March 73B - 74B - 75B - 76B - 77B

[Chris Townsend]

Brian

No, there was only one Ken Bailey, and the history works out. The Cyd Williams 722 is 722-39 and this number is noted by Motoring News on its debut in Atlantic, along with 722-37 which is raced by Chris Oates. 722-37 goes to Baron Robertson in 73 and then John Leffler. 39 is sold to Bailey who used in F.Atlantic in UK in 73. The car was then sold to a guy called Phil Dowell who was killed testing it at Silverstone pre-season in '74. I've always presumed that the car was destroyed in this accident.

So, Bailey's 73B is a genuine model, ex Charles Lucas '73 season. I got a bit thrown by the advert for a March 722 in 1974, because it's got Bailey's name on it. However, the phone number, when you look at other ads, proves to be that of Mike Sullivan Racing. Sullivan had been racing 712M-11 [ex Jaussaud, ex colin Andrews. for Richard Robinson and Alan Jones, though he took to calling it a "722"]. I presume that this is Sullivan trying to sell that car with a photograph of someone elses! [though it might be that Sullivan had also bought the wreck from Dowell's widow to use for parts.]

Sullivan was selling because he was meant to be getting a "74B" built out of one of JAcques Coulon's 732 tubs. However, according to race reports it was the 722 which finished the 74 season, so presumably the cheque bounced on the "74B".

Bailey sold his 73B to Andy Rouse halfway through the 74 season and took over the works development Lola T360. That's why you have two adverts using pictures of Bailey cars at the same time!

Chris