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Showing posts with the label Jose Pedro Chateaubriand

The British Formula 3 crisis in 1974

Any follower of British F3 is quite aware that the once mighty championship is going through crisis. Once a championship with multiple rounds, even some abroad, now the championship is reduced to four double header events, excluding some of the more traditional venues. It is not the first time, and we hope, not the last time British F3 goes through such crisis. I say I hope it is not the last because if it is, it might be the ultimate demise of the series. In 1974, one of the major problems was the oil crisis brought about by the 1973 Middle East war. Oil prices went through the roof (little they know how far the roof would go), European economies were destabilized, and car racing was perceived as a wasteful endeavor. This affected a number of race series worldwide, in fact, in the next couple of seasons a lot of European championships were either gone or transformed into lighter versions. F3 in 1974 also had an image issue. Engine sizes were raised again in a short period of 4 s