1972 SCCA L&M Continental 5000 Championship

The 1972 SCCA L&M Continental 5000 Championship was the Sports Car Club of America's sixth annual professional open-wheel auto racing series. It was open to Formula 5000 cars, these being Formula SCCA Class A open-wheel, single-seat cars with 5000cc restricted design engines or 3000cc unrestricted design engines.^[1] The championship was won by New Zealand driver Graham McRae.

Race schedule

The championship was contested over eight races with two heats per race.^[2]

Race	Date	Race Name	Circuit	Race winner	Car
1	May 7	Monterey Grand Prix	Laguna Seca Raceway	Graham McRae	Leda GM1 - Chevrolet V8
2	June 4	Lucerne 100	Edmonton International Speedway	David Hobbs	Lola T300 - Chevrolet V8
3	June 18	Watkins Glen Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International	Graham McRae	Leda GM1 - Chevrolet V8
4	July 16	Road America Grand Prix	Road America	Graham McRae	Leda GM1 - Chevrolet V8
5	July 30	Minnesota Grand Prix	Donnybrooke	Eppie Wietzes	Lola T300 - Chevrolet V8
6	August 20	Road Atlanta Grand Prix	Road Atlanta	Brett Lunger	Lola T300 - Chevrolet V8
7	September 4	Lime Rock Grand Prix	Lime Rock Park	Brett Lunger	Lola T300 - Chevrolet V8
8	September 24	Riverside Grand Prix	Riverside International Raceway	Brian Redman	Chevron B24 - Chevrolet V8

Points system

Championship points were awarded to drivers on a 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1 basis for the first ten places in each race, those places having been determined from the results of the two heats.^[2] Total points for each driver were based on the best six finishes.^[2]

Championship standings

Graham McRae won the 1972 L&M Continental 5000 Championship driving a Leda GM1 and a McRae GM1 (similar to that pictured above)

Position [3][4]	Driver [3][4]	Car [2][3][4]	Points [3][4]
1	Graham McRae	Leda GM1 Chevrolet & McRae GM1 Chevrolet	87
2	Sam Posey	Surtees TS11 Chevrolet	69
3	Brett Lunger	Lola T300 Chevrolet	60
4	Brian Redman	Chevron B24 Chevrolet	60
5	Eppie Wietzes	Lola T300 Chevrolet	47
6	Skip Barber	March 711 Ford Cosworth DFV	44
7	Lothar Motschenbacher	McLaren M18 Chevrolet	32
8	David Hobbs	Lola T300 Chevrolet	31
9	Bob Muir	Lola T300 Chevrolet	22
10	Jerry Hansen	Lola T300 Chevrolet	21
11	Gus Hutchison	Lola T300 Chevrolet	18
12	John Gunn	Lola T300 Chevrolet	16
13	Allan Lader	McLaren M18 Chevrolet	15
14	Derek Bell	McLaren M10B Chevrolet	15
15	John Morton	Lotus 70B Ford	14
16	Rocky Moran	Surtees TS8B Chevrolet	13
17	Sandy Shepard	Lola T300 Pontiac	12
18	Kevin Bartlett	McLaren M10B Chevrolet & Lola T300 Chevrolet	11
19	Peter Gethin	Chevron B24 Chevrolet	10
=	Horst Kwech	Lola T300 Chevrolet	10
21	Evan Noyes	Leda LT27 Chevrolet & Leda GM1 Chevrolet	8
=	Warren Flickinger	Lola T300 Chevrolet	8
23	Horst Kroll	Lola T300 Chevrolet	7
=	John Cannon	March 725 Oldsmobile & McLaren M10B Chevrolet	7
25	Colin Hyams	Lola T192 Chevrolet	3
=	George Follmer	Matich A50 Ford & Lotus 70B Ford	3
27	Ed Felter	Lola T192 Chevrolet	1
=	Dave Jordan	Eagle Chevrolet	1

References

1. Watkins Glen L&M Grand Prix Facts Sheet, mclaren-m18-06.com Archived 2014-04-21 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 20 April 2014
2. Wolfgang Kopfler, 1972 L&M Continental 5000 Championship, Formula A and Formula 5000 in America - Race by Race, 2003, pages 59 & 60
3. 1972 SCCA L&M Continental 5000 Championship Review (Part 1), www.myf5000.com Retrieved on 21 April 2014
4. 1972 SCCA L&M Continental 5000 Championship Review (Part 2), www.myf5000.com Retrieved on 21 April 2014

Further reading

• F David Stone, Continental Championship - Formula 5000 comes of age, Motor Racing Year, 1973 Edition, pages 91 to 93

External links

• Old Racing Cars Formula 5000 page