1973 Rothmans 5000 European Championship

The 1973 Rothmans 5000 European Championship[1][2][3] was a motor racing series for Formula 5000 cars.[4] The series was organized in the United Kingdom by the British Racing and Sports Car Club but also incorporated European rounds.[5] It was the fifth in an annual sequence of European Formula 5000 Championships,[4] and the first to be contested as the Rothmans 5000 European Championship. The 1973 championship was won by Teddy Pilette, driving a McLaren M18 and a Chevron B24.[6]

The championship was open to Formula 5000 cars, which were defined for this series as single-seater cars using production based engines.[7] Significant changes to the technical regulations were made for 1973.[4] Engines from 2750cc to 5000cc capacity were now permitted, regardless of the number of cylinders.[4] Engines with a capacity of between 4000cc and 5000cc were still required to use pushrod operated valve gear, however engines of less than 4000cc capacity could use unrestricted valve gear and could be turbocharged.[4]

Calendar

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The championship was contested over fifteen rounds.[5]

Round[5] Name[8] Circuit[5][8] Date[5][8] Winning driver[8] Car[8]
1 Brands Hatch Rothmans F5000   Brands Hatch 17 March   Peter Gethin Chevron B24 Chevrolet
2 Mallory Park Rothmans F5000   Mallory Park 1 April   Graham McRae McRae GM1 Chevrolet
3 GKN Vanwall Trophy   Silverstone 7 April   David Hobbs Lola T330 Chevrolet
4 Snetterton Rothmans F5000   Snetterton 20 April   Brett Lunger Trojan T101 Chevrolet
5 Brands Hatch Rothmans F5000   Brands Hatch 23 April   Steve Thompson Chevron B24 Chevrolet
6 Oulton Park Rothmans F5000   Oulton Park 13 May   Teddy Pilette Chevron B24 Chevrolet
7 Mallory Park Rothmans F5000   Mallory Park 28 May   Keith Holland Trojan T101 Chevrolet
8     Misano 10 June Cancelled following practice[9]
9     Zandvoort 1 July Cancelled before practice[10]
10 Mallory Park Rothmans F5000   Mallory Park 8 July   Brett Lunger Trojan T101 Chevrolet
11 Dublin Grand Prix   Mondello Park 22 July   Keith Holland Trojan T101 Chevrolet
12     Silverstone 5 August Cancelled following practice[11]
13 Brands Hatch Rothmans F5000   Brands Hatch 27 August   Teddy Pilette Chevron B24 Chevrolet
14 Rothmans Gold Cup   Oulton Park 9 September   Peter Gethin Chevron B24 Chevrolet
15 Jyllandsringen Rothmans F5000   Jyllands-Ringen 23 September   Ian Ashley Lola T330 Chevrolet
16 Duinen Trophee   Zandvoort 30 September   Guy Edwards Lola T330 Chevrolet
17 Snetterton Rothmans F5000   Snetterton 7 October   Bob Evans Trojan T101 Chevrolet
18 Brands Hatch Rothmans F5000   Brands Hatch 21 October   Guy Edwards Lola T330 Chevrolet

Points system

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Championship points were awarded on a 20–15–12–10–8–6–4–3–2–1 basis for the first ten places at each of the first seventeen rounds and on a 40-30-24-20-16-12-8-6-4-2 basis for the first ten places at the final round.[4]

Championship standings

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Position[6] Driver[6] Car[6] Entrant[6] Points[6]
1   Teddy Pilette McLaren M18 Chevrolet
Chevron B24 Chevrolet
Racing Team VDS 136
2   Tony Dean Chevron B24 Chevrolet Anglo-American Racing 133
3   Keith Holland Trojan T101 Chevrolet
Lola T190 Chevrolet
Ian Ward Racing 116
4   Steve Thompson Chevron B24 Chevrolet Servis Appliances Racing 114
5   Guy Edwards Lola T330 Chevrolet John Butterworth 102
6   Tom Belsø Lola T330 Chevrolet ShellSPORT Luxembourg 97
7   Brett Lunger Lola T330 Chevrolet
Trojan T101 Chevrolet
Hogan Racing Ltd
Sid Taylor
95
8   Peter Gethin Chevron B24 Chevrolet Chevron Racing
Anglo-American Racing
65
9   Bob Evans Trojan T101 Chevrolet Alan McKechnie Racing 64
10   Gijs van Lennep Lola T330 Chevrolet ShellSPORT Luxembourg 59
11   Clive Santo Surtees TS11 Chevrolet
Lola T330 Chevrolet
ShellSPORT Luxembourg 50
12   Ian Ashley Lola T330 Chevrolet Doug Hardwick 37
13   David Hobbs Lola T330 Chevrolet Hogan Racing Ltd 29
14   Graham McRae McRae GM1 Chevrolet
McRae GM2 Chevrolet
Iberia Team McRae[7] 28
=   David Oxton Begg FM5 Chevrolet GN Begg Engineering 28
16   John Watson Trojan T101 Chevrolet Hexagon Racing 24
17   Chris Craft McLaren M18 Chevrolet
Chevron B24 Chevrolet
Racing Team VDS 23
=   Bob Brown Chevron B24 Chevrolet Anglo-American Racing 23
19   Brian Robertson McLaren M19 Chevrolet Anglo-American Racing 15
20   Ray Allen Surtees TS8 Chevrolet
Lola T330 Chevrolet
Servis Appliances Racing
ShellSPORT Luxembourg
12
21   Jock Russell McRae GM1 Chevrolet Jock Russell[7] 7
22   Jac Nellemann McLaren M18 Chevrolet Sheridan Thynne 6
=   Alan Rollinson McRae GM1 Chevrolet Alan Rollinson[7] 6
24   Tony Trimmer McLaren M18 Chevrolet
Lola T330 Chevrolet
Sheridan Thynne
ShellSPORT Luxembourg
5
=   Willie Green Trojan T101 Chevrolet Hexagon Racing 5
26   Damien Magee Trojan T101 Chevrolet Hexagon Racing 4
27   Richard Knight Kitchmac Chevrolet 3
28   John Gunn March 73A Chevrolet 2
=   Clive Baker McLaren M10B Chevrolet Clive Baker[7] 2
30   Arie Luyendijk McLaren M18 Chevrolet Sheridan Thynne 1
=   Chris Featherstone Lola T190 Chevrolet Chris Featherstone[7] 1

References

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  1. ^ Programme, Rothmans 5000 European Championship, Mallory Park, Sunday 1 April 1973
  2. ^ Programme, Rothmans 5000 European Championship, Grote Prijs van Zandvoort, 30-9-1973
  3. ^ Official Programme, Rothmans 5000 European Championship, Brands Hatch, 20/21 October 1973
  4. ^ a b c d e f Wolfgang Kopfler, Formula 5000 in Europe - Race by Race, 2004
  5. ^ a b c d e European Formula 5000 races 1969-1977, www.oldracingcars.com Retrieved on 4 January 2015
  6. ^ a b c d e f Wolfgang Kopfler, 1973 Rothmans European Formula 5000 Championship, Formula 5000 in Europe - Race by Race, 2004, pages 114 to 116
  7. ^ a b c d e f Event 1, The Rothmans 5000 European Championship Race (entry list), Programme, Mallory Park, 8 July 1973
  8. ^ a b c d e F5000 championship races in Europe, jpgleize.perso.neuf.fr Retrieved on 4 January 2015
  9. ^ "Rothmans F5000 Championship round, Misano, 10 Jun 1973", www.oldracingcars.com Retrieved on 4 January 2015
  10. ^ Brian Phillips, Two races cancelled, and now its F5000 action at last, Programme, Mallory Park, 8 July 1973, page 3
  11. ^ "Rothmans F5000 Championship round, Silverstone, 5 Aug 1973", www.oldracingcars.com Retrieved on 4 January 2015