36 replies to this topic

[john winfield]

The weather and tyre choices had a major impact on this one. There was a pretty good entry and I remember it being an entertaining race, culminating in a popular win for Jean-Pierre Beltoise and the BRM P180. Here's a bit of footage from the Pathé site:

 

https://www.britishp...-AT/query/HATCH

[arttidesco]

Sadly the last victory for BRM and the only one for the fabulous P180 ;-)

[pete53]

The weather and tyre choices had a major impact on this one. There was a pretty good entry and I remember it being an entertaining race, culminating in a popular win for Jean-Pierre Beltoise and the BRM P180. Here's a bit of footage from the Pathé site:

 

https://www.britishp...-AT/query/HATCH

I have just checked and 16 pukka F1 cars started backed up by F5000s. There were works entries from Lotus, BRM, Surtees, McLaren and Brabham(MRD). Almost enough Forrmula One cars to warrant a race to themselves.

[68targa]

Yes, and no 'points to be won' or Championship at stake.  Just a race to see who was best on the day.

[BRG]

Yes, and no 'points to be won' or Championship at stake.  Just a race to see who was best on the day.

There might have been some cash involved too......

[MCS]

But no Tyrrell team.  When did they decide not to enter and why?  I forget, but was it perhaps something to do with safety?

[john winfield]

But no Tyrrell team.  When did they decide not to enter and why?  I forget, but was it perhaps something to do with safety?

 

No Tyrrell cars or drivers, but DSJ tells us that Ken was there, graciously wearing a John Player Team Lotus World Champions sticker on his coat!

It's a brief, interesting write-up in Motor Sport, reminding me that, apart from the pleasure of seeing Ronnie lead and JPB win, I enjoyed Jacques Coulon's surprise victory in the F3 race. He was quick too, a few months later, in the Thruxton F2 race. 

 

https://www.motorspo...victory-meeting

[Tim Murray]

The only explanation I could find for Tyrrell’s absence was this short snippet in Autosport for 7th September:

Ken Tyrrell will not be fielding a car for Jackie Stewart in the October Brands F1 race, as after the American Grand Prix the Tyrrell team will be fully occupied with building the new 007 car for 1973.

Sounds a pretty feeble excuse to me, but interesting that at that stage the next Tyrrell was designated 007 and not 006/2 as it eventually became.

While flicking through Autosport I came across these snippets relating to the race:

After the BARC had performed a superb job in organising the massive three-day international meeting at Brands Hatch last Sunday, clerk of the course Grahame White had to perform another unexpected duty at the end of the meeting, when someone stole his Lotus Europa course car. Grahame, noticing the Europa disappearing through South Bank Bend, jumped into a Cortina and caught up with the Europa. Grahame managed to catch the offender up and force him into the ditch, but when the offender was brought back to the pits for police questioning, he ran away, but was later recaptured in a Brands Hatch bar. Earlier in the day the same person had forced his way on to the back of the Brands Hatch Capri for a lap of honour with Frank Gardner after Gardner had won the Wiggins Teape Paperchase. What odd duties race organisers have to perform nowadays ...

Only 15,000 people turned out to watch last weekend’s big BARC-organised race meeting at Brands Hatch. The weather was, of course, a main hazard, but the entertainment in all races was superb. Many people missed an excellent meeting.

However, this sort of attendance cannot justify the amount of expense involved in promoting the meeting. MCD’s John Webb said on Tuesday: “I think there is going to have to be a savage reduction in the number of expensive meetings because the spectators can’t afford to pay for them”.

This was with basic admission being 50p on Friday and Saturday and a whopping £1.50 on the Sunday. I remember that as an impecunious student I decided that the expense of travel and admission fees was too great for me, so had to give it a miss. It does explain why the event was never repeated.

[john winfield]

Only 15,000 people turned out to watch last weekend’s big BARC-organised race meeting at Brands Hatch. The weather was, of course, a main hazard, but the entertainment in all races was superb. Many people missed an excellent meeting.

However, this sort of attendance cannot justify the amount of expense involved in promoting the meeting. MCD’s John Webb said on Tuesday: “I think there is going to have to be a savage reduction in the number of expensive meetings because the spectators can’t afford to pay for them”.

I suppose we can't blame John Webb - he did try and lay on some interesting meetings. And that year, just in England, there had been the Race of Champions, International Trophy, Gold Cup, Grand Prix and the Rothmans 50,000. And then the Victory Race. Plus four Formula 2 events, F5000, the BOAC 1000km etc.. We were very spoilt, particularly in the south east. (I do wish he hadn't dropped the 1000km in 1973....Matra versus Ferrari around Brands could have been superb. But the crowd in 1972, in good weather, was not large).

Does anybody here on TNF admit to having stolen that Europa? Must just check for photos of Frank Gardner on his victory lap.....

[Dave Ware]

No, all of the TNFers were at Clearways...

 

Perhaps it was Neil Horan early in his career.  From Wikipedia:

 

Cornelius "Neil" Horan, sometimes referred to as The Grand Prix Priest or The Dancing Priest (born 22 April 1947), is a laicised Irish Roman Catholic priest who is noted for his interference with the running of the 2003 British Grand Prix and the 2004 Summer Olympics men's marathon in order to promote his religious belief that the end of the world is near.

[Michael Ferner]

Oh shat, another end of the world is near! And I was just breathing a sigh of relief that all those nutty corona conspiracy lunatics need another job, soon...

[Tim Murray]

[pete53]

Only 15,000 people turned out to watch last weekend’s big BARC-organised race meeting at Brands Hatch. The weather was, of course, a main hazard, but the entertainment in all races was superb. Many people missed an excellent meeting.

However, this sort of attendance cannot justify the amount of expense involved in promoting the meeting. MCD’s John Webb said on Tuesday: “I think there is going to have to be a savage reduction in the number of expensive meetings because the spectators can’t afford to pay for them”.

I suppose we can't blame John Webb - he did try and lay on some interesting meetings. And that year, just in England, there had been the Race of Champions, International Trophy, Gold Cup, Grand Prix and the Rothmans 50,000. And then the Victory Race. Plus four Formula 2 events, F5000, the BOAC 1000km etc.. We were very spoilt, particularly in the south east. (I do wish he hadn't dropped the 1000km in 1973....Matra versus Ferrari around Brands could have been superb. But the crowd in 1972, in good weather, was not large).

Does anybody here on TNF admit to having stolen that Europa? Must just check for photos of Frank Gardner on his victory lap.....

Very true. We rather took it for granted in England that there would be a fine menu of International race meetings each season. And then you find it has all gone ....

[Sterzo]

The Race of Champions and International Trophy were brilliant warm-ups to the season. We accepted the entry would be thin because of the annual metal-workers' strike, but it didn't matter. I splashed out my £1.50 to attend the end of season races, but they had more of an anti-climactic feel, and Siffert's accident probably helped put us off them.

[colinsays]

 

Parade lap with Emerson and a "Estate" Elan Plus 2 (for those as me who like the Elan ,this is an unicorn)

Edited by colinsays, 24 February 2025 - 09:03.

[pete53]

I couldn't attend the 1972 version of this event as I had just started my university course at Liverpool Uni. I hadn't realised the attendance was so poor . I recall that there was a kind of consensus back then that Formula One was the one category that would always guarantee a large crowd.  Personally I had been to the Race of Champions, the BOAC 1000, the Grand Prix and Rothmans 50,000 that year, obviously all at Brands, and possibly people's appetites had been sated. 

 

You don't know what you've got till it's gone, as Joni Mitchell had warned us only a couple of years beforehand!

[marksixman]

 

You don't know what you've got till it's gone, as Joni Mitchell had warned us only a couple of years beforehand!

Very apt.

 

Keeping an eye open for that big yellow van !!!

[SamoanAttorney]

I couldn't attend the 1972 version of this event as I had just started my university course at Liverpool Uni. I hadn't realised the attendance was so poor . I recall that there was a kind of consensus back then that Formula One was the one category that would always guarantee a large crowd.  Personally I had been to the Race of Champions, the BOAC 1000, the Grand Prix and Rothmans 50,000 that year, obviously all at Brands, and possibly people's appetites had been sated. 

 

You don't know what you've got till it's gone, as Joni Mitchell had warned us only a couple of years beforehand!

But who knows where the time goes.......

[bradbury west]

But who knows where the time goes.......

Ah, pure nostalgia for me. Off topic.

I remember well how she would come along to the White Bear in Hounslow on a Thursday night and sing with Dave Cousins, Tony Hooper  and dear old Ron Chesterman.  I remember her singing “who knows”  , a capella, with Dave, then with the  two others and instruments, trying it out,  not long after it was written. The haunting innocence of Sandy Denny’s voice with Dave’s gentle tones, quite mesmerising. I remember her as a lovely lovely young woman. Wonderful days.

Roger Lund

[SamoanAttorney]

Ah, pure nostalgia for me. Off topic.

I remember well how she would come along to the White Bear in Hounslow on a Thursday night and sing with Dave Cousins, Tony Hooper  and dear old Ron Chesterman.  I remember her singing “who knows”  , a capella, with Dave, then with the  two others and instruments, trying it out,  not long after it was written. The haunting innocence of Sandy Denny’s voice with Dave’s gentle tones, quite mesmerising. I remember her as a lovely lovely young woman. Wonderful days.

Roger Lund

Apologies for off-topic.....I was too young to enjoy her talents in person. The first encounter I had came courtesy of the Island Records sampler Bumpers which I acquired as a spotty, irritating 14-year-old - plus ça change. One of the many songs that really impressed me was Fotheringay's The Sea, it still stops me in my tracks. A few years later I caught up with Who knows where the time goes? pure magic, Sandy Denny was in a class of her own.....even Joni could not quite match her voice, though The Hissing of Summer Lawns and Hejira come really close.

 

OK back to Race of Champions, I went in '71 and '72, the first a truly dark day, a hero lost.

Edited by SamoanAttorney, 27 February 2025 - 07:55.

[marksixman]

 

OK back to Race of Champions, I went in '71 and '72, the first a truly dark day, a hero lost.

 

Do you refer to Seppi ? If so that dark day was The Victory Race in , I think, October, not the Race of Champions. I was there too, on the outside bank at Clearways. The quietest trip home from a race meeting I ever recall.

Edited by marksixman, 25 February 2025 - 17:28.

[BRG]

Regretfully,  mentioning Seppi reminded me that I must have been there. 

[SamoanAttorney]

Do you refer to Seppi ? If so that dark day was The Victory Race in , I think, October, not the Race of Champions. I was there too, on the outside bank at Clearways. The quietest trip home from a race meeting I ever recall.

 

Humble apologies. Of course it was, I must have been off in the land of Sandy and Joni. Sadly I was at Brands Hatch that day, two heroes gone in less than six months....difficult for a 15-year-old to comprehend.

[marksixman]

Humble apologies. Of course it was, I must have been off in the land of Sandy and Joni. Sadly I was at Brands Hatch that day, two heroes gone in less than six months....difficult for a 15-year-old to comprehend.

So that's you John, me, and BRG who were there. I am sure there are others here as well.

 

I was there with my Dad, but neither of us felt like driving home to Sussex that afternoon and so we tossed a coin for it. I lost ! At least I got to drive his car !!

 

We had both been there as well in '68 to see Seppi win the GP - three years separating sublime from sadness.

[Sterzo]

So that's you John, me, and BRG who were there. I am sure there are others here as well.

Me too. I'm only grateful that, due to a misunderstanding, one friend and I watched from Paddock, and missed linking up with the rest of our crowd on the outside of Hawthorn.

[SamoanAttorney]

http://www.doubledeclutch.com/?p=3565

[Tim Murray]

I was there - my first F1 race. We were at Druids and obviously knew something very bad had happened, but the PA went quiet so we had no real idea until we got home and heard the BBC news.

[john aston]

My first week at university, and I seem to remember coverage on BBC News on my landlady's b/w TV . A sombre voiced news reader and a pall of smoke on the screen behind him . Shocking , yes, if  not surprising in those days - but two BRM drivers gone in months.... .      

[Rob Ryder]

I was there in 1971 as a guest of BRM 

 

 

Edited by Rob Ryder, 27 February 2025 - 14:37.

[marksixman]

I was there as a guest of BRM 

Ouch !

[68targa]

I was there - my first F1 race. We were at Druids and obviously knew something very bad had happened, but the PA went quiet so we had no real idea until we got home and heard the BBC news.

I must have been standing near you. The awful quietness and the pall of smoke and just knowing that this was not good.

 

On a happier note I can remember the utmost joy of seeing Seppi and Rob Walker take that victory in 1968. That was a wonderful day.

 

I didn't get to the 1972 Victory race due to a clashing holiday (which I didn't book ) - I remember being rather miffed by this !

[David Lawson]

I was also there spectating at Druids in 1971.

 

Back to this thread I was also at the 1972 meeting. As an impoverished clerical officer in the civil service my camera equipment was very basic comprising a Zenit B SLR and Dixons Prinz lenses so my photographs were poor quality. Here are a couple from the day.

 

 

Peterson leads the opening lap from Hailwood and Redman.

 

 

And typical F3 first lap action with Mike Wilds 37 turned around by Alan Jones 27 and Brendan McInerney 41 while the rest find their way around.

 

David  

[BRG]

I was also there spectating at Druids in 1971.

 

Back to this thread I was also at the 1972 meeting. As an impoverished clerical officer in the civil service my camera equipment was very basic comprising a Zenit B SLR and Dixons Prinz lenses so my photographs were poor quality. Here are a couple from the day.

 

As poor quality pics go, those are pretty high quality!  

[pete53]

I was there - my first F1 race. We were at Druids and obviously knew something very bad had happened, but the PA went quiet so we had no real idea until we got home and heard the BBC news.

It's interesting you say that Tim. Some people who were there suggest that Jo's death was announced over the PA but I certainly never heard any such announcement. In fact it was the driver of the special bus that took us from Brands to Swanley Station at the end of the day that relayed this news when we were boarding the bus. I assume he'd heard this on the radio.

[marksixman]

It's interesting you say that Tim. Some people who were there suggest that Jo's death was announced over the PA but I certainly never heard any such announcement. In fact it was the driver of the special bus that took us from Brands to Swanley Station at the end of the day that relayed this news when we were boarding the bus. I assume he'd heard this on the radio.

As I said earlier, I was there, and am fairly sure the bad news did come over the PA at some point, as otherwise my Dad and I would have been hopeful rather than terribly upset.

 

There was also just 'something' about the way the other cars trailed so slowly back to the pits. That, and the column of smoke, really said it all I am afraid.

[9203RW]

I was at both the 1971 and 1972 races.  Unfortunately my dad and I had decided to walk round the track during the 1971 race and we were walking from Westfield towards Hawthorns when Seppi crashed.  Apart from the horror of the whole scene, my abiding memories are of the sight of some very distraught marshals who had been unable to get him out of the car and, almost more disturbing, as we were walking away while the car was still ablaze, of a large crowd of ghoulishly curious people heading towards the scene of the accident.  It's strange what sticks in the mind, though, as my one clear recollection of the 1972 race is delight at seeing the Connew being driven by David Purley going round South Bank Bend (as it was then called) on the warm-up lap.  Alas, we weren't to see it again because of the misunderstanding with the electrics kill switch further round the lap. 

[PRD]

I was in the second year of A levels when my fatherand I went to the 1971 meeting, but only on the Saturday practice day.
Dad took a movie camera and he filmed many of the drivers as we walked around the paddock. I remember seeing Francois Cevert, Jo Siffert, Ronnie Peterson, John Surtees and Emerson Fittipaldi. The only drivers to collect a crowd seemed to be Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart. It was my first time ever at a racing circuit of any sort (unless you count Davidstow) and I couldn’t believe how close you could get to the drivers although I don’t remember any of them being hassled for autographs.
At the time I was really cross we had to go home rather than see the race the following day, but given what happened both of us were glad to have missed it.