Here is a quick wrap of my racing adventures from the recent the second round of the 2018 NSW Mazda MX-5 Cup.
The car was too soft during the first round at Wakefield Park, so heavier springs all round were ordered. There was also the issue of a gear box noise and oil leak, so a second hand 6 speed from a 2002 model was suggested and installed by David and the crew at MX 5 Mania, just in time for the race.
There were also important cosmetic issues to attend to like the need for custom made billet aluminium wheel inserts. These beauties were hand crafted by my Dad Ray, who said they could be worth 1/2 a second per lap! The Mazda speed badges set them off.
Race day tuned up, so I jumped in the little Mazda and drove to the hour down to Sydney Motorsport Park. Raymo took his car with a couple of tables, some sandwiches, a toolbox and a jack.
I have never driven the Mazda at SMP before, I have raced lots of different machinery there from Formula Fords, Formula 3, Porsches, Lotus, and Radicals, so I was looking forward to seeing how the Mazda would behave and how we can make it go faster.
The heavier springs were a general improvement, but the balance was still not great with understeer on the way into the corners with a bit of snap overseteer at the apex through most of it. We are still lacking power too.
We end up P16 out of 26 runners including a historic touring car class. I have six MX5s behind me and run a 1:55.3. We make some changes to the suspension clickers to try and dial out some understeer for race one.
I make a pretty decent start, fumble with the gearbox and manage to avoid a dive bomber at turn 1, while four cars wide. For the rest of the lap I drive around in 5th gear, until the hairpin where I begin to get my shit together. It’s embarrassing. Im really struggling with how close the gate is and how short the throw is with this new gearbox. Anyway I have a few OK laps and I think manage to hold off most of the MX5 guys and have a good battle with a Chris Collet in a Cooper S. He was driving the wheels off it and was good to watch. I finish P16. Good enough for a Class C win. The car is still a bit of a handful. Its not using all the tyre properly, we need more camber, but will need new parts for that. We make a tyre pressure change, grab lunch and prepare for Race 2.
Race 2 is actually a bit of a blur. Fairly uneventful. Towards the end she started to run a bit hot, so I spent most of the time looking at the temperature gauge. Fellow competitor Verne Johnson had told me that once the standard gauge goes a bit past halfway, its basically overheating. So I was contemplating coming in, as it was well past half way! Paul Nudd caught me in the final few laps and pipped me on the line to nick the class win by a tenth.
Unfortunately there was a big delay from an accident during the regularity which meant race 3 was scheduled for just 3 laps. With the car running pretty hot and all in one piece, I decided to head home for an early beer and dinner with my pit crew.
Rondel Racing, Ltd. was started in 1971 by Ron Dennis and Neil Trundle. The combination of their names created the “Ron-del” team name. Dennis and Trundle had been Jack Brabham’s F1 mechanics until Brabham retired in 1970. In 1971, they decided to start their own F2 team with Brabham cars.
Because of their F1 connections, and reputation for expert preparation, the Rondel team was able to attract top driving talent. Rondel drivers included Formula One World Champion, Graham Hill, Tim Schenken, Carlos Reuteman, Bob Wolleck, Henri Pescarolo, Carlos Pace, and others. These were heady times in F2, with large crowds and many F1 drivers competing, including Emmerson Fittipaldi, Ronnie Peterson, François Cevert, Niki Lauda, James Hunt, Vittorio Brambilla, Jean Pierre Jarrier, Vern Schuppan, Patrick Depallier, Jody Schecketer, and many others.
The car offered here, chassis number 12, was raced by Pescarolo, Wollek, and Reine Wissel for Rondel. The car’s best result was first overall at the Gran Premio del Mediterraneo, held at L’Autodromo di Pergus, Enna, Sicily, Italy, on August 20, 1972. These cars were highly competitive, right through the end of the season at Hockenheim, where Schenken won from Mike Hailwood, Ronnie Peterson, Wilson Fittipaldi, and Graham Hill. Pescarolo, driving chassis number 12, finished 7th, ahead of James Hunt. Four of the top seven cars were BT-38’s.
After the 1972 season, the car was purchased by South African F1 driver, Jackie Pretorius. Pretorius raced the BT-38 in the 1973 South African F1 Championship. The South African F1 championship consisted of 12 rounds, and combined F1, F1, and Formula 5000 cars all together. Despite racing against Cosworth DFV powered F1 machinery, including a Lotus 72 and a Tyrrell 004, as well as the more powerful Formula 5000 cars, Pretorious finished on the podium twice , and 7th overall in the championship.
In 1974, John Amm, also of South Africa, became the driver of the BT-38. He continued to compete with the car in the South African F1 Championship, but achieved no significant results.
The next reported sighting of the car was nearly 15 years ago, when it was found in poor condition, still in South Africa. Restoration on the car was started, but before it was completed, the car was shipped to the United States. It was in the U.S. that restoration was completed, and it is where the car currently resides.
Historic Formula 2 and Formula Atlantic racing series have recently been expanding worldwide, giving these cars more and more places to run, and often being featured events. Links to some of these series are below.
This particular car is also in the rare position of having raced in period, non-championship, F1 races, potentially opening doors for the car to run in historic F1 events as well.
Total restoration on chassis number 12’s original tub & suspension. Fresh alloy Cosworth 2.0 liter with Lucas 8 mm injection. New fuel cells, starter, exhaust, fire system, axles & CV joints. New clutch, hoses, gauges, etc. Spares include wheels, gears, etc.