 1969 in Mallory Park in Leicestershire . It was held in two runs of 40 laps each. 21 drivers registered for the race. Four of them did not start due to technical defects in their cars, another - Bob Waters - withdrew his self-constructed car before qualifying, and the report from series debutant Peter Westbury , who wanted to bring a Formula 2 car from Brabham to the start, was rejected for failure to meet the reporting deadlines. Therefore only 15 drivers entered the race. Peter Gethin (Church Farm Racing) started from pole position; the Surtees works drivers David Hobbs and Andrea de Adamich started second and third respectively. In the first run, Gethin led from the first to the last lap ahead of Hobbs and Mike Walker . Gethin finished 11.4 seconds ahead of Hobbs. During the second run, rainy weather conditions prevailed. Hobbs and Gethin took turns at the front of the field several times. At the finish line Gethin was ahead. He and Hobbs had lapped all other drivers at least once in this run.
Vanwell Trophy 1969
| space | driver | team | time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Mike Walker
|
McKechnie Racing
|
0: 52: 52.40 |
| 2 |
Alan Rollinson
|
Irish Racing Cars
|
0: 53: 00.00 |
| 3 |
Willie Forbes
|
Willie Forbes Racing
|
|
| PP |
Peter Gethin
|
Church Farm Racing
|
1: 26.6 |
| SR |
Trevor Taylor
|
Surtees
|
1: 26.8 |
The fifth championship race, known as the Vanwall Trophy , took place on June 15, 1969 in Silverstone . The race lasted 35 laps. 19 drivers were registered. Everyone took part in qualifying. Peter Gethin ( Church Farm Racing ) and Andrea de Adamich ( Surtees ) both achieved the best time in practice. However, since de Adamich over-revved his engine in qualifying and his team had no spare engine available, he could not take part in the race. Gethin initially took the lead. On the fifth lap, however, his McLaren M10 A suffered a clutch defect, so that Gethin had to give up prematurely. Trevor Taylor, who had replaced David Hobbs at Surtees, then took the lead, but on lap nine he also suffered a clutch failure. The front runner was then Mike Walker ( McKechnie ), who started third. Walker crossed the finish line as the winner. Second was Alan Rollinson ( Irish Racing Cars ) which is a Formula 2 car ran a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine. This was the best result that a Formula 2 car achieved in the 1969 championship. Rollinson had contested the practice with a Formula 5000 Lola for Sid Taylor Racing and achieved the fifth fastest time. However, like de Adamich, he had damaged his Chevrolet engine so badly in practice that it could not be used in the race. For the race, Rollinson switched to the Irish Racing Cars team, which provided him with a Formula 2 Brabham . Since he had not completed any training times with the car, he had to start the race last. Finish was sixth = Keith Holland , who took second place in the championship in the interim ranking. He had half as many points as championship leader Gethin.
Dublin Grand Prix 1969
| space | driver | team | time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
David Hobbs
|
Surtees
|
1: 23: 35.00 |
| 2 |
Mike Hailwood
|
Epstein Cuthbert Racing
|
1: 23: 59.80 |
| 3 |
Alan Rollinson
|
Irish Racing Cars
|
1: 24: 07.2 |
| PP |
David Hobbs
|
Surtees
|
0: 57.40 |
| SR |
David Hobbs
|
Surtees
|
0: 57.2 |
The sixth race of the season was the Dublin Grand Prix . The organizer was the Leinster Motor Club, the main sponsor was the tobacco company Rothmans International . It took place on July 13, 1969 in great heat on the Irish Mondello Park Circuit and went over two runs of 42 laps each. The championship leader Peter Gethin did not take part in this race as well as in the following three events of this series; instead, he drove Formula A races in the USA. The Surtees factory driver David Hobbs , who for his part had skipped two of the previous races in favor of American events, returned to the European championship one last time. Trevor Taylor , who had replaced him at Surtees, therefore did not appear in Mondello Park. Hobbs and his team-mate Andrea de Adamich posted the best lap times in qualifying. You finished the first run first (Hobbs) or second. Mike Walker finished fifth. It collapsed after crossing the finish line and had to be carried out of the car by paramedics. In the second run Hobbs initially took the lead again, but had to hand it over to the previous runner-up Mike Hailwood ( Epstein Cuthbert Racing ) due to technical problems . Later, Alan Rollinson , who drove a Formula 2 Brabham , also passed Hobbs. Hailwood won the second run ahead of Rollinson and Hobbs. After combining the individual results, Hobbs was the overall winner.
Trofee van de Noordzee 1969
| space | driver | team | time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Trevor Taylor
|
Surtees
|
1: 06: 55.00 |
| 2 |
Alan Rollinson
|
DH Hardwick Racing
|
1: 08: 21.40 |
| 3 |
Keith Holland
|
Alan Fraser Racing Team
|
1: 09: 13.80 |
| PP |
 Andrea de Adamich
|
Surtees
|
1: 29.90 |
| SR |
Andrea de Adamich
|
Surtees
|
1: 29.1 |
The seventh race was the III. Trofee van de Noordzee , which was held on August 3, 1969 at the military airfield in the west Belgian municipality of Koksijde . It was the first race in the series to be held on the European continent. The temporary course had a length of 4.7 km. The race went over two runs of 22 laps each. 14 drivers were registered, all of whom drove Formula 5000 vehicles. Jan van Straaten from the Netherlands was new, and raced a seven-year-old Lotus 24 . The fastest driver in the rainy qualifying went to Surtees factory driver Andrea de Adamich , while his team-mate Trevor Taylor , who was one and a half seconds slower, took second place on the grid. Since Bob Waters damaged his Conchord in an accident in the pit lane, only 13 cars started. The start of the race was delayed because another training session was scheduled at short notice on the morning of the race day due to the weather. Trevor Taylor won the first run ahead of Andrea de Adamich; Alan Rollinson , who raced a Formula 5000 car here for the first time this season, came third. In the second run Taylor won again, the Swede Ulf Norinder was second ahead of Alan Rollinson. After summarizing the results, Taylor was the overall winner ahead of Rollinson and target = Keith Holland , who drove another customer Lola . Polesitter Andrea de Adamich was ranked fourth overall.
Duinen Trofee 1969
| space | driver | team | time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Trevor Taylor
|
Surtees
|
0: 58: 06.30 |
| 2 |
Peter Westbury
|
FIRTS
|
0: 58: 33.80 |
| 3 |
Mike Hailwood
|
Epstein Cuthbert Racing
|
0: 59: 03.80 |
| PP |
Mike Hailwood
|
Epstein Cuthbert Racing
|
1: 26.01 |
| SR |
Trevor Taylor
|
Surtees
|
1: 25.5 |
The eighth race of the season was the Duinen Trofee 1969 , which was held on August 10, 1969 in Zandvoort , the Netherlands . The race went over two runs of 20 laps each. 16 drivers were registered, only two of whom - Steve Thompson and Peter Westbury - drove a Formula 2 car. For this race, the Surtees works team replaced Andrea de Adamich with Derek Bell , who made his debut here in this class. Surtees also reported Tetsu Ikuzawa , who did not appear. Therefore 15 drivers took part in the training. Pole position went to Mike Hailwood , who drove the third race here for the Epstein Cuthbert Racing team, which was supported by Lola . Peter Westbury in the Formula 2 Brabham was only two tenths of a second slower than Hailwood and started from second place. Third place on the grid went to Derek Bell. The Dutchman Jan van Straaten qualified for the penultimate starting position, but did not start the race after a technical defect in his car. Therefore, only 13 drivers started on race day. Hailwood led the first race for twelve laps, but then retired due to a gearbox failure. Trevor Taylor in the factory Surtees took the lead. He won the first run and later the second, in which he led from the first lap. Peter Westbury finished second in the first run and third in the second; in the overall standings he was runner-up.
Guards F5000 Championship Round 9
| space | driver | team | time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Trevor Taylor
|
Team elite
|
57: 42.6 |
| 2 |
Mike Hailwood
|
Epstein Cuthbert Racing
|
57: 48.6 |
| 3 |
Mike Walker
|
Alan McKechnie Racing
|
58: 58.8 |
| PP |
Mike Hailwood
|
Epstein Cuthbert Racing
|
1: 25.80 |
| SR |
Trevor Taylor
|
Team Surtees
|
1: 24.60 |
The ninth championship race took place on September 1, 1969 at the Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit in England . It went over two runs of 20 laps each. The entry list comprised 23 drivers, but only 16 drivers took part in the training session, and 13 in the race itself. Championship leader Peter Gethin ( Church Farm Racing ) was on the entry list again, but again did not appear at the event. For the first time, Surtees was no longer represented by a works team. The report was now made by the Elite team , which launched the Surtees TS5 exclusively for Trevor Taylor . Team Elite did not have a second or third driver that Team Surtees had previously reported repeatedly. Mike Hailwood ( Epstein Cuthbert Racing ) took pole position in qualifying . On second qualifier Trevor Taylor stood before Mike Walker in the customer Lola by Alan McKechnie Racing . The best-placed Formula 2 driver was Brian Cullen , who started from seventh place. The last qualifier was Bob Waters with his Conchord; his best lap time was 25 seconds slower than the pole sitter's. Mike Hailwood took the lead in the first run before Trevor Taylor took the lead on lap 12. He won the first run by 6.8 seconds over Hailwood. The second run was marked by fights for positions between the leading Hailwood and Taylor, with numerous changes of place. Hailwood won the second run 0.8 seconds ahead of Taylor. In the summary of the results, Taylor was rated as the race winner. Brian Cullen was the best Formula 2 driver with seventh place.
Prize of the Nations 1969
| space | driver | team | time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Trevor Taylor
|
Team elite
|
0: 58: 34.3 |
| 2 |
Mike Hailwood
|
Epstein Cuthbert Racing
|
0: 59: 11.7 |
| 3 |
 Ulf Norinder
|
 Sports Cars Switzerland
|
1: 00: 19.4 |
| PP |
Peter Gethin
|
Church Farm Racing
|
1: 56.1 |
| SR |
Trevor Taylor
|
Team elite
|
1: 54.6 |
The tenth race was the 1969 Nations Cup , which was held on September 14, 1969 at the Hockenheimring in Germany. Two runs of 15 laps each were run. On the day of the race there were 150,000 spectators on the track. In this race Peter Gethin ( Church Farm Racing ), who was still leading the championship, returned to the series after a three-month hiatus. There were only twelve cars in total; without exception, these were Formula 5000 vehicles. Gethin took pole position. His lead on training runner-up Trevor Taylor (Team Elite) was 0.2 seconds. Gethin led the first run before dropping to third place a few laps to go due to a suspension damage. Taylor, who had been in second place until then, won the first run ahead of Mike Hailwood, who was 22 seconds behind. The victory in the second run also went to Taylor.
Guards F5000 Championship Round 11
| space | driver | team | time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Mike Walker
|
McKechnie Racing
|
1: 03: 10.0 |
| 2 |
Alan Rollinson
|
Doug Hardwick Racing
|
1: 03: 57.4 |
| 3 |
Keith Holland
|
Alan Fraser Racing
|
1: 03: 58.2 |
| PP |
Mike Hailwood
|
Epstein Cuthbert Racing
|
1: 31.6 |
| SR |
Mike Hailwood
|
Epstein Cuthbert Racing
|
1: 31.2 |
The eleventh race took place on September 20, 1969 at Oulton Park . It consisted of two runs of 20 laps each. 20 drivers were registered, among them Peter Gethin ( Church Farm Racing ), who was still leading the championship. In qualifying practice, the first six drivers were within a second. Pole position went to Mike Hailwood ( Epstein Cuthbert Racing ), who started ahead of Gethin, Mike Walker , Alan Rollinson , Ziel = Keith Holland and Trevor Taylor . In both races Gethin initially took the lead after the start, but then fell behind due to an overheated engine. Mike Walker won both runs in the McKechnie team's customer Lola and was classified as the overall winner of the race.
Regardless, Gethin retained the lead in the championship.
Guards F5000 Championship Round 12
| space | driver | team | time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Mike Hailwood
|
Epstein Cuthbert Racing
|
1: 02: 01.6 |
| 2 |
Alan Rollinson
|
Doug Hardwick Racing
|
1: 02: 39.8 |
| 3 |
Keith Holland
|
Alan Fraser Racing
|
1: 03: 50.8 |
| PP |
Peter Gethin
|
Church Farm Racing
|
1: 30.2 |
| SR |
The final race of the season took place on September 28, 1969 at Brands Hatch . The championship was only decided at this event. Before the race, championship leader Peter Gethin was 200 points ahead of his rival Trevor Taylor . Taylor had the opportunity to win the championship with an overall win while Gethins failed.
The race consisted of two runs, each lasting 20 laps. 14 drivers were reported. Pole position went to Gethin. Taylor, who was four tenths of a second slower than Gethin in qualifying, was in third position. Between them started Mike Hailwood , who had no chance of the championship title. Hailwood won the race ahead of Alan Rollinson and Ziel = Keith Holland . Taylor was 12th, Gethin 13th overall. Gethin won the championship of 1969 due to the rules governing strike results.
Driver ranking
The awarding of points was based on the following scheme:
| Distribution of points | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| space | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14th | 15-20 |
| Points | 500 | 350 | 250 | 200 | 150 | 125 | 100 | 90 | 80 | 75 | 70 | 65 | 60 | 55 | 50 |
Only the best eight results were taken into account when determining the driver rating (so-called deletion results). After that, the following rating resulted at the end of the season:
| Item | driver | team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
P. Gethin
|
Church Farm Racing
|
2365 |
| 2 |
T. Taylor
|
Surtees team elite
|
2170 |
| 3 |
M. Hailwood
|
Epstein Cuthbert Racing
|
2045 |
| 4th |
K. Holland
|
Alan Fraser Racing
|
2000 |
| 5 |
A. Rollinson
|
Irish Racing Cars Doug Hardwick
|
1920 |
| 6th |
M. Walker
|
Allan McKechnie Racing
|
1845 |
| 7th |
U. Norinder
|
Sports Cars Switzerland
|
1450 |
| 8th |
D. Hobbs
|
Surtees
|
1275 |
| 9 |
W. Forbes
|
Willie Forbes
|
1080 |
| 10 |
R. Lamplough
|
Robert Lamplough
|
795 |
| 11 |
D. Williams
|
Race Development Engineering
|
675 |
| 12 |
A. de Adamich
|
Surtees
|
620 |
| 13 |
D. Hardwick
|
Doug Hardwick
|
575 |
| 14th |
T. Sanger
|
Terry Sanger Racing
|
540 |
| 15th |
S. Thompson
|
Steve Thompson
|
420 |
| 16 |
K. Griffiths
|
Kaye Griffiths
|
415 |
| 17th |
F. Gardner
|
Sid Taylor Racing
|
350 |
|
P. Westbury
|
FIRST
|
415 | |
| 19th |
I. Ashley
|
330 | |
| 20th |
B. Cullan
|
310 |
Race without championship status
In addition to the championship races, there was one race without championship status in Great Britain:
On August 16, 1969, the Oulton Park Gold Cup took place, which was advertised for Formula 5000 as well as Formula 2 and Formula 1 cars. The Gold Cup did not have championship status for any of these series. Jackie Ickx was the winner , Jochen Rindt ( Lotus ) came second, both of whom drove Formula 1 cars. The best Formula 5000 driver was Andrea de Adamich in the factory Surtees, who finished third. Fourth to eighth places also went to Formula 5000 drivers.
After the end of the season, another race without championship status was planned for December 27, 1969 at Brands Hatch; this event had to be canceled due to heavy fog.
literature
- David Hodges: Racing Cars from A – Z after 1945 , Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7
- Wolfgang Klopfer: Formula 5000 in Europe . Books on Demand 2004, ISBN 978-3-8334-0545-7
- Mike Lawrence: March, The Rise and Fall of a Motor Racing Legend , MRP, Orpington 2001, ISBN 1-899870-54-7 .
- Derek Lawson: Formula 5000 Motor Racing: Back Then… And Back Now , Veloce Publishing 2010, ISBN 978-1-84584-216-1
Web links
- Statistics on all races of the European Formula 5000 Championship on www.oldracingcars.com
- Pictures from the opening race of the European Formula 5000 Championship
References and comments
- ↑ a b Derek Lawson: Formula 5000 Motor Racing: Back Then… And Back Now , Veloce Publishing 2010, ISBN 978-1-84584-216-1 , p. 8.
- ↑ a b c d Wolfgang Klopfer: Formula 5000 in Europe . Books on Demand 2004, ISBN 978-3-8334-0545-7 , p. 7.
- ^ David Hodges: Racing Cars from A – Z after 1945 , Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 , p. 274.
- ^ Derek Lawson: Formula 5000 Motor Racing: Back Then ... And Back Now , Veloce Publishing 2010, ISBN 978-1-84584-216-1 , p. 26.
- ^ Derek Lawson: Formula 5000 Motor Racing: Back Then ... And Back Now , Veloce Publishing 2010, ISBN 978-1-84584-216-1 , p. 12.
- ^ Wolfgang Klopfer: Formula 5000 in Europe . Books on Demand 2004, ISBN 978-3-8334-0545-7 , p. 8.
- ↑ On Bob Waters and the Conchord s. the statistics for the race in Mallory Park on the website www.oldracingcars.com (there note 6).
- ↑ a b c Sid Taylor Racing registered Alan Rollinson for the fifth race of the season at Silverstone in a Lola-Chevrolet. Rollinson contested the qualifying of this run with Taylor's Lola. However, it damaged the Chevrolet engine so badly by over-revving that the eight-cylinder could not be used in the race. Since Sid Taylor did not have a spare engine, Rollison could not start with the Lola. For the race, Rollinson switched to the Irish Racing Cars team, which provided him with a Formula 2 Brabham. Rollinson also drove this car in the sixth race of the season at Mallory Park. From the seventh race of the season in Koksijde, Belgium, Rollinson drove a Formula 5000 Lola for the DH Hardwick Racing Team.
- ↑ a b Paul Hawkins Racing was founded and operated by the Australian racing driver Paul Hawkins . After Hawkins had a fatal accident on May 26, 1969, Jack Epstein and Nick Cuthbert took over the racing team and continued it with other drivers under the name Epstein Cuthbert Racing . See Wolfgang Klopfer: Formula 5000 in Europe . Books on Demand 2004, ISBN 978-3-8334-0545-7 , p. 8.
- ↑ Derek Lawson: Formula 5000 Motor Racing: Back Then… And Back Now , Veloce Publishing 2010, ISBN 978-1-84584-216-1 , pp. 10-25.
- ↑ a b Derek Lawson: Formula 5000 Motor Racing: Back Then… And Back Now , Veloce Publishing 2010, ISBN 978-1-84584-216-1 , p. 10.
- ^ Wolfgang Klopfer: Formula 5000 in Europe . Books on Demand 2004, ISBN 978-3-8334-0545-7 , p. 10.
- ^ Wolfgang Klopfer: Formula 5000 in Europe . Books on Demand 2004, ISBN 978-3-8334-0545-7 , p. 17.
- ↑ For a description of Koksijde's course, see p. www.wegcircuits.nl (there p. 55) .