Formula 3000

Formula 3000 chassis from the 2000 season

The F3000 was a racing category for single-seat, open racing cars, which until then existing for the 1985 season as the successor to Formula 2 was launched.

history

For 1985 the FIA had reorganized the racing class below Formula 1 . It replaced the previous Formula 2, which had been advertised annually since 1967, with the newly established International Formula 3000 Championship. The reason for this was the recent sharp rise in the costs of Formula 2, which had led to a dominance of the works teams and a continuous decline in the number of participants since the early 1980s. The Formula 3000 regulations provided for the use of the widespread and uncomplicated 3.0-liter engines of the previous Formula 1 and permitted the use of disused Formula 1 racing cars. These and other approaches in the technical area should bring about a cost reduction and make motorsport below Formula 1 attractive again. The economic goals of the FIA could not be achieved. Already in the first few years it became clear that the Formula 3000 was not cheaper than the previous Formula 2. In particular, the assumption that the use of disused Formula 1 racing cars could keep chassis costs low was unrealistic. In fact, only a few Formula 1 cars from Williams and Tyrrell were used in the 1985 debut season . They proved to be inferior to the chassis specially designed for the Formula 3000 by March or Lola . In the late 1980s, for example, there were complaints about a cost explosion in the Formula 3000. A season in the International Formula 3000 in 1990 meanwhile required a budget of £ 2 million.

The naturally aspirated engines with a size of up to 3000 cm³ were limited to a maximum of 9000 rpm with a speed limiter. As a result, the maximum output of the engines was around 330 kW . The minimum weight of the vehicles was 540 kg, the maximum width of the vehicle was 200 cm. Almost all vehicles were equipped with the Cosworth DFV V8 engine. In addition to "real" F-3000 vehicles from Ralt , March or Lola, numerous modified Formula 1 vehicles from Williams, Tyrrell and Arrows or Formula 2 vehicles from AGS were launched in the first few years .

Many Formula 3000 vehicles are also used in hillclimb races and in popular sport series after the championships have ended.

Championships

International Formula 3000 Championship

The first Formula 3000 race took place on March 24, 1985 in Silverstone and was part of the Formula 3000 European Championship . In the 1990s, Formula 3000 was the established up-and-coming generation for Formula 1 . At the end of the 2004 season, the European Championship was discontinued due to a lack of participants and insufficient TV presence. The successor was the GP2 series on the initiative of the manufacturer Renault .

National series

In addition to the International Formula 3000 Championship, there were several national championships that followed the Formula 3000 regulations:

The Japanese Formula 3000 Championship was announced from 1987. It replaced the Japanese Formula 2 Championship. In 1996 the name of the series was changed to Formula Nippon . However, the technology remained very close to Formula 3000.
The British Formula 3000 Championship debuted in 1989. For cost reasons, it used International Formula 3000 cars that had to be at least one year old. From 1992 onwards, the series was called the British Formula 2 Championship, but regardless of this it retained the Formula 3000 regulations. The series was last held in 1996.
Italian Formula 3000 Championship was launched in 1999 by Pierluigi Corbari . It existed - now under the direction of Coloni and with the name Auto GP - until 2016, but most recently with significantly changed regulations.

Manufacturer

chassis

The most important chassis manufacturers represented over many years were:

In addition, some smaller manufacturers supplied their own chassis in individual years, which in turn were used in some races. These included:

Engines

Web links

Commons : International Formula 3000 - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

At the end of Formula 3000

Individual evidence

^ Reuss, Ferdi Kräling: Formula 2. The story from 1964 to 1984 , Delius Klasing, Bielefeld 2014, ISBN 978-3-7688-3865-8 .
^ David Hodges: Rennwagen from A – Z after 1945 , Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 , p. 273.
^ Alan Henry: Auto Course 1990/91 , Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1991, ISBN 0-905138-74-0 , p. 257.

[1] Reuss, Ferdi Kräling: Formula 2. The story from 1964 to 1984 , Delius Klasing, Bielefeld 2014, ISBN 978-3-7688-3865-8 .

[2] David Hodges: Rennwagen from A – Z after 1945 , Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 , p. 273.

[3] Alan Henry: Auto Course 1990/91 , Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1991, ISBN 0-905138-74-0 , p. 257.