1972 Rostron Formula Ford

History

Chassis number CT3.

Ex-Lee Wroe-Johnson, Paul Sleeman, Bernard Horwood, and Stuart Kestenbaum.

Here is an excerpt from a discussion at ApexSpeed by Stuart Kestenbaum, former owner and driver of CT3:

The Paul Sleeman Rostron was painted black. I don’t recall seeing any other colours on the bodywork although (unusually) I don’t think I damaged it in the year I owned it so didn’t see underneath the top coat.

Paul said putting a much stiffer front anti roll bar on was the secret of transforming the handling & it was one of the best handling & chuckable FFs I’ve ever driven. The car was fitted with forward facing safety bars from the roll hoop which I’m guessing must have been done during Paul’s ownership as cars of that vintage didn’t have them & which certainly made it stiffer than its contemporaries. The nose had a sort of widow’s peak front a bit like a squared off Eagle F1.

Paul won the pre 74 championship with it, finished in the top 10 of the Festival & I think won the Autosport Golden Helmet in 83.

Neil St. Clair owned the car subsequently & also did well (may have won the championship?) & sold it to Bernard Horwood who won the championship in 1990.

I bought it from Bernard & had a very successful 1991, winning the pre 74 championship, finishing 3rd in a Star of Mallory race against good competition in modern cars & winning a pre 85 race (officially 74-84) at Donington Park. I was then banned from entering any more pre 85 races in it as the car was too old! I took it as a compliment.

At the end of 1991 I sold it to well known trader Chris Alford who exported it to USA.

At the time it was one of the most winning cars in the UK.

Here is another excerpt from the ApexSpeed discussion. This one is from prior owner/driver Lee Wroe-Johnson:

I came across this as that is me Lee Wroe-Johnson who owned and raced this CT-3 between September 1974 and August 1975. I originally bought it from a guy called Barry Aikenhead who did a few races with it.

For the 75 season It had a full rebuild by Carl and he found a the chassis was “out of shape”. He repaired that and added a couple of minor updates to stiffen the car BUT the big item (which I think may interest you) was I asked Carl (due to my karting days) to design a new pedal box for me with a left foot brake (a bit ahead of time I believe especially for a Formula Ford in those days). So what he did was due to very tight room restrictions he replaced the left foot brace with another brake pedal therefore I had two brake pedals that was joined by a bar so the line up was L to R, brake pedal – clutch pedal – brake pedal – accelerator. Of course the idea was to trail brake and set the car up for fast bends while still keeping my foot (sometimes hard) on the accelerator which keep the engine in the power band. This was my secret weapon and we made a lot of effort to not let anyone know about it including the famous Murry Walker who was trying to get a closer look at the brake box during scrutineering… Anyway thought you might be interested in this….Oh yes it was a successful bit of kit..except for the very first time I tried it in a practice session when I was coming up to Druids Bend in Brands Hatch and went to change gear ..and yes I pushed on the left hand brake pedal instead of the clutch.. Ouch that hurt…I stopped very quickly, lucky there was no one behind me. I still have the welt marks on my body from the safety harness straps…LOL. I sold it in August 75 and cannot remember who bought it to but it definitely was not to Paul Sleeman. It think it was 1976 Sleeman was successful with a Rostron. I believe the person who bought it from me got Carl to revert to the standard pedal box and I do not believe this owner had any success with it…

Anyway guys I hope you enjoyed this If one of these Rostrons you have in your club is mine would luv to hear about it. It gave me a number of wins, poles and fastest laps during my short time with it.

Bob Darcey, responding to Lee Wroe-Johnson’s comments added the following: 

Your old car has a stellar history; your wins in 1975; Sleeman won the Golden Helmet Award (most race wins in a season) in 1978: Bernard Horwood and Stuart Kestenbaum won multiple pre-’74 championships with the car, and Terry A was pretty much unbeatable for a few years when the car first came to the USA. 

To see the full discussion of CT3 by its prior owners, drivers, and others, please see: 

ApexSpeed: Rostron CT3 prior owners/driver discuss CT3’s history.

For additional period photos of CT3 racing please see:

Sleeman in CT3 battles with  Eric Bachelart at the 1983 Formula Ford Festival

To learn more about Paul Sleeman and his incredible 158 win racing career, including those with CT3, please see: 

Paul Sleeman curriculum vitae

Description

Strong Total Precisions engine with Ivey-prepped carb. 

Tilton clutch with Outer Force throwout bearing

All new wire loom from dash to engine compartment

New nickel front suspension.

New rear nickel radius rods

New 4130 axles

Pro built custom dry sump oil tank with removable top for cleaning access

New SPAX  CSX shocks

New Faulkner springs

New slotted/drilled brake rotors

New remote master cylinders

New alloy radiator

New Hella Master cutoff switch

Removable steering wheel

Convex mirrors

6 point cam lock belts

Fuel Safe Systems cell, FIA serial no. AK27799

New fire suppression system

Peterson Hydraulics auxiliary oil pump for pre- start pressure

Burns AR cone header

RaceTec gauges 

New seat upholstery

Stack tach

AMB transponder

GoPro roll bar mount

Panasport Mag wheels

The bodywork was redone to eliminate cracks and defects, and then sprayed at a cost of $6,000.

Spares include original Weller front and rear steel wheel, spare nose, many new rod ends, and other bits. 

The Rostron also comes with FIA papers, originally issued in April, 1992.

This is one of the most successful Formula Fords ever. It is also super rare, one of perhaps just 10 Rostron cars. Even then it is unique unto itself. The Rostron CT3 has been restored using a new chassis, however, the original chassis will be included in the sale of the car. That way you have both the best performing new chassis, and the authenticity of the original chassis. 

This is an opportunity not to be missed if you want to win in Historic Formula Ford with one of the most successful Formula Fords ever. 

All vehicle descriptions are accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of writing. Corrections, and supplemental information, are always welcome. Buyers are responsible for confirming vehicle histories, condition, and authenticity to their own satisfaction prior to purchase. Motorsports Market is not the owner of the vehicle and assumes no liability for errors and omissions.

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