The Rothmans 50,000 was a non-championship race, held at Brands Hatch on August 28, a holiday Monday. It was run as a Formula Libre, and the organizers hoped to attract up to 100 of the fastest cars from different racing classes. The "50,000" came from the amount of the prize fund, in pounds.
The race was run over 500km, the longest race for F1 cars in a number of years. It was dominated by Emerson Fittipaldi in a Lotus 72D, ahead of Brian Redman in a McLaren M19C and Henri Pescarolo in a March 721.
Background[]
Entry List[]
The full entry list for the 1972 Rothmans 50,000 is outlined below:
| No. | Driver | Entreat | Constructor | Chassis | Engine | Model | Tyre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Brian Redman
|
Yardley Team McLaren
|
McLaren | M19A | Ford Cosworth | DFV 3.0 V8 | G |
| 3 |  Jean-Pierre Beltoise
|
Marlboro BRM
|
BRM | P160C | BRM | P142 3.0 V12 | F |
| 4 |  Howden Ganley
|
Marlboro BRM
|
BRM | P160C | BRM | P142 3.0 V12 | F |
| 5 |  Emerson Fittipaldi
|
World Wide Racing
|
Lotus | 72D | Ford Cosworth | DFV 3.0 V8 | F |
| 6 | Henri Pescarolo
|
Team Williams Motul
|
March | 721 | Ford Cosworth | DFV 3.0 V8 | G |
| 7 | François Migault
|
Connew Racing Team
|
Connew | PC1 | Ford Cosworth | DFV 3.0 V8 | F |
| 8 | Herve Bayard
|
Privateer
|
Surtees | TS8 | Ford Cosworth | DFV 3.0 V8 | |
| 9 | Robert Lamplough
|
Fiddlers Three Racing Team
|
BRM | P133 | BRM | P142 3.0 V12 | |
| 10 |  Gijs van Lennep
|
Speed International
|
Surtees | TS11 | Chevrolet | 5.0 V8 | |
| 11 | Ray Allen
|
Speed International
|
McLaren | M18 | Chevrolet | 5.0 V8 | F |
| 12 | Tony Lanfranchi
|
Speed International
|
McLaren | M18 | Chevrolet | 5.0 V8 | F |
| 14 | Steve Thompson
|
Servis Appliances Racing Team
|
Surtees | TS8 | Chevrolet | 5.0 V8 | |
| 15 | Alan Rollinson
|
McKechnie Racing Organisation
|
Lola | T300 | Chevrolet | 5.0 V8 | G |
| 16 | Clive Santo
|
Privateer
|
McLaren | M10B | Chevrolet | 5.0 V8 | |
| 17 | David Prophet
|
Privateer
|
McLaren | M10B | Chevrolet | 5.0 V8 | |
| 18 |  Pierre Soukry
|
Privateer
|
McLaren | M10B | Chevrolet | 5.0 V8 | |
| 19 | Keith Holland
|
Chris Featherstone
|
Lola | T190 | Chevrolet | 5.0 V8 | |
| 20 | Clive Baker
|
Privateer
|
McLaren | M10B | Chevrolet | 5.0 V8 | |
| 21 | Jock Russell
|
Privateer
|
McRae | GM1 | Chevrolet | 5.0 V8 | |
| 22 |  John Cannon
|
Sid Taylor
|
March | 725 | Oldsmobile | 5.0 V8 | |
| 23 | Dave Berry
|
Privateer
|
Brabham | BT16/21B | Rover | 5.0 V8 | |
| 24 | Ian Ashley
|
WMG Marketing
|
Lola | T190 | Chevrolet | 5.0 V8 | |
| 25 | Gordon Spice
|
Tony Kitchiner Race Developments
|
Kitchmac | M10B | Chevrolet | 5.0 V8 | |
| 26 | Graham McRae
|
Crown Lynn Potteries
|
McRae | GM1 | Chevrolet | 5.0 V8 | G |
| 30 |  Jody Scheckter
|
Bruce McLaren Motor Racing
|
McLaren | M21 | Ford Cosworth | BDA 1.9 L4 | |
| 31 |  Tim Schenken
|
Rondel Racing
|
Brabham | BT38 | Ford Cosworth | BDA 1.9 L4 | G |
| 32 |  Carlos Reutemann
|
Rondel Racing
|
Brabham | BT38 | Ford Cosworth | BDA 1.9 L4 | G |
| 33 |  Tom Belsø
|
Team Viking
|
Brabham | BT38 | Ford Cosworth | BDA 1.9 L4 | |
| 34 | Dave Morgan
|
Edward Reeves
|
Brabham | BT38 | Ford Cosworth | BDA 1.9 L4 | F |
| 35 | Richard Scott
|
Uniacke Chemicals
|
Brabham | BT38 | Ford Cosworth | BDA 1.9 L4 | |
| 36 | Peter Westbury
|
Felday Engineering Ltd
|
Brabham | BT38 | Ford Cosworth | BDA 1.9 L4 |
Practice Overview[]
Qualifying[]
Report[]
Qualifying Results[]
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Emerson Fittipaldi
|
Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 1:22.5 |
| 2 | 1 | Brian Redman
|
McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:23.4 |
| 3 | 3 | Jean-Pierre Beltoise
|
BRM | 1:24.5 |
| 4 | 4 | Howden Ganley
|
BRM | 1:24.5 |
| 5 | 6 | Henri Pescarolo
|
March-Ford Cosworth | 1:25.2 |
| 6 | 40 | Gerry Birrell
|
March-Ford Cosworth | 1:25.3 |
| 7 | 26 | Graham McRae
|
McRae-Chevrolet | 1:25.9 |
| 8 | 48 | John Watson
|
Chevron-Ford Cosworth | 1:26.0 |
| 9 | 36 | Peter Westbury
|
Brabham-Ford Cosworth | 1:26.0 |
| 10 | 30 | Jody Scheckter
|
McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:26.0 |
| 11 | 44 | James Hunt
|
March-Ford Cosworth | 1:26.1 |
| 12 | 22 | John Cannon
|
March-Oldsmobile | 1:26.4 |
| 13 | 41 | David Purley
|
March-Ford Cosworth | 1:26.5 |
| 14 | 33 | Tom Belsø
|
Brabham-Ford Cosworth | 1:26.6 |
| 15 | 14 | Steve Thompson
|
Surtees-Chevrolet | 1:26.6 |
Grid[]
Race[]
Results[]
| Pos. | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emerson Fittipaldi
|
Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 118 | 2:50:49.1 | 1 |
| 2 | Brian Redman
|
McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 118 | + 47.6 | 2 |
| 3 | Henri Pescarolo
|
March-Ford Cosworth | 116 | + 2 Laps | 5 |
| 4 | Gerry Birrell
|
March-Cosworth | 116 | + 2 Laps | 6 |
| 5 | James Hunt
|
March-Cosworth | 115 | + 3 Laps | 11 |
| 6 | John Watson
|
Chevron-Cosworth | 115 | + 3 Laps | 11 |
| 7 | Allan Rollinson
|
Lola-Chevrolet | 112 | + 6 Laps | 17 |
| 8 | Tom Belsø
|
Brabham-Cosworth | 110 | + 8 Laps | 14 |
| 9 | David Prophet
|
McLaren-Chevrolet | 109 | + 9 Laps | 23 |
| 10 |  Claude Bourgoignie
|
GRD-Cosworth | 108 | + 10 Laps | 26 |