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''Formule Europe''?


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#1 2F-001

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Posted 26 January 2003 - 12:09

Towards the end of last season I attended an open testing day at Croix-en-Ternois. Some of the friends who were with me introduced me to a Frenchman and his mechanic and driver who were running a very nicely turned-out - and very desirable - Modus using a Renault-based twin cam motor (1600cc, I think - I forget).
My French is weak (and they had no English) but they were very patient - indeed, happy to talk - and I discovered that they raced the car as an historic in what they described as 'Formule Europe' spec. I got the impression that the chassis was essentially an F.Atlantic (rather than a 3 - but I guess they were very similar - you don't see too many Moduses (Modi?) around to compare.

My question is - what is or was Formula Europe? Was it a continental FA-alternative? Or is it an historic category run as a recreation of a 70s formula - or a current formula devised to accomodate a variety of historic specifications?

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#2 Vitesse2

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Posted 26 January 2003 - 13:43

A quick bit of googling will reveal a Swiss chap called Siebenthal running an anonymous "Formule Europe" chassis in slaloms. I also found a picture of a Martini MK15 Formule Europe - not a type number I have a record of as F3, anyway, but circa 1975 and probably Renault-engined. There's also a passing reference on a Prost site to the existence of Formule Europe in 1976.

#3 Rob29

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Posted 26 January 2003 - 13:49

Reckon this refers to Formula Renault Europe (sometimes known as super renault) This was based in France and ran in the mid 70s in place of FrenchF3. I went to one round which supported 1977 Monaco GP.

#4 petefenelon

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Posted 26 January 2003 - 13:50

Originally posted by Vitesse2
A quick bit of googling will reveal a Swiss chap called Siebenthal running an anonymous "Formule Europe" chassis in slaloms. I also found a picture of a Martini MK15 Formule Europe - not a type number I have a record of as F3, anyway, but circa 1975 and probably Renault-engined. There's also a passing reference on a Prost site to the existence of Formule Europe in 1976.


Memory is vague here, but didn't the French initially resist two-litre F3 and try to push FFrance as a competitor to it? (mainly 'cos Renault had a good 1600 and no good 2-litre production engine at the time?)

There was no French F3 series from 74-7, as far as I can tell.

pete

#5 jarama

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Posted 26 January 2003 - 14:01

By mid 70s Renault created the F-Renault Europe: an step forward to the F-3 or F-2. While the F-Renault was a french affair, the Europe was intended as an international championship. Though the competitors were mainly french, there were some spanish drivers involved, (perhaps some portuguese, italian or german if my memory serves me right), the race schedule was through various european circuits, sometimes as a background for the F-1 GP, and one of the champions (the last one?) was Alain Prost.

Carles.

#6 fines

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Posted 26 January 2003 - 14:25

Martinis MK11, MK14, MK15, MK18, MK20 and MK26 were FRenault/Europe models. The line between FFrance, FRenault and FEurope is not well defined, I've seen several contradicting infos.

Formule France:
1968 1st Jean Max, 2nd Jimmy Mieusset, 3rd Dénis Dayan
1969 1st Dénis Dayan, 2nd Jimmy Mieusset, 3rd F. Lacarrau
1970 1st F. Lacarrau, 2nd Jacques Coulon, 3rd Christian Ethuin

Formule Renault:
1971 1st Michel Leclère, 2nd Alain Serpaggi, 3rd J. Auxéméry
1972 1st Jacques Laffite, 2nd Alain Cudini, 3rd J. Coche
1973 1st René Arnoux, 2nd Patrick Tambay, 3rd Alain Couderc
1974 1st Didier Pironi, 2nd Dany Snobeck, 3rd Marcel Sourd

Formule Renault Europe
1975 1st René Arnoux, 2nd jean Ragnotti, 3rd Didier Pironi
1976 1st Didier Pironi, 2nd Alain Cudini, 3rd Dany Snobeck
1977 1st Alain Prost, 2nd ?, 3rd ?
1978 1st Philippe Alliot ???

#7 Marcor

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Posted 26 January 2003 - 16:51

1975 Challenge de Formule Renault Europe
1- René Arnoux, 159 points
2- Jean Ragnotti, 148 points
3- Didier Pironi, 129 points
4- Marc Sourd, 125 points
5- Dany Snobeck, 96 points
6- Richard Dallest, 83 points
7- Jacques Coulon, 59 points
8- Alain Couderc, 52 points
9- Serge Saulnier, 51 points
10- Alain Cudini, 41 points

source: Sport-Auto, January 1976

1976 Challenge Européen de Formule Renault
1- Didier Pironi, 188 points
2- Cudini, 143 points
3- Snobeck, 142 points
4- Sourd, 94 points
5- Dallest, 88 points
6- Bousquet, 82 points
7- Ethuin, 67 points
8- Saulnier, 59 points
9- Coulon, 55 points
10- Debias, 37 points
11- Ragnotti, 32 points
12- Haran, 29 points
13- Salomon, 20 points
14- Gaillard, 14 points
15- Perroy, 12 points
16- Michy, 5 points
17- "Jean Claude", 4 points
18- Schlesser, 4 points
19- "Baronio", 4 points
20- "Kelson", 4 points
21- Cognet, 3 points
22- Le Strat, 3 points
23- Babler-Bébie, 3 points
24- Lompech, 1 point
25- Prost, 1 point
26- Rua, 1 point
27- Simac, 1 point
28- Dubois, 1 point

cars used in the last race of the season: Martini MK18, MK17 and MK15, Lola T410, AGS, JSM, BBM

Souce: Auto-Hebdo October 28th, 1976.

1977 later (if I find the good Volume of Sport-Auto or Auto-Hebdo).
I think that the European challenge stopped after 1977...

#8 2F-001

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Posted 26 January 2003 - 18:25

Thank you for your responses, everybody.
I did exchange details with the owner - if I can find them again (and can brush up my French some) I should make contact and try to discover if the car has any known history; although I was supposed to be digging up a little Modus background history for him, so maybe he doesn't know too much more...

#9 petefenelon

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Posted 26 January 2003 - 18:37

Originally posted by Marcor
1975 Challenge de Formule Renault Europe

6- Richard Dallest, 83 points
7- Jacques Coulon, 59 points


A couple of drivers there who I thought would've made it further in the sport - they both seemed to stall in F2. I think Coulon had been there before in the mid-70s (doing pretty well as a self-run semi-pro) and Dallest got stuck in AGS without ever seeming to figure much in their later plans - anyone know why these two never got the chances they deserved?

pete

#10 Marcor

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Posted 26 January 2003 - 20:47

Early 1974 (March or April) Sport-Auto (France) announced that Jacques Coulon would start in GP races at Jarama. He had to drive a March. So what happened ? His main sponsor was Antar and this period tallied with the oil crisis... Moreover nearly all Frenchmen who went to F1 in the second part of the 70's were supported by ELF. (I see one exception: Patrick Gaillard, but his F1 career was short)

The 2nd of the 1975 Championship did a long career in Rallyes: Jean Ragnotti