AltF1 1976 - Season over, refer to history books

[pasta_maldonado]

International Trophy Prize Money
The BRDC have awarded the following amounts of prize money to the below teams.

Ferrari - £50,000
Brabham - £50,000
Shadow - £50,000
March - £50,000
Goldie Hexagon - £50,000
Melchester Racing - £30,000
Penske - £30,000
P R Reilly - £30,000
Theodore - £10,000
Wheatcroft - £10,000
ATS - £10,000
RAM - £10,000
Project Four - £5,000
Maki - £5,000

Teams marked in blue are F2/F3/Group 8 teams that have not yet been assigned a budget. If any of these teams enters a Championship round under any user, this prize money will be added to their budget.

All budgets have been updated.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Team Name: Team Ensign
Upgrade for Slot 1: Eta

[pasta_maldonado]

Team Name: Team Ensign
Upgrade for Slot 1: Eta

Eta upgrades are only available for purchase in Upgrade slot 2. However, Ensign's intentions have been duly noted

[pasta_maldonado]

The F1 circus rolls into Belgium for the fifth round of the World Championship at Zolder. Jody Scheckter arrives with a 6-point lead over Carlos Reutemann, but McLaren have brought new parts today, so are hoping to be closer to the Ferrari's pace thus far. It's all change at Williams, as Clay Regazzoni enters his first Grand Prix for Frank William's squad, replacing the disappointing Patrick Neve who seeks refuge at Ensign. Teddy Pilette continues for Ligier despite throwing away what would have been a solid result with a silly trip into the gravel at Jarama. F&S Properties will attempt to qualify for their first Grand Prix of 1976 with Roelof Wunderlink and Gijs van Lennep behind the wheel of the Lola, and are joined by new entrants B&S Fabrications, whose March 741 will be driven by Brian Henton and Swedish youngster Conny Andersson. At Thistle, Francois Rafale is replaced by British debutant Jody Pulver, whilst there's no change at Wheatcroft. Dywa will be skipping this race to attend the Monaco Grand Prix.

Pre-Qualifying


1. Hesketh-Ford - 3:07.925
2. Penske-Alfa Romeo - 3:09.066
3. March-Ford - 3:10.575
4. Thistle-Ford - 3:11.059
5. Boro-Ford - 3:11.356
6. Lola-Ford - 3:12.376
7. Wheatcroft-BRM - 3:14.897

B&S Fabrications proceed to main qualifying after two great laps from Andersson and Henton, and an absolutely woeful lap from Hector Rebaque. Thistle were close to making their first qualifying session, whilst Wheatcroft were abysmally off the pace.

[pasta_maldonado]

Qualifying


Niki Lauda took pole for the second successive weekend, but Carlos Reutemann ran him close in the McLaren, Loosing provisional pole by 5 hundredths of a second. Scheckter could only manage third, but it was Clay Regazzoni who really impressed with 10th place on the grid, 1.2 seconds faster than team-mate Migault. It was anoither impressive session from von Gottorp, whereas outgoing Williams man Neve could only manage a best lap 1.1 seconds slower than team-mate Nilsson. It was disappointment for B&S Fabrications, as Henton and Andersson could not manage to set a time fast enough to make the grid. It'll be a much bigger ask to make the grid at their next appearance.

[pasta_maldonado]

Race


Fastest Lap: Jacques Laffite - 1:31.731
Drive of the Race: Niki Lauda - Fought back from a poor start to win the race, whilst everybody else failed to capitalise.
Reject of the Race: Teddy Pilette - Spinning off once from 8th position wasn't enough for the Belgian, he did it again from 11th. Refusing to give up on competing in front of his home crowd, he spent 6 laps getting out of the first corner gravel trap, earning a disqualification for his trouble.

Lauda made a poor start and fell down to fourth, with Reutemann going into the lead and Mass 2nd. Lauda would soon get past Scheckter and Mass to get back up to second position. Regazzoni was running a superb 9th behind the Brabhams, but span off on lap 7. He rejoined two laps down, but after a quick pit stop, his suspension gave way, ending a positive start to his 1976 season. On lap 18, Lauda was the first of the leaders to pit and would rejoin 7th. Patrick Neve ran wide and ruined his race in the barriers. Reutemann pitted from second and Lauda from the lead, this promoted Scheckter to the lead, Mass second, Laffite third. Migault spins out from 10th, and come the end of the race, this is a mistake he'd regret. Mass held out for 20 laps, but after the pit stop cycles, Lauda led, with Mass second and Reuteman third, with Scheckter fourth. Reutemann was gaining on Lauda but his cahnces of victory was ruined when he failed to get by Jochen Mass promptly. It was a bad day for the Brabhams, Lella Lombardi had an off and ripped half the car off from 7th position, whereas Scheckter ran into the back of Hunt with ten laps to go, causing the Briton to pit for a new rear wing. Lauda may have taken the race again, but McLaren can leave satisfied with their improvement in pace - it was only thanks to Mass halting a charging Reutemann that the Argentine didn't walk away with the victory.

[Nessafox]

Wait, so Harvey Jones has been given the heave-ho without anyone even mentioning it to me? Cheers for that then!

Coming back on this, looking at the wiki, it seems like i've got space for him for 3 races at Stanley BRM. Take it or leave it (if not, i will ask Magee, Brown and Wilds if they're interested in doing an extra race).


And about Ligier, well, i'm glad Pilette will no longer have to return to the team

[pasta_maldonado]

Budgets have been updated with post-Belgium prize money. As usual, they can be accessed from the spreadsheet on the first page.

This, just a reminder that Teddy Pilette's disqualification has resulted in a £50,000 fine for Ligier. As a result, Ligier's budget is now £7,875.

[AndreaModa]

Wait, so Harvey Jones has been given the heave-ho without anyone even mentioning it to me? Cheers for that then!

Coming back on this, looking at the wiki, it seems like i've got space for him for 3 races at Stanley BRM. Take it or leave it (if not, i will ask Magee, Brown and Wilds if they're interested in doing an extra race).


And about Ligier, well, i'm glad Pilette will no longer have to return to the team

Done, thanks! (Assuming the fine still allows you to field him)

[Nessafox]

I'm not fielding him for Ligier haha, i'm fielding him for Stanley BRM, you might want to read my post again. Obviously the fine for Ligier has nothing to do with Stanleys budget. I suppose the minimum wage would be affordable.
But considering he originally accepted a contract with Wheatcroft, i'd say Stanley isn't that much worse off...

[AndreaModa]

I'm not fielding him for Ligier haha, i'm fielding him for Stanley BRM, you might want to read my post again. Obviously the fine for Ligier has nothing to do with Stanleys budget. I suppose the minimum wage would be affordable.
But considering he originally accepted a contract with Wheatcroft, i'd say Stanley isn't that much worse off...

Jesus what a tool. Stanley BRM it is!

[pasta_maldonado]

I'm not fielding him for Ligier haha, i'm fielding him for Stanley BRM, you might want to read my post again. Obviously the fine for Ligier has nothing to do with Stanleys budget. I suppose the minimum wage would be affordable.
But considering he originally accepted a contract with Wheatcroft, i'd say Stanley isn't that much worse off...

Jesus what a tool. Stanley BRM it is!

Harvey Jones has been signed by Stanley BRM for 3 races, for a total wage of £9,375, leaving Stanley BRM with a budget of £38,176.13.

[pasta_maldonado]

1976 Oulton Park Gold Cup - 13th June 1976
Oulton Park will again hold the Gold Cup non-championship race for the 23rd running of the event, an event which for the first time in 4 years will be run to Formula One regulations, albeit as a non-championship event. However, the event will be held on the 13th June and clashes with the Soviet Grand Prix, therefore FOCA teams cannot enter the event.

Privateer and non-championship (F2/F3/G8 Shellsport) teams may enter the event. Privateer teams must run two cars, whereas non-championships teams may run one or two cars, but are limited to using the Lola T380 chassis or March 741 chassis and Ford Cosworth '74 engines. A two-car entry may not use two different chassis. As in the international Trophy, non-championships teams will not be assigned a budget. However, if any of these teams wish to enter World Championship Grand Prix, they will be assigned a budget taking into account any prize money earnt.

Entries will be assigned on a first-come first-serve basis.

Travel costs will apply to all teams from their home region to the UK.

Any driver currently signed to drive for all races for a team (privateers) will automatically race for you if you so choose in the Trophy. You are free to sign different drivers, however, they will be subject to an RNG. Drivers for non-champiosnhip teams will also be subject to RNG, but will show preference to the teams they comepeted for at the International Trophy. Wages do not have to be paid to any driver competing in a non-championship grand prix. However, injuries may still occur.

Please use the following forms for submitting entries:

Code: Select all

Privateer teams:
Team Name: 
Number:
Driver #1:
Driver #2: (if making multiple bids)
Number:
Driver #1:
Driver #2: (if making multiple bids)
 

Code: Select all

Non-Championship teams:
Team Name: 
Chassis (Lola or March):
Number:
Driver #1:
Driver #2: (if making multiple bids)
Number:
Driver #1:
Driver #2: (if making multiple bids)  

[DemocalypseNow]

Team Name: Dywa
Number: 35
Driver #1: Giancarlo Martini (ITA)
Number: 36
Driver #1: Renzo Zorzi (ITA)

[Miguel98]

Boro are not entering the NC race.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Privateer teams:
Team Name: Wheatcroft Racing
Number: 45
Driver #1: Brian Henton
Driver #2: Ray Mallock
Number: 46
Driver #1: Guy Edwards
Driver #2:

Non-Championship teams:
Team Name: Team P R Reilly
Chassis (Lola or March): Lola
Number: 21
Driver #1: Mike Wilds
Driver #2:

[pi314159]

ÖASC will enter the race to give Oppitzhauser and Stuppacher some experience before the planned championship entries later in the year.

Team Name: ÖASC
Chassis: March 741
Engine: Renzo
Numbers: 60/61
Driver #60: Otto Stuppacher
Driver #61: Karl Oppitzhauser

[Nessafox]

Privateer teams:
Team Name: B&S fabrications
Number: 43
Driver #1: Brian Henton
Number: 44
Driver #1: Divina Galica

Team Name: Stanley BRM
Number: 37
Driver #1: Tony Trimmer
Driver #2: Damien Magee
Number: 38
Driver #1: Harvey Jones
Driver #2: Mike Wilds

[Nuppiz]

Non-Championship teams:
Team Name: ATS Wheels
Chassis (Lola or March): Lola
Number: 77
Driver #1: Mikko Kozarowitzky

[AndreaModa]

Harvey Jones accepts the #38 drive for the Gold Cup.

[pasta_maldonado]

Oulton Park International Gold Cup RNG's

Brian Henton
Henton has two offers - one from Wheatcroft Racing, and one from B&S Fabrications. He knows the Wheatcroft R26-F is far from a pace-setting car, and is swayed towards B&S due to already signing for four rounds in the regular championship.

1-35 Wheatcroft
36-100 B&S
96! - Henton elects to compete for B&S in the Gold Cup.

All other drivers accepted their offers to drive in the Gold Cup.

[John Rafael]

Thistle isn't Pre-Qualifying to Championship Races. So why not giving a try inside Britain?

Team Name: Thistle Racing
Number: 4
Driver #1: Amos Saxon

Number: 9
Driver #1: Jody Pulver

[Nessafox]

Going to add another reject team with little to no chance to become succesful, but is realistic enough, as the year before they were racing Lolas in F5000
Non-Championship teams: Team VDS (Belgium)
Chassis (Lola or March): Lola
Number: 14
Driver #1: Claude Bourgoignie
Number: 15
Driver #1: Bernard De Dryver

[TomWazzleshaw]

Another privateer team will make the trip to Oulton Park, and bring with it their finest legion of Dutch fans.

Privateer teams:
Team Name: F&S Properties
Number: 39
Driver #1: Boy Hayje
Number: 40
Driver #1: Gijs van Lennep

[pasta_maldonado]

Going to add another reject team with little to no chance to become succesful, but is realistic enough, as the year before they were racing Lolas in F5000
Non-Championship teams: Team VDS (Belgium)
Chassis (Lola or March): Lola
Number: 14
Driver #1: Claude Bourgoignie
Number: 15
Driver #1: Bernard De Dryver

Another privateer team will make the trip to Oulton Park, and bring with it their finest legion of Dutch fans.

Privateer teams:
Team Name: F&S Properties
Number: 39
Driver #1: Boy Hayje
Number: 40
Driver #1: Gijs van Lennep

All four drivers accept their drives for the Gold Cup. In addition, two more Non-Championship entries. The two fictional drivers are available for anyone to take over as their DEC if they wish.

Non-Championship teams: LEC Refrigeration Racing (GBR)
Chassis (Lola or March): Lola
Number: 47
Driver #1: David Purley (GBR)
Number: 48
Driver #1: Michael Stephens (GBR) (DEC:me, but available to anyone)

Non-Championship teams: Melchester Racing (GBR)
Chassis (Lola or March): Lola
Number: 54
Driver #1: Damien Magee (GBR)
Number: 55
Driver #1: Gabriel Château (FRA) (DEC:me, but available to anyone)

There are now just 4 entries available for the Gold Cup.

[pasta_maldonado]

Pre-Race
Despite pre-qualifying in Belgium, B&S Fabrications elected not to make the trip to Monaco, with F&S Properties also deciding to skip the principality. Dywa have hopped over from Italy to try and make something of these narrow streets, but will Martini and Zorzi be capable of extracting anything from the car? Wheatcroft and Thistle have also entered, joining Penske, Hesketh, and Boro in Pre-Qualifying. Boro haven't made the cut in 2 out of the the last three races.

Pre-Qualifying


1) Boro-Ford 3:14.433
2) Hesketh-Ford 3:15.599
3) Thistle-Ford 3:17.099
4) Penske-Alfa Romeo 3:17.353
5) Wheatcroft-BRM 3:22.397
6) Dywa-Renzo 3:28.792

Rebaque and Brancatelli top the session for Boro, the first time either of the Dutch cars has done so. Thistle clear pre-qualifying for the first time in their short history, whilst Penske DNPQ for the first time this season. Wheatcroft are again off the pace but the Dywas are horrendously slow, both Martini and Zorzi posting times 7 seconds slower than Rebaque. 14 seconds off the pace on combined times does not look good for the Italian team.

[pasta_maldonado]

Qualifying


Carlos Reutemann secures his first pole of the year ahead of both Ferrais, putting in him prime position in the principality. Hunt puts in his best performance all year, with Mass putting in his wors and Regazzoni again impressing in the Wolf-Williams. Gunnar Nilsson has a lot of work to do from 12th, the Fittipaldis look to have again just missed out on points, whilst Tyrrell aren't as slow as expected and both Thistle drivers can't hault themselves onto the grid.

[pasta_maldonado]

Race


Fastest Lap: Carlos Reutemann - 1:36.725
Reject of the Race: Jochen Mass - woeful pace, woeful attitude.
Drive of the Race: Clay Regazzoni - A podium on merit, and on the lead lap? A dream weekend for Wolf-Williams and their new signing.

Carlos Reutemann took his second victory of the year in thrilling fashion in Monaco, leading home Jody Scheckter's Ferrari. It was another what-might-have-been for Niki Lauda, despite winning the last two races and leading early on, engine failure again put paid to his hopes of winning. Jacques Laffite and Jody Scheckter both took the fight to Reutemann at stages of the race, with Andretti and Regazzoni also leading, but Reutemann played the pitstops perfectly to end up on top come the final round. Scheckter was within 10 seconds of the lead for the final 25 laps, but gave up on the chances of winning, and nursed his Ferrari home to second.

It was a tale of two midfield hereos further down the pack, with great drives from Regazzoni and Nilsson. Nilsson again persevered at the start of the race on one set of tyres, pitted late and then carved his way through the field to finish a fine sixth. However, the Drive of the Race goes to Regazzoni, for his podium drive on merit and finishing on the lead lap. The celebrations will run long into the night at the Wolf-Williams pit, the small British team taking a surprise, if not undeserved, first podium, and Clay himself coming in from the cold to prove he is still an attractive prospect.

Jochen Mass had an appalling weekend, not only was he tremednously off the pace, but finished a lap down. To add insult to inury, he refused to be lapped by Reutemann for the last two laps of the race, allowing Scheckter to close and almost steal a victory. Scheckter got by the McLaren in just one corner, is this signs of trouble in the McLaren stable?

[pasta_maldonado]

As six rounds have now elapsed, it's time for a pre-qualifying shuffle. However, there's not much actual shuffling to be done.

Clearing Pre-Q: None
Remaining in Pre-Q: Penske (CC:12th, Best Finish: 9th) Hesketh (CC:13th, Best Finish: 11th) Boro (14th, Best finish: 13th)
Dropping to Pre-Q: None

As always, any privateer teams will join Penske, Hesketh and Boro in Pre-Q for the next three rounds.

Budgets have also been updated on the spreadsheet.

[This Could Be You]

As we now have some money, Hesketh would like to do an Alpha upgrade at the next possible opportunity, if allowed.

[pasta_maldonado]

As we now have some money, Hesketh would like to do an Alpha upgrade at the next possible opportunity, if allowed.

The next upgrade opportunity is after the French Grand Prix (Round 8).

[This Could Be You]

As we now have some money, Hesketh would like to do an Alpha upgrade at the next possible opportunity, if allowed.

The next upgrade opportunity is after the French Grand Prix (Round 8).

So only two more races of utter rejectfulness then! (not to say that we'll be much better post-upgrade)

[Peteroli34]

Oulton Park Entry

Non-Championship teams: McGuire Racing(Australia)
Chassis (Lola or March): March
Number: 70
Driver #1: Brian McGuire
Number: 71
Driver #1: Jonothon Hunter (GBR) (DEC:Me)

[pasta_maldonado]

Pre-Race
Detente may be in full swing, but no Western privateers made the trip to the Bikernieki Circuit situated in Latvian SSR. Instead, joining Penske, Hesketh and Boro in Pre-Qualifying would be Auto Moto Club Skofje Loka running the left-field March 741-Renzo combination, and Tallinna Autode Remondi Katsetehas (commonly known as Estonia) running rebadged Lola-Fords. Sportscar driver Angelina Sokoloff is competing for Estonia, which should increase their chances of making the grid. AMC Skofje Loka diver Francy Jerancic has F2 experience under his belt.

Pre-Qualifying

1) Hesketh-Ford 2:22.201
2) Boro-Ford 2:22.883
3) Estonia-Ford 2:24.757
4) Penske-Alfa Romeo 2:26.25
5) March-Renzo 2:27.051

Estonia progress to qualifying proper to the delight of the home crowd! Penske slump to another DNPQ but their loss is the small Soviet team's gain, and a shot at making the grid does not appear to be too far out of the question. Chris Amon tops the session for Hesketh, with Boro not too far behind, with Jerancic's best lap being 4 tenths shy of beating Stuck for 8th position. There are major questions to be answered now at Penske.

[pasta_maldonado]

Qualifying



Jody Scheckter takes pole for the first time since South Africa by one of the slimmest margins ever seen in Formula One - a mere 0.006 seconds. Mass showed improved pace compared to Reutemann, with Thomas Nurmester and Emilio di Villota also setting impressive times. Nurmester scored a podium in his last race for Ligier and will be looking to repeat that again behind the Iron Curtain. At the back of the grid, Gianfranco Brancatelli delivers his best lap all season to drag the Boro up to 20th position ahead of both Tyrrells and the thoroughly unimpressive Michel Leclere, but again it is an Estonia who steals the limelight - Vladislav Barkovskii sneaks onto the grid by 2 tenths! Hector Rebaque and Angelina Sokoloff do not make the cut, with Rebaque posting his first DNQ of the season.

[pasta_maldonado]

The race is now live in the GP Rejects chatroom.

[pasta_maldonado]

Race


Fastest Lap: Niki Lauda 1:09.876
Drive of the Race:Gianfranco Brancatelli - 8th for Boro after drive of his life
Reject of the Race:Not awarded

Scheckter got a poor getaway and slipped to second by the first corner, with Lauda leading. Scheckter would take the lead back within two laps, and would stay there until the first round of pitstops. However, behind the Ferraris and Reutemann, there was chaos. Andretti ran wide and into the gravel, losing his front wing and going to the back of the field, whereas Peterson's engine exploded from a fine fourth position, only for the Swede to be struck by Jochen Mass as he was pulling off the road. Mass had to pit for a new front wing and was able to complete the race, but Andretti wasn't so lucky, his suspension eventually giving out. di Villota, Watson, Andretti again, Fittipaldi and Lombardi would all have excursions into the gravel during the race.

Lauda was the first of the front runners to pit, with Scheckter and Reutemann staying out. Lauda was closing but the one stop strategy put the ball in Scheckter's court, but that proved to be too much for the South African as he slid off the road whilst lapping Soviet hero Barkovskii. Reutemann now lead until his pitstop, where he rejoined 11 seconds behind Lauda with just over half the race to go - clearly on the one stop.

The midfield was close as ever throughout the race - Regazzoni was up to 4th after Peterson's retirement and the initial stops, but engine failure put paid to his hopes of a second consecutive podium. The battle for the lower points was contested between the two Ensigns and Migault, di Villota managed to stay in front of Nilsson despite the Swede's best efforts, until Gunnar's transmission seized. di Villota was up to 5th by the end thanks to retirements but his Ensign cried enough, and up to 5th it was for Migault, his first points of the season.

Lauda led the next laps, but could not make it to the end of the race without a pitstop. Reutemann was now into the lead again, and Lauda began to work to close the gap on fresher tires. Lauda had the gap down to 2 and a half seconds by lap 74 when tragedy struck. Moving to lap the 7th-placed March of Vittorio Brambilla on the fast approach to the Tilts corner, Lauda made contact with Brambilla's right rear, the Ferrari being flown up into the air just before the braking point. The Ferrari went straight on and made contact with the wall lining the track head-on. Lauda was extracted from the wrecked Ferrari and taken to the nearest hospital in a critical condition with the paddock waiting anxiously for news.

Reutemann went on to finish the race and take the victory, but celebrations proved muted on the podium. Gianfranco Brancatelli drove the race of his life to finish 8th on merit, a fantastic result for the small Boro team knocking Tyrrell down to Pre-Qualifying, unless they score 7th or better in the next two rounds. Barkovskii inspired every small boy in the Soviet Union with his impressive 14th place finish, last and 5 laps down.

Post-race

Lauda killed at Soviet Grand Prix
Tragedy once again has befallen the Formula One and motor racing world in the Soviet Grand Prix, as another accident has taken the life of another driver. Niki Lauda was tragically killed when his Ferrari made contact with the lapped March of Vittorio Brambilla and left the circuit, striking the wall lining the circuit. He was rushed to the nearest hospital, where Soviet doctors did all they can to save him.

After making his way through the junior categories, Lauda reached Formula One, a journey that culminated in taking the World Championship in 1975 for Ferrari. Well-known in the paddock for his technical mind and ability to set up the car, Lauda was also incredibly quick.

Lauda was 27 years old, and is survived by his wife, Marlene.

Budgets have been updated. Ferrari need to sign a replacement driver for Lauda, and have the option to miss the French Grand Prix.

[This Could Be You]

While Hesketh is pleased with Ertl's performance in the USSR (our best this season), it is a shame it is marred by the death of a great.

[pasta_maldonado]

FISA to make safety improvements
Following the tragic death of Niki Lauda at the Soviet Grand Prix, FISA are investigating methods to improve safety in Formula One. Among the proposals being made include an official Formula One doctor present at all races, a medical car complete with medical equipment for rapid response, better ambulance provision at circuits and a medical helicopter on stand-by at all races.

Any changes are not likely to be made until the start of the 1977 season.

[DemocalypseNow]

Ferrari will not attend the next race. We will reach out to Patrick Depailler to rejoin the team full-time after the French GP, for the remainder of the 76 season. Full reaction to come.