Formula Junior
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The Formula Junior was a racing category for single-seat, open racing cars. It was launched in Italy in 1957 as a racing series for young drivers.
With a small and light monoposto , the youngsters should be able to recommend themselves for bigger tasks - this is the idea of the Italian racing driver and journalist Giovanni Lurani . Lurani played a key role in shaping the first Formula Junior regulations. The technical regulations stipulated a wheelbase of at least two meters and a minimum weight of 400 kg. The maximum 1100 cm³ engine had to come from a homologated touring car . In the early years, for cost reasons, the engine could only be transferred to the Formula Junior together with the braking system used in this touring car. Therefore, in the early years, the participants started almost without exception with inexpensive drum brake systems.
The braking system was not released until 1961, as Formula Junior had become much faster in a short time. The first Formula Junior racing car from Stanguellini was still equipped with a front engine. With the Lotus models 18 and 20 , the mid-engine design also prevailed in Formula Junior. This caused the lap times to drop sharply.
The many national championships that were held around the globe from 1959 onwards made building Formula Junior racing cars a lucrative business for numerous companies. In Italy in particular, alongside Stanguellini, small companies such as Wainer and Patriarca produced racing cars for Formula Junior. In addition, there were vehicles from other - mostly British - companies such as Gemini, Elva or Britannia and the vehicles from large racing car companies such as Brabham , Lola or Cooper .
From 1960 there was also a Formula Junior Championship in Germany. Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips bought a Stanguellini and initiated a race on the Nürburgring. Well-known Formula Junior drivers were Kurt Ahrens and Gerhard Mitter .
For the 1964 season, the displacement was limited to 1000 cc and the class was renamed Formula 3 . The name “Formula Junior” could then also be used without FIA regulations. For example, there was a Mexican Formula Junior in the 1980s. Today there is the Lurani Trophy for historic Formula Junior vehicles, an official European championship of the FIA World Motorsport Federation .
After 1990
In 1991 the ADAC took up the name again and started the ADAC Formula Junior Championship . This was continued in 1998 as Formula ADAC . In 2000 , under the name BMW ADAC Formula Junior Cup, a separate competition was launched within the BMW Formula ADAC Championship for 16 to 18 year olds. Timo Glock and Christian Klien are two of the drivers who became known from the series. The successor series are the Formula BMW and the ADAC Formula Masters .
With the Formula Cup Mallorca and Formula Europe , further championships were held in 2007 with these modern Formula Junior vehicles.
Web links
- FIA Lurani Trophy for Formula Cars ( Memento from May 19, 2009 in the Internet Archive )