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37-578: Although better known for their successful efforts in Formula Three , Formula Renault and other lower formulae during the 1970s and 1980s, they are also known for having taken part in nine rounds of the 1978 Formula One season with the single MK23 chassis, giving René Arnoux (later a driver for Renault and Ferrari ) his debut in Formula One . Future four time World Drivers' Champion Alain Prost also used

74-591: A Renault powered Martini to win the 1978 and 1979 French Formula Three Championship while driving for French team Oreca . With Reynard , Ralt and Dallara crowding out the F3 market in the late 1980s, Martini reduced their customer program, keeping a stubborn presence in the French F3 championship during the 1990s, until Tico Martini finally sold the company to Guy Ligier in 2004. ( key ) (results in bold indicate pole position) This Formula One –related article

111-713: A cheap point of entry for lesser funded teams and drivers. Formula Three cars are monocoque chassis , using slick racing tyres and wings . Currently, Dallara manufactures the overwhelming majority of F3 cars, though Mygale , Lola (formerly in partnership with Dome of Japan), Arttech , and SLC also have a limited output. In many smaller or amateur F3 racing series older cars are frequently seen. Usually these series are divided into two or more classes, to allow more participation. Engines in FIA Formula 3 are all 3.4- litre , 6-cylinder naturally aspirated spec engines. Engines in others Formula 3 series must be built from

148-433: A further 12 podium finishes out of 44 races and took the title for a second consecutive season. In 1954, Parker acquired one of the last Kieft chassis and continued to develop it to his own specification. His closest rival was Les Leston in a Cooper Mk VIII (a much newer design) and the title was only decided after the addition of a Boxing Day race at Brands Hatch , where Leston finished one place ahead of Parker and took

185-502: A motor race until he was 40 years of age. In the late 1940s, Parker was running a small engineering firm in South London and inherited a 500 cc (31 cu in) racing car from an adjacent company. He adapted this to better suit his own slight build and it made a winning debut at Brough in April 1949. He took three other podium finishes that year and set fastest time in his class at

222-434: A new set of younger drivers. He won again at Snetterton, took two wins at Brands Hatch and further wins at Oulton Park and Crystal Palace . Several other podium finishes yielded his third Formula Three title. He retired shortly after the season ended. Parker received offers from Lotus and Lister to race in other categories but declined them as he lacked confidence in his own abilities. He also occasionally competed in

259-713: A production model block ( stock block ), and often must be sealed by race or series organizers, so no private tuning can be carried out. Honda engines (prepared by Mugen ) have perennially been popular, as have engines produced by Volkswagen , Alfa Romeo , or Renault . Currently the HWA-tuned Mercedes and the Volkswagen engines dominate the British and European series, with Mugen, TOM'S – Toyota , Opel , and Fiat being used by some teams. Complete regulations: "fia.com" (PDF) .   (1213  kiB ) Until

296-439: A restricted air intake were introduced. The 1971–73 seasons were contested with these cars, as aerodynamics started to become important. Two-litre engine rules were introduced for 1974, still with restricted air intakes. Today engine regulations remain basically unchanged in F3, a remarkable case of stability in racing regulations. As the likes of Lotus and Brabham faded from F3 to concentrate on Formula One, F3 constructors of

333-403: A statistical point of view, Parker was the most successful F3 driver. Although coming to motor racing late in life (at age 41 in 1949), he won a total of 126 F3 races altogether, and was described by Motor Sport magazine (in his 1998 obituary) as "the most successful Formula 3 driver in history". Although Stirling Moss was already a star by 1953, Parker beat him more than any other driver, and

370-650: A successful one for Parker with a total of 22 wins and the Autosport Formula Three championship, together with the Light Car Challenge and Veterans Trophy. At the British Grand Prix support race he was denied victory over Moss only by a last lap primary-chain breakage. 1953 was also a successful season for Parker. Continuing to develop the Kieft chassis to his own specification, he achieved 30 wins and

407-449: A three-year life-cycle, with only minor annual updates. It was agreed however to extend the life-cycle of the current F308 to four years to assist teams; this chassis however, has been replaced in 2012 with the new F312 chassis, intended to be run until 2017. Most F3 championships, most notably the British series, offer a secondary class for cars from the previous life-cycle in order to provide

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444-824: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Formula Three Formula Three , also called Formula 3 , abbreviated as F3 , is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing . The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula Three (adopted by the FIA in 1950) evolved from postwar auto racing , with lightweight tube-frame chassis powered by 500 cc motorcycle engines (notably Nortons and JAP speedway). The 500 cc formula originally evolved in 1946 from low-cost "special" racing organised by enthusiasts in Bristol , England, just before

481-519: Is known for major non-championship races typically including entries from the national series, the best-known of which is the FIA Formula 3 World Cup (previously known as FIA Formula 3 Intercontinental Cup) at Macau . The first Formula Three Grand Prix of Macau was held in 1983 and won by Ayrton Senna . Michael Schumacher , David Coulthard , Ralf Schumacher , and Takuma Sato have also won there. The Formula Three Grand Prix of Macau traditionally marks

518-587: The Brighton Speed Trials . The next season (1950), 500cc racing became recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) as Formula Three . Parker drove his JAP -engined "special" in competition to the Norton -equipped works and privateer Coopers . In theory, his home-produced car should not have been competitive but he still managed 10 wins during the season and third place in

555-566: The British Saloon Car Championship using the cars he used to tow his Formula Three racers. Despite them being road cars and un-modified, he still achieved race wins. Parker's childhood was unconventional in that his education was often interrupted by calls to assist in his father's horse-trading business and he left home at the age of 12, eventually finding his way into the engineering industry. Parker met his second wife Dora (some sources say Dory) at Goodwood in 1951, when she

592-558: The Monaco Grand Prix Formula Three support race . 1951 was the inaugural season for the British Formula Three Championship and Parker acquired a James Bottoms Special (JBS) chassis and was provided with works JAP engines. However, James Bottoms' son Alf was killed at the 1951 Luxembourg Grand Prix and the factory lost its impetus thereafter. Despite this, Parker achieved 12 wins in the season and

629-616: The Second World War ; British motorsport after the war picked up slowly, partly due to petrol rationing which continued for a number of years and home-built 500 cc cars engines were intended to be accessible to the "impecunious enthusiast". The second post-war motor race in Britain was organised by the VSCC in July 1947 at RAF Gransden Lodge, 500cc cars being the only post-war class to run that day. Three of

666-433: The 1970s included Alpine , Lola , March, Modus , GRD , Ralt , and Ensign . By the start of the 1980s however, Formula Three had evolved well beyond its humble beginnings to something closely resembling the modern formula. It was seen as the main training ground for future Formula One drivers, many of them bypassing Formula Two to go straight into Grand Prix racing. The chassis became increasingly sophisticated, mirroring

703-493: The British Formula 3 championship. Perhaps the most curious of all was the small All-Japan Formula Three Championship . Although few drivers spent a significant amount of time there, future stars such as Ralf Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve scored victories there. An Asian series was established in 2001 and grew to produce past A1 drivers for Indonesia and Australia. In addition to the many national series, Formula Three

740-656: The end of the Formula Three season, with drivers from almost every national series participating. Other major races include the Pau Grand Prix (from 1999 to 2006), the Masters of Formula 3 (traditionally held at Zandvoort ), and the Korea Super Prix at Changwon . These events give fans in locations not visited by other major series a way to experience major international racing. The Monaco F3 Grand Prix held until 1997

777-543: The income this generated enabled the company to develop into the senior categories. Other notable marques included Kieft , JBS and Emeryson in England, and Effyh, Monopoletta and Scampolo in Europe. John Cooper, along with most other 500 builders, decided to place the engine in the middle of the car, driving the rear wheels. This was mostly due to the practical limitations imposed by chain drive but it gave these cars exceptionally good handling characteristics which eventually led to

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814-559: The launch of the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2019, there has never been a World Championship for Formula Three. In the 1970s and into the 1980s the European Formula Three Championship and British Formula 3 Championship (once one series had emerged from the competing British series in the 1970s) were the most prominent, with a number of future Formula One champions coming from them. France, Germany, and Italy also had important Formula Three series, but interest in these

851-448: The mid-1980s and the national series became correspondingly more important. For 2003, French and German F3 , both suffering from a lack of competitive entrants, merged to recreate the Formula 3 Euro Series . Brazil's SudAm Formula Three Championship , which now has the most powerful engine of all Formula Three series, was known for producing excellent drivers who polished their skills in

888-458: The mid-1980s replacing traditional aluminium or steel monocoque structures. Dallara however, after an unsuccessful Formula One project, focussed their attention on the formula in the early nineties and obliterated all the other marques with their F393. Within a couple of years, the chassis was considered a prerequisite to competitiveness, and today Dallara chassis are ubiquitous to the formula. In order to keep costs down, their chassis have had

925-418: The mid-engined revolution in single-seater racing. The 500cc formula was the usual route into motor racing through the early and mid-1950s (and stars like Stirling Moss continued to enter selected F3 events even during their GP careers). Other notable 500 cc Formula 3 drivers include Stuart Lewis-Evans , Ivor Bueb , Jim Russell , Peter Collins , Don Parker , Ken Tyrrell , and Bernie Ecclestone . From

962-498: The more senior formulae – ground effects were briefly used in the early 1980s but were banned, in line with other FIA single-seater formulae; carbon fibre chassis started to be introduced from the mid-1980s. Historically, March (up to 1981), Ralt (up to the early 1990s) and Reynard (1985–1992) had been the main chassis manufacturers in two-litre F3, with Martini fairly strong in France; Reynard pioneered use of carbon fibre in

999-422: The seven entrants were non-starters, and, of the four runners, all but one retired on the first lap, leaving Eric Brandon in his Cooper Prototype (T2) trailing round to a virtual walk-over at an average speed of 55.79 mph (89.79 km/h), though his best lap (which was the fastest recorded for any 500) was 65.38 mph (105.22 km/h). Cooper came to dominate the formula with mass-produced cars, and

1036-477: The title by half-a-point. At the beginning of 1955, Parker took over the maintenance and development of all the Kieft Formula Three cars. However, although Moss had by then moved on to other categories, Cooper, with their new Mk IX design, had a strong driver line-up including Jim Russell , Ivor Bueb , Cliff Allison and Stuart Lewis-Evans . Parker still took ten wins but it was not enough to keep him in

1073-513: The title race which was won by Russell. Parker began 1956 with the Kieft chassis and took a win at Brough in March. However, by mid-season he'd made the change to a Cooper-Norton but without any greater success, only two further wins followed and the title was won by Russell. There was little improvement in 1957 when Russell again took the title. Parker achieved several podium finishes but only one win. 1958 began with an early win at Snetterton which

1110-489: Was Formula 3 Champion in 1952, again in 1953, and in 1954 he only lost the title by a half-point. He took the title for a third time in 1959. 500cc Formula Three declined at an international level during the late 1950s, although it continued at a national level into the early 60s, being eclipsed by Formula Junior for 1000 or 1100 cc cars (on a sliding scale of weights). A one-litre Formula Three category for four-cylinder carburetted cars, with heavily tuned production engines,

1147-537: Was also a famous special race. It was restored in 2005 only, as a part of the F3 Euro Series. Don Parker (racing driver) Don Parker (11 November 1908 – 20 May 1997) was a British racing driver from England who was British Formula Three Champion on three occasions (1952, 1953 and 1959). He also competed in the British Saloon Car Championship . Parker was born in Ramsgate , Kent , UK and did not see

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1184-456: Was classified fourth in the championship standings. In May he tested the works Kieft chassis and his times equalled those of Stirling Moss . In 1952, Parker began an important long-term racing partnership with Cyril Kieft , who had left the British steel industry upon its nationalisation. He turned to motorsport and set out to build a 'state-of-the-art' Formula Three car, the Kieft CK1. Moss

1221-523: Was followed by several podium finishes and late-season wins at Snetterton again and Brands Hatch. It was an improvement over the previous seasons but not the dominance of the title-winning years. Parker, however, was nearing the end of his career and was almost 50 years of age. The championship was won by Trevor Taylor . 1959 would be Parker's last full season as a racing driver. A number of his rivals from previous series had moved to other categories but his experience enabled him to compete effectively against

1258-452: Was originally subsidiary to national formulae – Formula Renault in France and Formula Super Vee in Germany. These nations eventually drifted towards Formula Three. The Italian series tended to attract older drivers who moved straight across from karting whereas in other nations drivers typically graduated to F3 after a couple of years in minor categories. The European series died out in

1295-790: Was reintroduced in 1964 based on the Formula Junior rules and ran to 1970. These engines (a short-stroke unit based on the Ford Anglia with a special 2- valve Cosworth or Holbay OHV down-draught head , initially pioneered by Brian Hart, being by far the most efficient and popular) tended to rev very highly and were popularly known as "screamers"; F3 races tended to involve large packs of slipstreaming cars. The "screamer" years were dominated by Brabham , Lotus and Tecno , with March beginning in 1970. Early one-litre F3 chassis tended to descend from Formula Junior designs but quickly evolved. For 1971 new regulations allowing 1600 cc engines with

1332-403: Was still in her teens. Despite the age difference, they married when she became 21 and remained together until Parker's death. They had one daughter. In 1959, whilst still an active driver, Parker began to manufacture trailers which were used by multiple teams in subsequent seasons. Don Parker died on 20 May 1997, aged 88, after a short illness. ( key ) † Events with 2 races staged for

1369-457: Was the designated driver but could not compete in every event due to commitments elsewhere. Kieft, therefore, turned to Parker and as a director of Norton was able to arrange engine supply. Parker adapted the parts supplied by Kieft to suit him better, his car could be considered a Parker Special due to the changes, and the cars built by him and team mechanic Ray Martin (for Moss) were said to be superior to customer chassis. The season proved

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