327 replies to this topic

[SEdward]

It started in 1964. Unless I'm mistaken, it was the first ever F3 formula.

It lasted until 1970.

It was a formula that produced some of the best racing I have ever seen.

It gave us some of the finest drivers of the period.

Anyone who witnessed these events invariably remembers them with great fondness.

Please post your recollections and photos of this memorable formula and the names that made it famous.

Edward.

[Twin Window]

Originally posted by SEdward

Anyone who witnessed these events invariably remembers them with great fondness.

Please post your recollections and photos of this memorable formula and the names that made it famous.

This is also of great interest to those of us who were never fortunate enough to witness any of these races. Like me...

[Gav Astill]

The first F3 formula was the 500cc one which started in England in 1947, and was adopted as the international third level formula in 1950. It petered out at the end of the 50s to be replaced with Formula Junior which was itself superceded by the 1-litre F3 in 1964. There are some results for the period 1966-68 at http://www.formula2.net/, plus results for most 1964-66 F2 races, which were also 1-litre cars.

I've always found these 1-litre cars exquisite, so look forward to the rest of this thread.

[Even Darker]

These cars were active at a time before I could travel to see much live motor racing, so my memories are confined to the occasional appearance on Grandstand on the TV.

It was a bit like 125 motorcycle racing today. I remember some great slip-streaming battles, but the race that really sticks in my mind is one from Crystal Palace where a huge dog fight was going on between 3 or 4 cars and you just knew it was all going to end in tears.

Sure enough as the race neared its end, the battle headed into the last bend and the cameras switched to the view down the start/finish straight, but all that emerged was a few loose wheels and stray bits of bodywork.

I was devastated when it all came to an end, F3 has certainly never been as good since.

[Rob29]

I think what killed the close racing was the arrival of wings,not the change in engine size. Just obtained the French TV series'Michel Vailant' which is based around the 1965 French F3 series.Must be more overtaking in one lap at Reims than the last 20 years of F1.
FF replaced it as a starter formula from 1968 in UK and most of Western Europe exept france which started Formula Renault.

[Mallory Dan]

Only ever saw one of these, Mallory Sept 27 1970, a birthday outing !! Still have the prog, its here with me now. Won by Dave Walker, from Morgan (Dave), Trimmer, and Bev Bond. Great names, also entered were, Wilson Fitti, Pace, Maskell, Alan Jones, Ian Ashley, Andy Sutcliffe etc.

Familiar names to TNFers also out that day, apparently, were 'Franklyn Sytner', Vern Schuppan, Brian McGuire in FF, Brodie, Mick Hill, Sugden in Saloons, in FF100 Stan Matthews, Ray Allen, Les Leston, and in Libre, Steve Thompson, Jim Yardley, Geoff Friswell.

[LOTI]

Don't ask me anything technical.... I'll have to go and get the book out, so just for starters, you most probably know the basics form other threads and from books like Piers Courage, The Last of the Gentlemen Racers which Adam Cooper does a good job with the 65 and 66 season.
Big brother Charles Lucas ran the Lotus team and Graham Warner of the Chequered Flag in Chiswick ran the Brabham. There were a lot of privateers and start money specials who wandered Europe sleeping in the tow car and eating anything that was left unguarded.
Piers and Roy Pike in the Lotus worked better on some circuits but Chris and Mick Beckwith were pretty well in control and Chris won the championship.
One of the few flies in the ointment was at Monaco when JP Beltoise turned up with a car designed in the Matra jet wind tunnel. The first aero package?
There was one race at Silverstone when the lead changed every lap, pity some of us trying to do a lap chart!
Chris's best was I think in August when he won Zandvoort, Zolder, Roskilda Ring, Karlskoga on the trot.
We were racing Piers and Roy from Karlskoga to the ferry when they got stopped by an armed helicopter, they assumed anyone going that fast had to be getting away from something.
Chris's E type won most of the races against Piers's 911 but I put that down to my superior map reading.
Happy days.
Loti

[Gav Astill]

Originally posted by Even Darker
the race that really sticks in my mind is one from Crystal Palace where a huge dog fight was going on between 3 or 4 cars and you just knew it was all going to end in tears.

Sure enough as the race neared its end, the battle headed into the last bend and the cameras switched to the view down the start/finish straight, but all that emerged was a few loose wheels and stray bits of bodywork.

I was devastated when it all came to an end, F3 has certainly never been as good since.

I'm pretty sure that this was the race featured in a BBC series called "100 Great Sporting Moments" - I remember it as one of the greatest races I've ever seen on TV. The guy sat in the middle of the track in what was now little more than a chassis was a Mr James Hunt !. It was from these times that he earned his "Hunt the Shunt" tag.

I wonder if its available on BBC video?.

[2F-001]

That does, indeed, sound like the famous "Hunt slugs Morgan" incident, which has many interesting lines of thought and discussion radiating from it. But that would have 1600cc Formula Three, wouldn't it?

[Macca]

Yeah, it was in 1971 IIRC - March 713s at 10 paces.


Paul M

[dolomite]

Originally posted by Gav Astill


I'm pretty sure that this was the race featured in a BBC series called "100 Great Sporting Moments" - I remember it as one of the greatest races I've ever seen on TV. The guy sat in the middle of the track in what was now little more than a chassis was a Mr James Hunt !. It was from these times that he earned his "Hunt the Shunt" tag.

Yes it was that one, I have it on tape. It was at Crystal Palace in 1970.

I wonder if its available on BBC video?.

Not as far as I know.

[Gav Astill]

Originally posted by Macca
Yeah, it was in 1971 IIRC - March 713s at 10 paces.


Paul M

I beg to differ but I still think it was a 1 litre race in 1970. By 1971 Morgan was mainly into Formula Atlantic, with only the odd F3 appearance thrown in (and none of those at Crystal Palace). You may be confusing it with an almighty pile up that happened in second lap of a CP F3 race on 7th August 1971, involving Hunt's March, Steve Thompsons Ensign and the Loti of Allan McCully and Andy Sutcliffe.

I'll let you know if I can pin this one down.

[Cirrus]

I thought the Hunt/Morgan altercation triggered an hilarious exchange of letters in Autosport by some of the F3 mothers, where Mike Beuttler's mum descibed James Hunt as "beastly".

I once ran a Chevron B15 in club racing, and can vouch for the fact that the cars were great to drive. You had to warm the engines up at not less than 3000rpm. There was no power below 7500, and maximum revs were 10,000 (plus a little bit). They produced nearly 120bhp - all from a 105E engine with a single choke carb, and a restirctor. There was quite a knack to keeping them on the cam with the mandatory four speed box.

1 Litre F3 is my all-time favourite as well.

Now all we need is some pictures. Andrew Kitson, where are you?.......

[RTH]

Originally posted by Mallory Dan
Only ever saw one of these, Mallory Sept 27 1970, a birthday outing !! Still have the prog, its here with me now. Won by Dave Walker, from Morgan (Dave), Trimmer, and Bev Bond. Great names, also entered were, Wilson Fitti, Pace, Maskell, Alan Jones, Ian Ashley, Andy Sutcliffe etc.

Familiar names to TNFers also out that day, apparently, were 'Franklyn Sytner', Vern Schuppan, Brian McGuire in FF, Brodie, Mick Hill, Sugden in Saloons, in FF100 Stan Matthews, Ray Allen, Les Leston, and in Libre, Steve Thompson, Jim Yardley, Geoff Friswell.

What a fantastic line up of cars drivers and races, spectators got a REAL days entertainment in those days!

I have fond memories of Bev Bond in Mo Nunn's Ensign LNF3 in dark green wingless 1 Litre guise in 1970 at Brands prior to a January Racing Car Show appearance and a full programme in 1971 in 1600 form it was like a baby Lotus 72 - quite different to the rest of the field in 1970 . We didn't realise it at the time - but these were great days.

[Tim Murray]

It was Tony who last year dug out the 'battle of the mums' in the letters page of Autosport following the Crystal Palace race:

Originally posted by 2F-001
Ok then, here goes:

I think there was a lot more elsewhere, but here are a few bits from Autosport (October 1970)...


Morgan's mum comments
As David Morgan's mother, I feel quite incensed at the implication of Justin Haler's report on the F3 incident at Crystal Palace.
It has been established that Morgan had passed Beuttler before entering South Tower, and after pressing round the outside had emerged completely ahead of Hunt. The shunt took place slightly nearer the outside than the inside of the track, and there was room to pass on either side. There was nothing untoward about Morgan's line and we can only assume that Hunt misjudged his speed and so hit him in the rear. The March took to the air.
While welcoming a tribunal to adjudicate the facts of the accident, I am amazed that Morgan alone should have been selected to face an inquisition about his driving. This season, until the accident, he has remained virtually incident free. His so-called bumping and boring tactics have not pushed any driver off. His March has fantastic brakes, and with skill he has used this advantage to be able confidently to seize every opportunity to outbrake, even when others might think twice about it. At what stage does pressing on, harrying and holding off turn from a virtue into a vice? With a below- power engine, the fact that he has continued so competively in the face of such formidable opposition is very much to his credit?
Mrs BH Morgan, Surrey.

the following week...

Mum's the word
As Mike Beuttler's mother, I feel quite incensed at some of the reports and comments on the F3 race at Crystal Palace recently. The reports stated that my son was "given" second place in the final due to the Hunt/Morgan incident. As everyone but Morgan's mum and Motoring News' reporter knows, this is simply not true.
On lap 18 at South Tower both Hunt and Mike Beuttler passed Morgan; on lap 19 my son slip-streamed passed Hunt and held second place to the end, leaving Hunt and Morgan to continue their dangerous antics together.
I was quite horrified at the driving behaviour of some of the competitors at the F3 race, the boy Hunt being extremely beastly to my son who, as always, drove beautifully, although his father and I do rather wish he had chosen a more sedate occupation.
As for Mr. Morgan, mere words fail me. A pity they didn't fail his mum...
Mrs LBB Beuttler, Benalmadena, Spain.

and then...

More on F3 mums
As Dave Walker's mum, Carlos Pace's great aunt and Gerry Birrell's third cousin thrice removed, I would like to complain about the disgusting and season-long antics of Tony Trimmer. This matter was really brought to a head at Brands the other weekend when Trimmer had the cheek to lead from start to finish.
Also, his consistency is a disgrace to all F3 drivers. He has failed consistently to create accidents, and has actually been seen, I'm ashamed to say, to grin before a race.
Therefore may I put forward a plea to either Brendan McInerney or some other sponsor/entrant. For the sake of the sport, make sure Trimmer never drives in another F3 race. Send him to the depths of F2, wher teams apparently lend cars to rivals, a la BMW. Surely such a disgrace would befit his disgusting performance this year.
Name & Address withheld, Lancaster.

and so it goes on, with letters exploring the mums, tantrums and diaper jokes in some depth.

__________________
tony p

[Twin Window]

Here's a pic which should bring back some memories for you, Edward...


(Photo: Charles Cooper)

It's Brands, 1970. From the front I (think I) can spot Hunt, Beuttler, Scott, Birrell, Walker, Williams, and a bit further back Allen, Pace and Purley...

[Cirrus]

What you failed to mention, of course, is that this was actually the last lap!

[Twin Window]

[Barry Boor]

I remember getting very excited at Brands Hatch when Howden Ganley did the first-ever 100 mph race lap with an F.3 car. At least, that's what my memory tells me.

Which year????

[Vitesse2]

Originally posted by Mallory Dan
Only ever saw one of these, Mallory Sept 27 1970, a birthday outing !!

Is that your actual birthday, Dan? What year? I entered this world on September 27th 1955 .... just after midnight!

[David McKinney]

Originally posted by Barry Boor
I remember getting very excited at Brands Hatch when Howden Ganley did the first-ever 100 mph race lap with an F.3 car. At least, that's what my memory tells me.
Which year????

1969 (Chevron B15)

[Barry Boor]

Ta!

[Cirrus]

That Brands picture is of the GP support race, and although the finish was not quite as close as my earlier post implied, just three seconds covered the first seven cars.

Also "In the mix" (to use an awful Allenism) were Wilson Fittipaldi and Tom Walkinshaw.

[Vitesse2]

Originally posted by Cirrus
That Brands picture is of the GP support race, and although the finish was not quite as close as my earlier post implied, just three seconds covered the first seven cars.

That's close enough for me! Just imagine if the seventh place man was within three seconds of the winner in a current F1 race (assuming it wasn't under the pacecar ) - at ANY time, let alone the finish! Hell - even in a current F3 race it would be impressive!

[Nanni Dietrich]

Originally posted by Twin Window
Here's a pic which should bring back some memories for you, Edward...


(Photo: Charles Cooper)

It's Brands, 1970. From the front I (think I) can spot Hunt, Beuttler, Scott, Birrell, Walker, Williams, and a bit further back Allen, Pace and Purley...

After the Brabham in first row (Gerry Birrell?), there is ONLY one other car, in the center of the group, with wings and spoilers
Who is this?
It seems a Chevron...

[Twin Window]

I think the winged Brabham on the front row is Beuttler, Nanni.

The other car you're refering to is just behind - I think - Ray Allen. Maybe someone has a grid sheet that would give some clues?

[Cirrus]

I've got all the info on that race. I'll get back to you when I get home.

There were some unusual cars in the race. The car on the right, towards the back, on its own, and with a white nose hoop is, I think Jim Yardley's Beagle, and two cars ahead of him on the extreme left is the Nemo, driven by Brendan McInerney

[Nanni Dietrich]

And three cars behind Dave Walker (5th from left, Lotus, white helmet with a red row) I think there is a Tecno: dark car with a large nose.
Perhaps some italian driver like Giovanni Salvati, or Luigi Fontanesi?


We need a grid sheet, sure!
;)

[Mallory Dan]

Originally posted by Vitesse2

Is that your actual birthday, Dan? What year? I entered this world on September 27th 1955 .... just after midnight!

Vitesse, its actually Sept 26th, don't know what time, but anyway this coming weekend. I've asked the good lady for the new book by one of my heroes, entitled "All I want for Christmas...."

Any ideas chaps, its NOT racing related ???

Dan

[Andrew Kitson]

I witnessed many of these races as a kid. They were sensational, especially around the 'slipstreamer' circuits Silverstone and the proper old Snetterton.
I particularly remember a great race at Snett between Schenken and Rollinson with others all having turns to lead too. I also remember being at the '69 GP meeting, watching from Stowe. My father pointed Ronnie out to me in the Tecno - 'watch him, he is going places'. He certainly did, especially at Mallory in '71 in the F2 March when he went off and missed me by about 6 feet!

[RTH]

The people running racing today are too dim to realise that we could easily have this spectacle back again today if the technical regulations were written with the now benefit of hindsight to make the cars behave in this manner. In that respect you most definitely can put the clock back.

[Cirrus]

OK - here's the grid from Brands 17-7-70. There had previously been two heats.


Scott Beuttler Hunt

Walker Birrell

Pace (Morgan) Jupp

Dubler Fittipaldi

Axelsson Sutcliffe Kottullinsky

Walkinshaw (Matchett)

Gilmeister Purley Hanson

Allen Pankl

Migault Deal Lindberg

Warren Harvey

Skeaping Veijlund McInerney

Reeves (Edwards)

Yardley Bonnin Kozzarowitsky

Ligonnet Gygax

Angelieri Birchenhough Sedgley

Ralph

1st Beuttler 32'34.3"
2nd Walker 32'34.4"
3rd Hunt 32'34.4"
4th Scott 32'35.0"
5th Hanson 32'36.6"
6th Kottulinsky 32'36.9"
7th Birrell 32'36.9"
8th Dubler 32'38.1"

Fastest Lap Birrell 1'35.5" (99.90mph)

There were 81 cars entered, so just to make the final was an achievment in itself!

If only there was some footage remaining.........

[Twin Window]

Nice one, Alan (to use a period phrase!).

So, who do you reckon is in the other winged chassis?

[Cirrus]

I think it might be Ed Reeves (March 703) - the car doesn't look pretty enough to e a Chevron B15 or B17.

[David McKinney]

There was a winged F3 March at the meeting, but I don't think it was the one in the middle of the grid shot. The one I have in mind was lighter coloured.
(I came across it looking - without success - for the grid in Autosport but don't have the time to dig out the reference again now. Perhaps tomorrow if no-one beats me to the answer)

[MCS]

Originally posted by Cirrus
I think it might be Ed Reeves (March 703) - the car doesn't look pretty enough to e a Chevron B15 or B17.

Whilst I agree with your comment that "the car doesn't look pretty enough to e a Chevron B15 or B17" I have a strange - almost inexplicable - feeling it's Chris Skeaping in his Chevron.

Don't for goodness sake ask me why...

MCS

[Cirrus]

I think Chris Skeaping is slightly behind our bewinged friend, to the right in the darkish car with front wings only - now that does look like a Chevron.

Maybe the other car is Peter Deal's March 703?

[David McKinney]

OK, have now had another look at Autosport
The winged March 703 was Dave Morgan's, which looks all white (or a very light shade of some other colour).
Also noted Alan Harvey's BT28 with front fins and a small rear wing.

[Cirrus]

Dave Morgan failed to start in the final, due to an oil leak. I think Alan Harvey is to the left of the shot, ahead of the Nemo, and next to a McNamara.

[2F-001]

I was only there on Grand Prix practice day (with my father) so only saw the heats. Dave Morgan did have his all-white March with fins and strut-mounted rear wing - and went well in the heat behind Dave Walker. I had to dig out some magazines to check my memories on this as he didn't appear to be on the grid in the pic that Stuart posted. Seems that he had an overnight engine swap and went out to line up with an little oil leak and was prevented from starting.

[llmaurice]

There is a good site which deals with the next stage of F3 (1600cc restricted) namely www.f3classic.co.uk which has some excellent photos ,results and write ups on the various Championships of the time . The site does in fact go up to the 2.0 series and also the classic f3 to 20001 when the Classic f3s went under the banner of www.classicf3.co.uk .
Reading RTHs thread dealing with the fact that that kind of close racing could return , it is in fact still here ,namely in FF ! I can't understand why these days the scribes promote the "new fangled" series such as the ill fated Zip and now the Formula BMW when the really close racing has NEVER gone . Just watch good old Formula Ford .
Its seems that because Motorsport and other up market rags don't stoop to cover the real grass roots series , the general motorsport followers also turn away from FF.
Spectators in the paddocks walk past Zetecs to look at some fully winged and slicked bastardised F3 Ralt etc with a fully programmed Vauxhall XE engine because they "perceive" it to be a "proper" racing car.
I feel it is such a shame that WE ,in general the followers of a great sport should be so manipulated that some of us even pay to watch one make saloon car series such as Seats and yet show no interest in one of the backbone series of British (sorry world , apart from French) Motorsport.
End of rant ,sorry !

[Nanni Dietrich]

So there are definitely THREE winged cars: Mike Beuttler's Brabham BT28 ( ) in first row, and TWO cars in the center, Ed Reeves and Peter Deal (?) March 703s.
The other front-winged cars are Alan Harvey (white BT28 on the left) and Chris Skeaping (dark Chevron on the right).

Reading the grid (thanks, Cirrus!), I think the first cars from left in the picture are: Keith Jupp, James Hunt, Freddy Kottulinsky, Gerry Birrell, Mike Beuttler, Dave Walker, Carlos Pace, Richard Scott, Sten Axelsson(?).
I have a doubt, if Gerry Birrell is the first car on the left because the dark helmet: Birrel had a dark-blue one...


The Lotus with a dark row behind Beuttler is Wilson Fitti who had a bad start...;)

[Twin Window]

Originally posted by Nanni Dietrich

I have a doubt, if Gerry Birrell is the first car on the left because the dark helmet: Birrel had a dark-blue one...

Nanni, Birrell is in the Brabham just behind Beuttler's left (as we look at it) rear wheel.

[MCS]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by llmaurice
[B]There is a good site which deals with the next stage of F3 (1600cc restricted) namely www.f3classic.co.uk which has some excellent photos ,results and write ups on the various Championships of the time . The site does in fact go up to the 2.0 series and also the classic f3 to 20001 when the Classic f3s went under the banner of www.classicf3.co.uk .


Thanks llmaurice.

Just spent about half an hour wandering around the linked site from your url (really must get a life again!). But seriously, thanks.

Did somebody allude to Saturday BBC Grandstand coverage of some of the races earlier in the thread? I can certainly remember some of those as being absolutely fantastic entertainment as a young lad - even in black and white!

MCS

[ian senior]

Aha. A thread that will grab my attention, without a doubt.

My first taste of serious motor racing, as opposed to Rufforth clubbies and Harewood hillclimb, was 1-litre F3 at Oulton Park - the British Empire Trophy in 1970. I knew roughly what to expect, but on nothing like a scale as to what I actually witnessed. For instance - a pack of buzzing F3 cars flat out down the hill towards Knicker Brook, running three abreast until the last minute, no-one prepared to give way, with the inevitable result - Bev Bond cartwheeling into a thankfully empty grandstand, whereupon the car fell to bits around him.

To add a human interest angle to all this, my 5-year old nephew said "will they send round a lorry to pick up all the bits?" - which is what actually happened. I also witnessed the sight of my brother in law, who was attending a motor race for the first time, turning an interesting shade of pale green. He gave up on motor racing after that.

Cadwell Park later in the year was equally spectacular. Cars jumping over the top of the Mountain and landing slightly askew, then taking Hall Bends flat (or at least that's what it looked like).....lovely stuff.

The BBC really grabbed hold of F3 that year, and it seemed to be on the telly every weekend. I managed to see most of it in colour, as I had a mate with a rich Dad who had forked out the price of a Rover 2000 for a colour set. A gang of us used to gather round his house cheering our favourite drivers on. There was an incredible anti-March bias, apart from the one driven by Dave Morgan, which I stoutly defended. If it wasn't a Lotus 69 , no-one was interested, such was our youthful chauvinism. And yes, I saw the Morgan/Hunt incident as it happened, thanks to the Beeb.

[ian senior]

Back to this thread, I'm afraid. A few questions that perhaps some of you can answer.

The first year of the formula, 1964, was dominated by a bloke called Stewart in a Cooper-BMC. I wonder why the BMC engine didn't make it through to the end of 1970. Was the Ford a better bet for development potential?

Brendan McInerney's Nemo - was this intended for production, or was it just a one-off? It never seemed to feature strongly in any races, so was it perhaps not a very good car? McInerney wasn't a bad driver (although not quite first rate), as he later proved in 1600cc F3. He could certainly talk a good race, if nothing else!

Did any Mallocks ever turn out in 1-litre F3? I remember the 1600cc cars, but nothing earlier.

Did Vixen, the F4 car manufacturer (if that's the word), do a car for F3? Something rattling around in the back of my mind about this.

[Andrew Kitson]

Ian, just had a scout through some of my pre-71 race programmes from '65 onwards.
All of the F3 races I looked at have no record of Mallocks or Vixens entered.
Not to say there weren't any - just not in the 50 odd programmes I looked at.
Amazing the amount of Brabhams at the time. Far outnumbered the various Lotus types.
One meeting has Van Lennep entered in a Daf! Don't remember that at all. Anyone?

[ian senior]

Originally posted by Andrew Kitson
Ian, just had a scout through some of my pre-71 race programmes from '65 onwards.
All of the F3 races I looked at have no record of Mallocks or Vixens entered.
Not to say there weren't any - just not in the 50 odd programmes I looked at.
Amazing the amount of Brabhams at the time. Far outnumbered the various Lotus types.
One meeting has Van Lennep entered in a Daf! Don't remember that at all. Anyone?

The Dafs were based, I think, on first an Alexis and then a Brabham chassis, although I seem to remember (perhaps incorrectly) that there was also a unique Daf chassis. Mike Beckwith also drove one - entered by the Chequred Flag in around 1967?

[Twin Window]

Yes! In the mid-sixties DAF hooked up with my former employer Alexis and developed an F3 car which was - if my understaning is correct on this - powered by a Ford engine and using the Variomatic transmission! More can be found here and although it's in Dutch, the photos are in English...

The Chequered Flag ran modified Brabhams, which also ran with the DAF transmission, for Gijs van Lennep and Mike Beckwith both of whom won races ith them. Robin Widdows raced one of them at Monaco in 1967 too. More information can be found on this site - and it's in English!

There's a more generic article by Mattijs Diepraam over on 8W covering the subject of CVT in racing.

Bugger! Sorry to have inadvertently repeated you, Ian!

[Cirrus]

Regarding the Nemo. I think that two were actually built (I don't have the Hodges book to hand), but there were problems developing the car mid-season. I thought the design had potential, and it was quite nicely made (Max Boxstrom, who designed it had a hand in many successful cars). There were plans for F2 and Atlantic versions as well.

Unfortunately, Race Cars International, who built the Nemo, found out that it was far easier to buy a known quantity than develop a car in isolation - a conclusion that many others have come to over the years.