1971 Spring Trophy

The Rothmans/Daily Express Spring Trophy was a non-championship Formula One race held on 9 April 1971 at Oulton Park.

1971 Spring Trophy
Non-championship race in the 1971 Formula One season
Race details
Date	9 April 1971 (1971-04-09)
Official name	Rothmans/Daily Express Spring Trophy
Location	Oulton Park, Cheshire, United Kingdom
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.441 km (2.760 miles)
Distance	40 laps, 177.634 km (110.40 miles)
Pole position
Driver	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Cosworth
Time	1:25.8
Fastest lap
Drivers	Pedro Rodriguez	BRM
Fastest lap	Peter Gethin	BRM
Time	1:25.06
Podium
First	Pedro Rodriguez	BRM
Second	Peter Gethin	McLaren-Cosworth
Third	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Cosworth

Only twelve cars took part. Team Lotus entered three different chassis types - a 49C, a 72D and the Pratt & Whitney gas-turbine-engined 56B. Local favourite and Formula 3 driver Cyd Williams was entrusted with a Frank Williams Racing Cars March but crashed heavily during untimed practice and did not start the race. Jackie Stewart set pole position in the spare car but in the race itself he struggled with his regular car's handling. Pedro Rodriguez won ahead of Peter Gethin, the two of them sharing fastest lap. Stewart finished third.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos.	No.	Driver	Entrant	Car	Lap	Gap
1	16	Jackie Stewart	Elf Team Tyrrell	Tyrrell 001	1:25.8	–
2	6	Peter Gethin	Bruce McLaren Motor Racing	McLaren M14A	1:25.8	+ 0.0
3	3	Pedro Rodriguez	Yardley Team BRM	BRM P160	1:27.0	+ 1.2
4	4	Jo Siffert	Yardley Team BRM	BRM P153	1:27.4	+ 1.6
5	5	John Surtees	Brooke-Bond-Oxo/Rob Walker/Team Surtees	Surtees TS9	1:27.6	+ 1.8
6	2	Howden Ganley	Yardley Team BRM	BRM P153	1:28.2	+ 2.4
7	10	Emerson Fittipaldi	Gold Leaf Team Lotus	Lotus 72C	1:29.4	+ 3.6
8	8	Mike Beuttler	Clarke-Mordaunt-Guthrie Racing	March 701	1:32.2	+ 6.4
9	11	Reine Wisell	Gold Leaf Team Lotus	Lotus 56B	1:33.6	+ 7.8
10	17	Tony Trimmer	Gold Leaf Team Lotus	Lotus 49C	1:34.6	+ 8.8
11	14	Cyd Williams	Motul/Frank Williams Racing Cars	March 701	1:37.2	+ 11.4
12	15	Alan Rollinson	Jo Siffert Automobiles	March 701	1:38.0	+ 12.2
DNA	1	Jo Bonnier	Ecurie Bonnier	McLaren M7C	–	–
DNA	7	Denis Hulme	Bruce McLaren Motor Racing	McLaren M19A	–	–
DNA	12	Ronnie Peterson	STP March Engineering	March 711	–	–

Race

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid
1	3	Pedro Rodriguez	BRM	40	57:33.4	3
2	6	Peter Gethin	McLaren-Cosworth	40	+ 4.6	2
3	16	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Cosworth	40	+ 12.2	1
4	2	Howden Ganley	BRM	39	+ 1 lap	6
5	15	Alan Rollinson	March-Cosworth	36	+ 4 laps	12
6	17	Tony Trimmer	Lotus-Cosworth	31	+ 9 laps	10
7	10	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Cosworth	27	+ 13 laps	7
Ret	11	Reine Wisell	Lotus-Pratt & Whitney	17	Puncture	9
Ret	8	Mike Beuttler	March-Cosworth	16	Nose cone	8
Ret	4	Jo Siffert	BRM	13	Ignition	4
Ret	5	John Surtees	Surtees-Cosworth	5	Engine	5
DNS	14	Cyd Williams	March-Cosworth		Practice Crash	11
DNS	9	Jackie Stewart1	Tyrrell-Cosworth		Drove No. 16
Source:

¹ Stewart practiced in the spare Tyrrell 002 but opted to race Tyrrell 001.