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1974 Brabham

Started by Mallory Dan , Mar 16 2005 10:02

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21 replies to this topic

#1 Mallory Dan

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Posted 16 March 2005 - 10:02

At the Northern TNFers meet last night, Steve W had a 1975 'Yellow Book'. Amongst the various pics in it is one of a '74 BT44 with Hitachi decals/sponsorship. Given that its numbered 7, I assume its a works car. Its also painted white, or apperas to be on the b&w photo.

From memory the works cars were mostly plain white that year, so why does this one have large Hitachi backing, any ideas anyone ??

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#2 Twin Window

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Posted 16 March 2005 - 10:11

It was the Belgian GP where Teddy Pilette was in a third car, IIRC.

I'm not sure if Teddy took the money to MRD, but whichever it was a one-off.

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#3 ian senior

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Posted 16 March 2005 - 10:14

Quote

Originally posted by Twin Window
It was the Belgian GP where Teddy Pilette was in a third car, IIRC.

I'm not sure if Teddy took the money to MRD, but whichever it was a one-off.

Seem to remember at the time that Teddy had aquired some funding to buy himself a drive in the Belgian GP of that year, so perhaps it was courtesy of Hitachi. He reads this stuff, so why not ask him?

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#4 Mallory Dan

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Posted 16 March 2005 - 10:58

When I saw the pic, a definite bell rang me for Pillette/Nivelles. However, was he in a works car, I thought it may have been the Larrouse/Bretscher one ? The pic defintely showed the car wearing no. 7, which I thought was Lole all that year.

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#5 Stephen W

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Posted 16 March 2005 - 11:07

Sorry to disappoint you all BUT.....

Teddy Pilette was in a BT42 for the '74 GP at Nivelles and it carried number 34 and not 7!

The helmet is definately NOT Carlos Reutemann's.

Richard Robarts and Rikky von Opel both raced with number 8 in the Grand Prix.

So could it possibly be the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch? Well no as Reutemann drove the BT44 and crashed out. In the Autosport photo there is a distinct lack of HITACHI sponsorship!

So the final possibility is a test session for Pilette in Reutemann's car with the Hitachi sponsorship applied!

That exhausts my knowledge and contributions! :stoned:

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#6 Twin Window

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Posted 16 March 2005 - 11:16

A BT42 it may well have been, but it would have been clad in BT44 bodywork nonetheless.

Any chance of seeing the pic in question?

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#7 jcbc3

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Posted 16 March 2005 - 11:41

Quote

Originally posted by Twin Window
...

Any chance of seeing the pic in question?

I second the request.

And a question. Hitachi sponsored Lotus in their last years (Lotus', not Hitachi's) . Are these two sponsorships the "bookends" of Hitachi sponsorship in formula 1?

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#8 Pils1989

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Posted 16 March 2005 - 13:39

In the Pilette book, page 101, you see Teddy in the Brabham n. 34 with Hitachi stickers at Nivelles.
I've sent him the thread.

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#9 ian senior

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Posted 16 March 2005 - 14:10

Just got an e-mail from Teddy, who says he paid Bernie for the drive. The sponsor was the Belgian importer of Hitachi and the RACB did the organising and made it all possible.

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#10 conjohn

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Posted 16 March 2005 - 16:21

From the 1975 'Yellow Book', no copyright specified.

A highly rasterized pic of the same car, with a non-helmeted person in the cockpit, can be found in an advert for International Sponsorship Management on page 103 of the same book.

The 1973 Swedish Grand Prix was sponsored by Hitachi.

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#11 Stephen W

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Posted 16 March 2005 - 17:02

This looks more like Reutemann than the print in my version of the FIA book.

As for Sweden? Well it is hard to say, no mention in Autosport the week before or in the Swedish GP issue of any additional sponsorship for Brabham.

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#12 jcbc3

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Posted 16 March 2005 - 17:27

The image on Forix from Nivelles 1974

Definately NOT the same helmet and brandishing No. 34.

conjohn's picture MUST be Reutemann. Did he do some shakedown for Pilette?

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#13 fines

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Posted 16 March 2005 - 18:22

I believe the Hitachi sponsorship was extended to all three cars in the Belgian GP.

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#14 PeterElleray

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Posted 16 March 2005 - 18:39

Hi - From memory, the sponsorship did extend at least to Reutemann's car aswell. The picture is definately of Retemann, and that is a BT44, you can tell from the top front wishbone profile and can just see where the damper is mounted semi inboard at the top for the pullrod installation . On the BT42 with outboard spring dampers its mounted on a machined bracket, along with the top wishbone on the upper side of the chassis.

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#15 Rob Ryder

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Posted 16 March 2005 - 19:19

;)

1974 Belgian Grand Prix (copyright unknown on both photos)

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#16 conjohn

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Posted 16 March 2005 - 20:06

Quote

Originally posted by Stephen W
As for Sweden? Well it is hard to say, no mention in Autosport the week before or in the Swedish GP issue of any additional sponsorship for Brabham.

The whole race was sponsored by Hitachi...

...preceding their involvment with Brabham by a year - as an answer to jcbc3's question.

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#17 Mohican

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Posted 23 March 2005 - 11:31

You beat me to it, I was also thinking of the '73 Swedish GP.

You might have expected to see Ronnie Peterson's JPS Lotus featuring on the poster, rather than a Marlboro BRM ? But that is actually Reine Wisell in a BRM (cue: the green helmet) - which is ironic, since Wisell had lost his BRM drive from '72 by then. I remember him driving a March in '74 but cannot remember whether he was in the first race in '73; which was of course led by Ronnie from pole, until a puncture dropped him to second behind Denny Hulme a lap from the finish.

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#18 Tim Murray

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Posted 23 March 2005 - 12:47

He should have driven in the '73 race - he was 14th on the grid in a Team Pierre Robert March 731 - but failed to take the start after the front suspension pulled away from the chassis during the warm-up.

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#19 Mallory Dan

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Posted 23 March 2005 - 13:59

I think this was in fact the works 731, not a 'Pierre Robert' car. Jarier was otherwise engaged from memory. Doesn't surprise me that it was a bit of a disaster, March were all over the place that year weren't they ?

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#20 Mohican

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Posted 23 March 2005 - 15:32

Quote

Originally posted by Tim Murray
...failed to take the start after the front suspension pulled away from the chassis during the warm-up.

That sounds very March, somehow. :rotfl:

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#21 conjohn

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Posted 23 March 2005 - 15:44

Jarier was in Sweden in '73 - the chassis Reine used was the one usually driven by Purley (no 1).

From memory, it was the left front suspension that failed - he came limping by us on the straight leading to the left before the Karusell. Also from memory, Reine got the drive in France in the Stockbroker March as a compensation for this.