The 1979 Hitachi Trophy was a non-championship race open to Formula Two and Formula Atlantic cars. The race was held at Brands Hatch on 15 April 1979 as a support race for the 1979 Race of Champions. It was won by British driver Norman Dickson in the Dickson's of Perth's March-Hart 792. The Formula Atlantic class win went to Ray Mallock, who finished in fourth place in the overall standings.[1]
Report
Entry
Only nine F2 cars were entered for the event, however of those, only seven took part in qualifying and race compared with the maximum grid of 26 starters which took part in the European Formula 2 race at Thruxton the next day. An additional 16 Formula Atlantic cars were entered, of which five of these did not arrive.[2][3]
Qualifying
Norman Dickson took pole position, with a lap time of 1:26.2. This time would have placed Dickson 19th on the grid for the Race of Champions race being run the same day. John Cooper was only one tenth of a second behind in his March-Hart 792, with Divina Galica took an encouraging third place. Next up was Ray Mallock's Ralt-Ford RT1 who was the top Formula Atlantic qualifier in fourth place.[4][5][6]
Race
After 25 laps of the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, Dickson took the chequered flag after 35:16.1 mins. of racing, averaging a speed of 111.16 mph. Second place went to Galica, who was the only other driver on the lead lap. She was too eager at the start, however and incurred a 60sec penalty for a false start. Brian Robinson rounded out the podium for the F2 brigade.[7][8]
Classification
Race
| Pos. | Class Pos. | Driver | Entrant | Car - Engine | Time, Laps | Reason Out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | F2 - 1 |  Norman Dickson |
Dickson's of Perth | March-Hart 792 | 35:16.1 | |
| 2 | F2 - 2 | Divina Galica |
Divina Galica | March-Hart 792 | 37:21.8 | incl 60sec pen. for false start |
| 3 | F2 - 3 | Brian Robinson |
Grange Performance Cars | Chevron-Hart B42 | 24 | |
| 4 | FA - 1 | Ray Mallock |
Mario Deliotti Racing | Ralt-Ford RT1 | 35:31.6, 24 | |
| 5 | FA - 2 | Bernard Hunter |
Ralt-Ford RT1 | 24 | ||
| 6 | FA - 3 | Phil Dowsett |
Wilding Office Equipment/Glaister Card Shops | March-Ford 79B | 24 | |
| 7 | F2 - 4 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Germain Garon |
Germain Garon | Chevron-Hart B42 | 23 | |
| 8 | FA - 4 | Martin Mansell |
Lola-Ford T360 | 23 | ||
| 9 | FA - 5 | Roger Andreason |
Druid-Ford 79A | 23 | ||
| 10 | FA - 6 | Geoff Byman |
March-Ford 75B | 23 | ||
| DNF | FA |  Alo Lawler |
L&B Excavations Racing | Lola-Ford T760 | 15 | Collision with Jeffrey |
| DNF | FA | Andrew Jeffrey |
The Hope Scott Garage | Chevron-Ford B49 | 15 | Collision with Lawler |
| DNF | F2 | John Cooper |
JC Racing | March-Hart 792 | 11 | Clutch |
| DNF | F2 |  Lucien Lampach |
Allomo Racing | Lampach | 7 | Engine |
| DNF | F2 | Tony Dean |
AG Dean Racing | Chevron-Hart B42 | 5 | Gear selectors |
| DNF | FA | Jim Crawford |
SDC Racing | Chevron-Ford B45 | 1 | Accident |
| DNF | FA | Rick Gorne |
Barratt Developments Racing with Anglia Cars | Argo-Ford JM1X | 0 | Accident |
| DNS | FA | Dave Allen |
Savon Team Uniroyal | Surtees-Ford TS10 | ||
- Fastest lap: Norman Dickson, 1:23.3.
References
- ↑ "Formula 2 1979 - Hitachi Trophy, Brands Hatch". Archived from the original on 2015-04-08. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
- ↑ "Formula 2 1979 - Hitachi Trophy, Brands Hatch". Archived from the original on 2015-04-08. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
- ↑ Allen Brown. "Brands Hatch, 15 Apr 1979 « British Formula Atlantic « OldRacingCars.com". Archived from the original on 2013-03-15. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
- ↑ "Formula 2 1979 - Hitachi Trophy, Brands Hatch". Archived from the original on 2015-04-08. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
- ↑ Allen Brown. "Brands Hatch, 15 Apr 1979 « British Formula Atlantic « OldRacingCars.com". Archived from the original on 2013-03-15. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
- ↑ "1979 Race of Champions - ChicaneF1.com". Archived from the original on 2014-04-14. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
- ↑ "Formula 2 1979 - Hitachi Trophy, Brands Hatch". Archived from the original on 2015-04-08. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
- ↑ Allen Brown. "Brands Hatch, 15 Apr 1979 « British Formula Atlantic « OldRacingCars.com". Archived from the original on 2013-03-15. Retrieved 2013-06-27.