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 seasons, this time to 2 liters. That is, twice the size of the 1970 screamers. To distance itself from Formula Atlantic, which also had 1.6 liter engines, F3 matched Formula 2, although the latter category had much more powerful engines.
Be that as it may, the two 1974 British Formula 3 championships were a bit of a joke. Brian Henton, who drove one of the March works team cars, won a large number of races, and both championships. He had little competition, mostly from Tony Rouff and Alex Ribeiro, both in GRDs.
Some of the races had less than 10 starters, a few non-championship events had to be boosted up with Formula Fords, and the sad state of affairs seemed to drag on forever. Just a few seasons back, British F3 events had almost one hundred entrants, and required many qualifying heats.
Both the public and drivers were in love with Formula Atlantic, which had better grids, more competition, and seemed to be on the way to replacing F3. It did not turn out that way in England.
Curiously, the poor support gave opportunities to drivers who might otherwise had difficulty breaking into the category. A large number of Brazilians raced in the series. In addition to Alex Ribeiro, Jose Pedro Chateaubriand drove the second, Brazilian sponsored works March. There was a Team Brasil, which ran cars for Marcos Moraes, Luiz Carlos Moraes and Julio Caio. Jan Balder drove the works March a couple of times, while Marivaldo Fernandes, the owner of the plane in which Carlos Pace died in 1977, fulfilled a dream racing in F3 in England, finishing one race in fourth.
Besides these, there was even an Indian driver, Hannu Wianu. Australian Buzz Buzzaglo had some good outings, as did Portuguese driver Jose Espirito Santo. Uruguayan Pedro Passadore and Austrian Nicholas Von Preussen.
On the following season, F3 recovered. The 100-plus entrants never again became a reality (Formula Ford 1600 filled this role), but by and large British F3 continued to be the foremost producer of Formula 1 talent for many years.
Carlos de Paula is a translator, writer and auto racing historian based in Miami
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 seasons, this time to 2 liters. That is, twice the size of the 1970 screamers. To distance itself from Formula Atlantic, which also had 1.6 liter engines, F3 matched Formula 2, although the latter category had much more powerful engines.
Be that as it may, the two 1974 British Formula 3 championships were a bit of a joke. Brian Henton, who drove one of the March works team cars, won a large number of races, and both championships. He had little competition, mostly from Tony Rouff and Alex Ribeiro, both in GRDs.
Some of the races had less than 10 starters, a few non-championship events had to be boosted up with Formula Fords, and the sad state of affairs seemed to drag on forever. Just a few seasons back, British F3 events had almost one hundred entrants, and required many qualifying heats.
Both the public and drivers were in love with Formula Atlantic, which had better grids, more competition, and seemed to be on the way to replacing F3. It did not turn out that way in England.
Curiously, the poor support gave opportunities to drivers who might otherwise had difficulty breaking into the category. A large number of Brazilians raced in the series. In addition to Alex Ribeiro, Jose Pedro Chateaubriand drove the second, Brazilian sponsored works March. There was a Team Brasil, which ran cars for Marcos Moraes, Luiz Carlos Moraes and Julio Caio. Jan Balder drove the works March a couple of times, while Marivaldo Fernandes, the owner of the plane in which Carlos Pace died in 1977, fulfilled a dream racing in F3 in England, finishing one race in fourth.
Besides these, there was even an Indian driver, Hannu Wianu. Australian Buzz Buzzaglo had some good outings, as did Portuguese driver Jose Espirito Santo. Uruguayan Pedro Passadore and Austrian Nicholas Von Preussen.
On the following season, F3 recovered. The 100-plus entrants never again became a reality (Formula Ford 1600 filled this role), but by and large British F3 continued to be the foremost producer of Formula 1 talent for many years.
Carlos de Paula is a translator, writer and auto racing historian based in Miami
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