British Formula 2 Championship

The British Formula 2 Championship was a motor racing championship that was held in Great Britain from 1957 to 1972 . Occasionally, several championships with this designation took place side by side, which were organized by different organizers. From 1992 the name was used again for a national championship in Formula 3000 .

The championships of the Formula 2 era

background

The Formula 2 in 1947 introduced a racing category for single-seat, open racing cars. It represented the substructure for Formula 1 and replaced the Voiturette class that was common before the Second World War . With the exception of 1952 and 1953 , when the automobile world championship was announced according to the Formula 2 regulations, Formula 2 was primarily a junior class. Since the 1950s, various organizers in many European countries have been organizing numerous races based on Formula 2 regulations. There was initially no European championship in this class; it was advertised for the first time in 1967 and then carried out annually until 1984 . Even before the introduction of the European Championship, there were national ratings for a Formula 2 championship in some countries. This affected, among other things, Great Britain, where by far the most Formula 2 races were held.

In Great Britain, several national Formula 2 championships competed with each other at times. There were 1,967 from both the Royal Automobile Club organized RAC British F2 Championship and the by the magazine Autocar sponsored Autocar British F2 Championship .

Regulations

The technical regulations of the British championships corresponded to the current format of Formula 2. The rules for eligibility to participate were different. Participation in the Autocar Formula 2 Championship was usually open to drivers from Great Britain and the Commonwealth , in some cases it was limited to so-called non-graded drivers , i.e. drivers who had not yet scored any World Championship points in a Formula 1 race. In the RAC British F2 Championship (1967) and the John Player British Formula 2 Championship (1972) there were no restrictions on nationality. The points were not awarded uniformly. Usually the results of certain (mostly not all) Formula 2 races in the British Isles were included in the ratings according to different criteria.

master

year	designation	driver	chassis	Points
1957	British Formula 2 Championship	Tony Marsh	cooper
1958	British Formula 2 Championship	Jack Brabham	cooper
1959	Autocar British Formula 2 Championship	Stirling Moss	cooper
1960	Autocar British Formula 2 Championship	Jackie Lewis	cooper
1964	Autocar British Formula 2 Championship	Mike Spence	lotus	18th
1966	Autocar British Formula 2 Championship	unknown
1967	Autocar British Formula 2 Championship	Alan Rees	Brabham	22nd
	RAC British F2 Championship	Jochen Rindt	Brabham	27
1972	John Player British Formula 2 Championship	Niki Lauda	March	31

Revival from 1992

→ Main article : British Formula 3000 Championship

background

A Formula 3000 car for a "Formula 2 Championship": Reynard 92D (1993)

After Formula 2 was replaced by Formula 3000 in 1985 , the International Formula 3000 Championship replaced the Formula 2 European Championship. Like the previous series, it also included numerous races in various European countries. In 1989, the British Formula 3000 Championship was established in Great Britain , which was intended as an inexpensive entry-level class and was largely limited to races in Great Britain. The regulations followed the general requirements of the FIA ​​for Formula 3000, but there were additions insofar as only used racing cars that were at least one year old were allowed to be used in the British series. When interest in the British Formula 3000 Championship waned after initial successes, the organizers gave the series the name British Formula 2 Championship at the beginning of the 1992 season. They hoped to gain more prestige and increase the attractiveness for drivers and sponsors. However, this name was misleading. In fact, the series had no references to the traditional Formula 2; rather, it remained a de facto regional Formula 3000 championship regardless of the fact that it was a regional Formula 3000 Championship. The championship was held from 1992 to 1994 and again in 1996. In 1997 the championship was canceled after just one race due to insufficient participation, and an attempt at resuscitation in 1999 failed early.

master

year	designation	driver	team	chassis	Points
1992	British Formula 2 Championship	Yvan Muller	Omegaland	Reynard 91D
1993	British Formula 2 Championship	Philippe Adams	Mansell Madgwick International Argo Racing	Reynard 91D Reynard 92D	45
1994	British Formula 2 Championship	José Luis di Palma	Madgwick International	Reynard 93D	36
1996	Venson British Formula 2 Championship	Gareth Rees	Super Nova Racing	Reynard 95D	56
1997	British Formula 2 Championship	no title awarded; Championship canceled after a race

literature

• Eberhard Reuß, Ferdi Kräling: Formula 2. The story from 1964 to 1984 , Delius Klasing, Bielefeld 2014, ISBN 978-3-7688-3865-8

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Overview of the results of the British Formula 2 Championship 1964 on the website www.formula2.net (archived version) (accessed on January 4, 2018).
2. ↑ Overview of the results of the British Formula 2 Championship 1967 on the website www.formula2.net (archived version) (accessed on January 4, 2018).
3. ^ Alan Henry: Autocourse 1992/93 . London 1992 (Hazleton Securities Ltd.), ISBN 0-905138-96-1 , p. 253.