Chevron B25

[Chris Townsend]

This is going to be the first of three Chevron Atlantic threads [B29 is too long] that I'd like to keep specific. Chevron B25 seems to be the easiest to work out of all their Atlantic/F2 cars, but extension of knowledge and advice, especially on the Webb car, would be most useful.

Chevron B25 [25.73.01]-BDA
Chassis number observed on the Team Gunston car of John Love in the 1973 South African Formula 1 championship [F2 class]. Retained by the team, with Lexington sponsorship, and run for Guy Tunmer [1974] and Roy Klomfass [1975]. Sold to the Domingo brothers for the inaugural year of the South African Formula Atlantic championship along with chassis 3.

Chevron B25 [25.73.02]-BDA
Chassis number observed on the car of Tony Martin in the 1974 and 75 South African Formula 1 championship [F2 class]. Originally one of three B25s sold to Team Gunston in 1973. The car of Mike Fogg at the second round of the 1976 South African Atlantic championship is described by A/S 15.2.76 as ‘ex Martin’.

Chevron B25 [25.73.03]-BDA
Chassis number observed on the Team Gunston car of Ian Scheckter in the 1973 South African Formula 1 championship [F2 class]. Retained by the team, with Lexington sponsorship, and run for Brian van Hage [1974] and Ian Scheckter [1975]. Sold to the Domingo brothers for the inaugural year of the South African Formula Atlantic championship along with chassis 1.


Chevron B25 [25.73.04]-BDA
Sold to Ed Reeves in spring 1973 for Dave Morgan to use in the 1973 European F2 championship.
Retained 1974 and used in the British Atlantic championship, run by Harry Stiller.Sold to David Peck [A/S 2.1.75 p.3] but seemingly not used.

Chevron B25 [25.73.05]-BDA [“the Webb car”]
There are three cars that appear in the early part of the 1973 season where chassis numbers are not known [those of Martin Webb and John Lepp in Atlantic, and Pierre Maublanc in the European hill climb championship. However, on the basis of appearance dates these are respectively allocated 5, 8 and 6 on the basis of appearance dates. Webb’s car is the first to appear, so the lowest numbered. Used by Webb for the first half of the British Atlantic season but without a great deal of success. By a process of elimination the car seems to go in 1974 to Chris Skellern, who uses it in libre races, hill climbs and sprints. [For sale by Skellern A/S 16.5.74 p. 64 with Hart BDA; again 27.3.75]. A strong candidate for the Paddy Woods car that appears in Irish Atlantic races in 1975. If so, retained by Woods until 1977, then probably to David Lambe until 1979.

Chevron B25 [25.73.06]-BDA [“the Maublanc car”]
There are three cars that appear in the early part of the 1973 season where chassis numbers are not known [those of Martin Webb and John Lepp in Atlantic, and Pierre Maublanc in the European hill climb championship. However, on the basis of appearance dates these are respectively allocated 5, 8 and 6 on the basis of appearance dates. Maublanc’s car is the second to appear, so allocated the next lowest number. Used by Maublanc in the 1973 season, with a BMW engine fitted, then most likely the car sold to Alan Rivoire that appears in the European Hill Climb championship in 1974 with a BDA engine.

Chevron B25 [25.73.07]-BDA
Chassis number given for the works car for Peter Gethin in the 1973 European F2 championship. Sold to Reg Phillips for hill climbs in 1974, [described as ‘ex Gethin’ and this seems to be the only B25 Gethin used]. Retained by Phillips in 1975.

Chevron B25 [25.73.08]-BDA [‘the Lepp Atlantic car’]
There are three cars that appear in the early part of the 1973 season where chassis numbers are not known [those of Martin Webb and John Lepp in Atlantic, and Pierre Maublanc in the European hill climb championship. However, on the basis of appearance dates these are respectively allocated 5, 8 and 6 on the basis of appearance dates. Lepp’s car is the last to appear, so the highest numbered. The known history of chassis 9 suggests that Lepp ran the car in the early part of the Atlantic season because his own car was not ready, before returning it to the works F2 team.
Lepp then ran his new car through 1973, and it may have been the car he ran at the Estoril F2 round [even though this seems to have carried the plate from chassis 7]. Sold to Patsy McGarrity at the end of 1973 and used by him throughout the 1974 Irish Atlantic season, then sold on to his brother, Harold, and raced until the end of 1977.

Chevron B25 [25.73.09]-BDA
Chassis number given for the semi-works car run for John Lepp at the F2 race at Mallory Park 11.03.73 Lepp used the same car in the supporting Atlantic race. Chassis number given by MN for Gerry Birrell’s car at Hockenheim F2, 8.4.73. Presumably Birrell’s car throughout the season up to its destruction in Birrell’s fatal accident at Rouen. This suggests the car was handed back to the works early in the 1973 season when Lepp’s ‘proper’ car [08] was ready to run in Atlantic. This is reinforced by A/S 5.4.73 p.24 report BP round at Mallory Park which says that Lepp has ‘blue bodywork this week’. Though the car had previously been described as blue in programmes, photographs suggest it may have been in the works red at Mallory. 09 is probably used by Lepp in the first two Yellow Pages races of the season and perhaps by George Silverwood, his team mate, at the first BP round at Oulton Park. A car described as ‘ex Gerry Birrell’ is now owned by Klaus Fiedler.

Chevron B25 [25.73.10]-BDA
A new B25 appears in July 1973 for Scottish Formula Libre racer Campbell Graham. On the basis of appearance dates this is likely to be chassis 10. Graham sells the car in early 1974 to Iain McLaren who also uses it in libre events. Then to Andrew Jeffrey for 1975. A candidate for the car of Charles Munro in Scottish libre races in 1977, and of Ted Dzierzek in 1978-79. A rarity in that the car seems never to have run in Atlantic.

Chevron B25 [25.73.12]-BDA
Chassis number given by MN for Brett Lunger’s new car, run by Space Racing, at the Nivelles round of the 1973 European F2 championship. Chassis number noted by Adam Ferrington on Nick May’s Wessex Finance car, 1974. Chassis number noted on John Pollock’s car by Adam Ferrington at John Player Atlantic round at Silverstone, July 19, 1975. Bill Gowdy’s car in 1976 is described as ex-Pollock and seems to have been retained in 1977. Then to Paddy Farrelly [1978 – 79] to Cyril Lynch, Paul Deveney and Seamus [Shay] Lawless. This provenance from owner Nick Overall, via Marcus Pye.

Chevron B25 [25.73.14]-Ford t/c
At Trois Rivieres 1973 Chip Mead appears with a Chevron B25 described as ‘brand new’. On the basis of build and appearance dates, and with all other cars still in use, this has to be chassis 14. Perhaps the only B25 to go to the USA/Canada in period as all the others seem to be in UK, Ireland or European hill-climbing in 1974-76. Therefore, probably the B25/27 used in FC racing by Paul Henry in 1975, and the basis of Richard Guider’s Can-Am car in 1979. A B25 with this plate was briefly for sale by New England Classics in 2003-4.

Chevron B25 [25.73.”15”]-BDA
Jim Crawford appears late in 1973 with a ‘works development’ B25 in Formula Atlantic, based on ‘a spare F2 chassis’ [AS/MN]. This might be a rebuild of the ill-fated chassis 9 [and therefore the basis of Fiedler’s current car], or else a new car. Chevron development cars did not often carry plates, so this attribution may be one of convenience. Sold to Richard Shardlow for hill-climbs [A/S 11.4.74 p. 46 ex Crawford B25'] and retained 1975. A candidate for the John Stuart hill-climb car of 1977 [along with chassis 7].