Formula Ford Racing

 

This is a photograph that I took at the Knickerbrook chicane during the HSCC Historic Formula Ford race at the Historic Sports Car Club's Summer Race Meeting at Oulton Park in July 1992.

Leading is Gary Pearson in his 1971 Merlyn Mk20 followed by the 1971 Crossle 20F of Mike Whatley and the 1969 Lotus 61 of Simon Hadfield.

1976 Chevron B37

This car competed in the HSCC Derek Bell Trophy race at the Historic Sports Car Club's Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2005.

It's Simon Hadfield's 1977 Chevron B37, a Formula 5000 car and the only B37 built. It was made for the Racing Team VDS with a Morand Chevrolet V8 engine and was driven by Peter Gethin and Teddy Pillette in the 1976 season. A note about the car in the Gold Cup programme says this:

'The last F5000 car was a stunner, built for 1976, when Team VDS took one-off to the USA and Australia. Second was best result. Bruce Allison subsequently raced it in the UK's ShellSport Gp8 series, before fellow Aussie Ivan Tighe took it racing and hillclimbing back home. Now winning in Historics with Simon Hadfield.'

The photograph was taken at Lodge Corner.

Lola T70

This car competed in the 1 hour long Historic Motor Racing News Gentlemen Drivers Sports Racing Challenge race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2005.

It's the 1965 Lola T70 Mk1 driven in the race by Frank Sytner and Simon Hadfield, and a note in the programme of the event says this about the car:

Debuted, unpainted, by David Hobbs at Goodwood in 1965, chassis SLXX/4 was also raced by Monte Shallet and road registered by a later owner. Reimported from the USA by Frank Sytner in 2003, it is probably the earliest T70 still racing. Chevrolet V8 engine packs a big punch in Eric Broadley-designed monocoque chassis.

The car that David Hobbs drove at Goodwood in 1965, though, was that of Harold Young Racing, which was chassis SL70/2. Chassis SL70/4 was returned to the factory soon after delivery to Hugh Dibley and the car was rebuilt using chassis SL70/7. The history of SL70/2 is told in this Bonhams auction offering.

Here's the car during the race at Britten's chicane leading the 1965 Elva Mk8 of David Clark and the 1963 Elva Mk7S of Ivan Scotti.