Description:

We are delighted to offer this immaculate 1971 ex-works Chevron B19 for sale.

The Chevron B19 was designed and introduced by Chevron founder Derek Bennett at the beginning of 1971 and followed on from the successful B8 and B16 models. As before, the car was aimed firmly with the privateer in mind, with ease of maintenance and low running costs being vital factors in its design, as well as being a competitive alternative to rival manufacture’s Lola T210.

Over the following months some 35 individual B19s would be built.B19-71-12 has continuous race and ownership history from new (see the history section below).

It was entered by Chevron Racing for the 1971 season where it was driven by Chris Craft, who at the time was widely recognised as one the best of the new generation of young British drivers. At the end of the season, it was shipped to South Africa where it was raced by well know drivers such as Mike Hailwood and Brian Redman.

This car is sold in fresh and race-ready condition with nothing else to spend. The engine is a latest spec G. Richardson FVC with only 1.4 hours on it since rebuild in 2023. . Fire extinguisher and belts are also current and valid for several more years. Brakes are 4 pod calipers with vented discs.

#71-12 comes with current FIA HTP papers and good spares which includes - among others - a set of spare wheels, gear-ratios and a spare nose which can be used when running without lights. A full ownership and race history file comes with the car.

This is a rare opportunity to buy a race-ready ex-works Chevron B19 which is eligible to run in most racing series such as Masters Historic Sportscars, etc. in which it is a front-running car. B19-71-12 was built for Chevron’s own use as the factory entered car in 1971 for the very quick driver Chris Craft, who at the time was widely recognised as one the best of the new generation of young British drivers.

Fitted with a 2000cc Ford Cosworth BDA engine, Chris took part in 11 races that season,but a variety of reliability problems prevented him from finishing many of the races. On the three occasions the car did hold itself together, Chris always finished on the podium winning the RAC British Sports car Championship round at Oulton Park and finishing 3rd in the RAC encounter at Silverstone. In the European Championship Nurburgring 500 Kms, Chris finished an excellent 2nd.At the end of the season, the car was shipped to South Africa for Les Richter, who along with sponsorship from Gunston, the Rhodesian cigarette and tobacco company, co-entered the car with Chevron Cars in the ’71 Springbok series as one of three cars running under the Team Gunston banner. Now fitted with a Cosworth tuned Chevrolet Vega engine, lead driver in the car was ex-motorcycle World Champion, Mike Hailwood who would be partnered during the series with Chris Craft, Brian Redman and Paddy Driver. Reliability problems saw the car finish only one race, at Killarney for the Cape Town 3 Hours where Hailwood and Redman finished 2nd.At the end of the series, the car was sold to John Rowe of Durban, South Africa. Rowe took part in South African and Rhodesian sports car races over the next three seasons. During this time the car had been progressively updated with B21/23 bodywork and was raced under the Team BP banner. Rowe sold the car to Jeremy Done of Botswana, who later sold the car to South African racer Fred Goddard who in turn later sold the car to Paolo Cavalieri of Johannesburg, South Africa.In 1982 the car returned to the UK when bought by legendary racing driver Stirling Moss who had the car restored to B19 spec and painted all white. Stirling then sold the car to Tony Gordon, who along with Moss, won the 90 minute endurance race at Silverstone. In August '82, Tony swapped the car for Ray Bellm's B16 coupe. Re-painted red and sponsored by the British "Daily Mail" newspaper, Bellm raced the car in UK historics in 1983 and '84 before selling the B19 back to Tony Gordon in 1985 who raced the car over the next couple of seasons. In 1994 the car was sold to Stephen Gibson who raced the car until 1998. The B19 then passed on to historic racer John Grant in 2000 who raced the car in historics until 2002. John sold the car in 2005 after buying a McLaren M8C to race instead. The new owner of the B19 was Chris Roche who continued to race the car in historics in 2008 and '09 before selling it to the current owner in February 2018.  The car has won its class several times in the Thundersports and Historic Masters series over the past 4 years.

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