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I am Richard Crouchers cousin and acted as general factotum during his FF and F3 days.
He actually did one and a half seasons in FF starting with a few early meetings at Lydden Circuit before moving on to Brands Hatch in the summer and actually won the first ever BP Man of the Meeting Award. He still has the silver trophy but sadly the presentation jacket has long gone.
The FF car was a Mk 17a Merlyn which originally had a Denis Rowland engine and later a Piper lump.
The move on to F3 was, on reflection, a little hasty as it was financed by the family garage business and the funds were severely stretched because of repeated engine blow-ups. With the help and support of the Lenham Motor Company we re-bodied and modified a March 703, chassis number 4, that had belonged to Roger Hurst. The Piper engine ran with Gardiner motorcycle carbs and had excellent output on the brake rig but would suddenly run lean on the track, with dire results.
Richard was a great friend of Tony Brise and it was Tonys dad that supplied the Montessa motorbike engines, through Montala Motors of Dartford, during their karting days.
Like many drivers Richard never got the opportunity he deserved to show his full potential but he was greatly admired at the time.
He was highly respected by the other drivers, especially when he was overtaking them around the outside of Paddock Bend at Brands.
If any members have specific questions I will try to answer them as Richard and I speak to each other on most days.
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