Tecno F2

[phdm]

Regazzoni in June 1970 at Rouen.

Still a 1969 chassis said to be T00314.

Interesting evolutions are the new fuel cells, rear mounted oil tank, separate nose cone and cockpit modification to give some more shoulder space.

[James Murray]

Looks like it could be a BDA in there too? Didnt they come out in 71?

[phdm]

I finally managed to speak to Jean-Louis Staïano this morning.
He said that he and some others had formed a team with the idea of doing circuit racing.
They bought the car directly from Tecno as a 1 litre Formula 3.
They kept the car for some time but did nothing with it.
Staïano changed his mind and decided to hill climb the car.
He then brought the car back to Tecno to have it modified to F2 configuration with 1600 FVA. This included modifying the chassis.
As he was a beginner, he had some difficulties setting up the car.
He took the opportunity of the presence of Tecno at Le Castellet to bring the car there to get some assistance from the factory.
Regazzoni was there too ("he was already European Champion" Staïano says) and did a few laps in the car to see what was wrong with it.
Hope the above helps.

[allenbrown]

Well done Philippe!

Was Jean-Louis able to confirm who he sold it to?

Allen

[driftwood]

It is not unusual for a march f3 or a lotus FFord to be upgraded to a larger model car or a Chevron converted from F3 to FA or F2 spec 1-2 years later so why should a tecno not also be modified
The logisitics will be that the factory can either supply the components or carry out a factory fitting service
Its nice to know that a driver can confirm the facts to confirm the speculation is not far wrong

So how many more cars where converted from f3 to F2 spec for hillclimbing?

Its unlikely that factory records will be amended on this point as it will a be a job sheet and invoice not factory chassis records that will be recorded

[phdm]

Originally Posted by allenbrown

Well done Philippe!

Was Jean-Louis able to confirm who he sold it to?

Allen

I regret I did not ask him but I would assume that what is mentioned on the car's FIA papers is probably right, but this is again pure speculation !

[phdm]

Originally Posted by James Murray

Looks like it could be a BDA in there too? Didnt they come out in 71?

No this is 1970 and the engine is an FVA.

The Pederzani developped BDA indeed came out in 1971.

[Joe Griffin]

Thank you all for all of you assistance in determining the history of my car and taking the time to write such long posts. Special thanks to Phdm for contacting both Gianchini and Staiano and get to the bottom of this mystery. In the end you were right about the factory records being accurate. I must admit I was very skeptical of the factory records detailed in the la Storia book and your objectiveness in this regard. It is not that I was questioning the work done by Gianchini (which is nothing short of amazing) but rather the records themselves.

Best regards, Joe

[bianchini]

for people interesting at the chassis record i am working now for any news concening
a register including original chassis (note then several of these are modified by Tecno
during the season or sometime constructed in different form by Certificato di Origine).
It will be interesting to know the History by the protagonist (see chassis 378) and where
also are the cars at present. The Pederzani archive is very poor and just referring to
Certfificati di Origine sometime writing with a pen name of buyer. Just some invoices
are conserving to him (F.3 Peterson), any help to me is bienvenue
giuseppe

[allenbrown]

Giuseppe

Chris and I are continuing to compile Tecno results and ownership chains and would be happy to exchange information with you. You can email me at allen@oldracingcars.com.

Allen

[allenbrown]

Originally Posted by Joe Griffin

The other owners of my car, as indicated be the FIA papers, are as follows: Staiano, Rampal, Malateste, Larret, Faure, Pascal and Birbes.

Joe

I have just read in Echappement (May 1972 p91) that Denis Rua bought the ex-Staïano Tecno-FVA. The absence of Rua's name from the FIA papers is a concern as it shows that the history given is not continuous. There may be other gaps.

It is therefore possible that the history is wrong and that 378 is not the ex-Staïano car at all. Maybe it is a car with genuine F2 history instead of a F3 car converted for hillclimbs.

Allen

[Joe Griffin]

Allen,

I guess all this does not totally surprise me considering some of the other details of the cars history as provided by Birbes that may not be 100% accurate. Is this just one small detail that was lost to time?

We could speculate all day as to why Rua's name does not appear in the history. Should his name be added to the list or should it in place of someone on the list? I don't know! It looks like Rua only drove a Tecno for one year. He bought a new Pygmee MDB18 in 1973. Does Echappement indicate who drove the Staiano/Rua car in 1973?

I am still convinced that chassis 378 is in fact the Staiano car based on the 1971 photo in Tecno la Storia. There are details including the shocks, exhaust and rear suspension that all point to it being the Staiano car. While this is of course is not definitive proof and I would like to see a paper trail or first hand account from Staiano or Rua about the chassis #, it may be all we get!

Thanks, Joe

[allenbrown]

Originally Posted by Joe Griffin

Does Echappement indicate who drove the Staiano/Rua car in 1973?

Not that I've found so far. Tecnos were fading from competitiveness by 1973 so few get a mention. Sylvain Lachaud, with the ex-Yves Martin car, Joseph Bourdon and "Randall" were the only front line Tecno runners in 1973. Ange-Marie Cheval ran a F2 Tecno for three seasons from 1974 and Jean-Pierre Weber won the odd event in a 1.8 Tecno in 1975 but that's about it. I'll keep an eye open for someone called Rampal in a Tecno.

Allen

[phdm]

Originally Posted by allenbrown

It is therefore possible that the history is wrong and that 378 is not the ex-Staïano car at all. Maybe it is a car with genuine F2 history instead of a F3 car converted for hillclimbs.

This would contradict the fact that T00378 was an F3 to start with as discussed previously.

[allenbrown]

True. All I was trying to point out is how little we actually know about Joe's car apart from your very useful conversation with Jean-Louis Staïano and the few scraps of information we have from Echappement.

[phdm]

Allen,

While browsing your Echappement issues, no doubt you will come across Jacques Foucteau hillclimbing a Tecno F2 in France in 1972 (and possibly 1971 too).

This car was T00402 raced by Bruno Frey in 1969 and 1970 in international races and also driven by Roland Salomon in 1970 in the Swiss championship.

[allenbrown]

Thanks Philippe

Yes indeed, in a 1800cc Tecno, presumably a FVC, in 1972. No sign of him in 1971 yet. Can I ask your source for it being ex-Frey/Salomon?

Allen

[phdm]

- T00402 reported in "L'Automobile" magazine in period as driven by Frey
- T00402 reported in F1R as driven by Frey in 1969 and 1970
- T00402 listed as an F2 sold to Frey in Beppe's book
- conversation with Frey who confirmed he bought the car as a rolling chassis from Tecno in 1969 but could not indicate the chassis number
- conversation with Hansmarkus Huber who advised that the car was also raced in Swiss Championship by Roland Salomon
- conversation with Roland Salomon who confirmed he drove the car and provided period photos of the car
- photo of the car in 1970 at Hockenheim bought from Ted Walker
- all above photos show very distinctive and unmistakable modifications to the car carried out in 1970 (higher roll hoop, new rear stay, horrible fire extingusher bracket above rear crossmember, rear wing mountings and brackets, modified front nose to accommodate front wings) still present on the car 35 years later as is the chassis number
- photos of Foucteau from Echappement hillclimbing the car in 1972 showing the same modifications
- conversation with all subsequent owners after Foucteau (who had left for Thailand many years ago so impossible to contact)

Next owner after Foucteau explained that he went to Switzerland with Foucteau to a Ferrari garage to buy the car. The car was hanging on the wall without engine / gearbox. A friend of Foucteau confirmed that Foucteau never owned the car and had an agreement with Frey according to which he was taking the car back to Switzerland after each racing season.

[allenbrown]

Crickey, you're thorough! Thanks.

I have noticed that cars that go to Switzerland don't easily leave. Duty, presumably.

Allen

[driftwood]

Yes Allen i think yr right ive noticed swiss buy swiss cars but now EEC is easier the guys can buy outside cars now the duty rate is a lot lower

[Steve Wilkinson]

Just spotted the following in the above issue of Autosport (Vol 40 No 9):

During 1969 Daniel Rouveyran was running the "ex-Ron Harris/Jonathan Williams F2 Tecno-FVA 68".

Hope that helps!

[allenbrown]

That is interesting. Rouveyran advertises it as a 69 car so I'd always assumed he bought it new.

Williams drove all sorts of cars in 1968 but when he did drive atRon Harris Tecno, it is reported by F1R as T00288 at Pergusa and Reims and as T00296 at Albi. Neither of these cars appears in F2 in 1969 so it could be either of them.

Can anyone narrow it down more? Rouveyran's car stays on the hills for at least three seasons so any sighting of ex-Ron Harris cars would help with this.

Allen

Allen

[phdm]

In Tecno La Storia, Beppe lists three Ron Harris Racing F2 cars in 1968.

It would be interesting to know what Beppe's sources were for these particular cars.

T00288: Richard Attwood, Pedro Rodriguez, Eric Offenstadt, Jonathan Williams, Carlos Reutemann, Oscar Franco.
The car iw now in Italy (owned by Beppe Bianchini).
Was once for sale here
http://www.race-cars.com/carsold/oth...8/to0288ss.htm
The car was then in France, owned by Frederic Lacarelle.
I don't know who the previous owners were.

T00290: Pedro Rodriguez, David Hobbs, Richard Attwood, Carlos Marincovich

T00296: Jonathan Williams, Pedro Rodriguez

Amazingly, a car has recently come up in France with a claimed Ron Harris / Jonathan Williams history.
I do personally believe this is extremely suspect.
The chassis number quoted for the car is T00346 which is listed in Beppe's book as the 1969 Dieter Benz F3.
The same car was for sale a few years ago as a rolling chassis w/o engine/gearbox. At the time the owner was claiming the car was a Formula 2 with chassis n° T00406b !!?? (T00406 is listed as being an F850).

[allenbrown]

Originally Posted by phdm

T00288: Richard Attwood, Pedro Rodriguez, Eric Offenstadt, Jonathan Williams, Carlos Reutemann, Oscar Franco.
The car is now in Italy (owned by Beppe Bianchini).

I can't think of a better qualified owner to know the history of his car!

Allen

[Chris Townsend]

The Ron Harris team chassis numbers are given by F1R and, I believe but I'd have to check, either MN or AS. I have the same numbers in my Tecno records which were initially taken from UK magazines.

Chris