1970 Lotus 72

This is a photograph that I took at Deer Leap during the HSCC Pre ’71 Single Seater Championship race at the Historic Sports Car Club’s Spring Historic Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 1987.

It’s the 1970 Lotus 72 entered by Haslemere Sports Cars and driven by Mary Foulston. It is chassis 72/R4 and belonged to the then owner of the Oulton Park racing circuit (and Brands Hatch and Snetterton), John Foulston. The Lotus 72 was designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe and had the Ford Cosworth DFV 2,993cc V8 engine. Jochen Rindt won the World Driver's Championship in 1970 with the Lotus 72  as did Emerson Fittipaldi  in 1972, Lotus winning the World Constructor's Championship in 1970, 1972 and 1973.

1970 Lotus 72

The two cars in this photograph competed in the HSCC Seldon Pre '71 Single Seater Championship race at the Historic Sports Car Club's Spring Historic Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 1986.

The number 72 car is a 1970 Lotus 72, chassis 72/R4 and beneath it is a 1971 McLaren M19A, chassis M19A/1, both of which belonged to the then owner of the Oulton Park racing circuit (and Brands Hatch and Snetterton), John Foulston, who drove the McLaren in that race whilst his wife Mary drove the Lotus. The Lotus 72 was designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe and the McLaren M19A was designed by Ralph Bellamy, both cars having the Ford Cosworth DFV 2,993cc V8 engine. The Lotus was the more successful of the two cars, Jochen Rindt winning the World Driver's Championship in 1970  and Emerson Fittipaldi  in 1972, and Lotus winning the World Constructor's Championship in 1970, 1972 and 1973. The McLaren's best results were a third place in the Driver's Championship in 1972 for Denny Hulme and a third place in the Constructor's Championship the same year for McLaren.

1970 Lotus 72

These two cars competed in the HSCC Seldon Pre '71 Single Seater Championship race at the Historic Sports Car Club's Spring Historic Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 1986.

The number 72 car is a 1970 Lotus 72, chassis 72/R4 and in front of it is a 1971 McLaren M19A, chassis M19A/1, both of which belonged to the then owner of the Oulton Park racing circuit (and Brands Hatch and Snetterton), John Foulston, who drove the McLaren in that race whilst his wife Mary drove the Lotus. The Lotus 72 was designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe and the McLaren M19A was designed by Ralph Bellamy, both cars having the Ford Cosworth DFV 2,993cc V8 engine. The Lotus was the more successful of the two cars, Jochen Rindt winning the World Driver's Championship in 1970  and Emerson Fittipaldi  in 1972, and Lotus winning the World Constructor's Championship in 1970, 1972 and 1973. The McLaren's best results were a third place in the Driver's Championship in 1972 for Denny Hulme and a third place in the Constructor's Championship the same year for McLaren.

1970 McLaren M19A

These two cars competed in the HSCC Seldon Pre '71 Single Seater Championship race at the Historic Sports Car Club's Spring Historic Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 1986.

The number 1 car is a 1971 McLaren M19A, chassis M19A/1, and the number 72 is a 1970 Lotus 72, chassis 72/R4. Both cars belonged to the then owner of the Oulton Park racing circuit (and Brands Hatch and Snetterton), John Foulston, who drove the McLaren in that race whilst his wife Mary drove the Lotus. The McLaren M19A was designed by Ralph Bellamy and the Lotus 72 was designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe, both cars having the Ford Cosworth DFV 2,993cc V8 engine. The Lotus was the more successful of the two cars, Jochen Rindt winning the World Driver's Championship in 1970  and Emerson Fittipaldi  in 1972, and Lotus winning the World Constructor's Championship in 1970, 1972 and 1973. The McLaren's best results were a third place in the Driver's Championship in 1972 for Denny Hulme and a third place in the Constructor's Championship the same year for McLaren.

Here's John Foulston at Deer Leap during the race.

1971 Lotus 72

This car contested the F.O.R.C.E. Pre-1972 Grand Prix Cars Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 2000.

It's the 1971 Lotus 72 of Mike Littlewood and is chassis R6, the car with which Ronnie Peterson won the French, Austrian, Italian and USA Grands Prix of 1973. The Lotus 72 was designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Phillippe and had several innovative features including an air intake above the rear engine, inboard brakes, and radiators in side pods instead of the front of he car enabling a wedge shaped and more aerodynamic nose. It was powered by the 2,993cc V8 Ford Cosworth DFV engine and competed in Grand Prix races for six seasons, from 1970 to 1975, winning the World Constructors' Championship three times, in 1970, 1972 and 1973. Lotus Team drivers Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi and Ronnie Peterson won 20 Grand Prix races between them in that time, Jochen Rindt winning the World Drivers' Championship in 1970 despite losing his life in an accident during practice for the Italian Grand Prix late in the season. Emerson Fittipaldi won the 1972 World Drivers' Championship in the car, but it became increasingly less competitive over the next three seasons and was replaced in 1976 by the Lotus 77.

1972 Lotus 72

The Silverstone circuit first opened for racing in 1948, and the Coys International Historic Meeting there in July 1998 commemorated 50 years of racing with, amongst other things, a display of 50 cars, each one representing one of those years.

This is the car that represented 1973, the Lotus 72 that competed in Grand Prix races for six seasons, from 1970 to 1975, winning the World Constructors' Championship three times, in 1970, 1972 and 1973. Lotus Team drivers Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi and Ronnie Peterson won 20 Grand Prix races between them in that time, Jochen Rindt winning the 1970 World Drivers' Championship in 1970 despite losing his life in an accident during practice for the Italian Grand Prix late in the season. Emerson Fittipaldi won the 1972 World Drivers' Championship in the car, but it became increasingly less competitive over the next three seasons and was replaced in 1976 by the Lotus 77.

Lotus 72

This car was present in the paddock at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1993, although there was no race at the meeting for which it was eligible.

It's a Lotus 72 in the Gold Leaf Team Lotus colours that were worn when the car made its debut at the Spanish Grand Prix in 1970. It was powered by the 2,993cc V8 Cosworth DFV engine that won 12 out of 15 World Drivers' Championships between 1968 and 1982. Lotus relied on the 72 from 1970 till 1975 and it's probably more familiar in the black John Player livery that it wore from 1972 onwards.

On 3 January 2017 I showed photographs of John Foulston's Lotus 72 that I took at Oulton Park in 1987, and on 10 March 2013 I showed photographs of the car driven by Emerson Fittipaldi in the 1972 Gold Cup race at Oulton Park.

Lotus 72

This car took part in the HSCC Pre '71 Single Seater Championship race at the HSCC's Spring Historic Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 1987.

It's John Foulston's 1970 Lotus 72, driven in the race by his wife Mary. This car is the first of the Lotus 72s built, originally chassis number 72/1 but renumbered 72/4 after a rebuild, and is in the Gold Leaf Team Lotus colours used by the team in 1970 and 1971. Jochen Rindt won the 1970 Drivers' World Championship in 1970 in one of these cars despite losing his life in an accident during practice for the Italian Grand Prix. In 1972 the cars sported the more familiar black livery as the John Player Team Lotus and Emerson Fittipaldi won the Drivers' World Championship that year. On 10 March 2013 I showed some photographs of Emerson Fittipaldi's car at the non-championship Gold Cup race at Oulton Park in 1972.

Mary Foulston at Lodge Corner during the race.