Formula F100

Category Light weight sports cars
Country  United Kingdom
Inaugural season 1970
Folded 1971
Constructors Nerus
Merlyn
Royale
Aldon
Elden
Engine suppliers Ford Kent
BMC
Tyre suppliers Firestone F100

The Formula F100 was a racing class in 1970 and 1971. The class was open to lightweight sports cars powered by a 1300cc Ford Kent engine.

History

The Formula F100 was launched by Geoff Clarke and the Motor Racing Stables racing school. Clarke also launched Formula Ford and thought that Formula F100 could be the sports car racing equivalent. The British press gave the F100 a far from warm welcome. The press feared the class would rival the popular Clubmans.[1] The first season was dominated by Ray Allen driving a Royale RP4. The car was first powered by a Ford Kent engine. But when Nick Cole became the faster driver in a BMC powered Nerus Silhouette, Allen quickly changed engines. Former Formula 1 driver Les Leston came out of retirement to race in the series. The 49-year-old Briton was competitive towards the end of the season. The season started slow with few car counts, but at the end of the season there were 12 cars on the grid. The 1971 season was dominated by Tom Pryce. The young talent won eight of the 20 races. The series' final race at Brands Hatch on December 27, 1971 proved to be a farce as only one driver made the grid. The class eventually folded and the very popular Clubmans class prevailed.

Cars

A Royale RP4 F100 during a historic race meeting at Mont Tremblant in 2010.

The lightweight sports cars were built by various manufacturers. The Royale RP4, Merlyn MK 16, Aldon F100 and the Nerus Silhouette are examples of Formula F100 cars. Cars were fitted with a 1.300cc Ford Kent Crossflow engine. The engine was derived of the Formula Ford 1600. Despite the 300cc smaller engine, the cars were only slightly slower than Formula Ford due to their superior aerodynamics. All cars were fitted with spec Hewland transmission and Firestone tyres.

CarModelNumber built
AldonF100[2]
Alexis192
DulonLD10
DRW95
EldenMK7[3]3
LandarR7
Mantis
MerlynMK 16
MilmorMK6
NerusSilhouette[4]2
Nike
RaffoJB100
RoyaleRP411

Champions

YearDriverCarEngine
1970United Kingdom Ray AllenRoyale RP4Ford Kent
BMC
1971United Kingdom Tom PryceRoyale RP4???

References

  1. ↑ "Motor Racing Year 1971". Archived from the original on 26 April 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  2. ↑ "Nerus Silhouette F100". Classicdriver.com. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "Model Information Sheet". Elden Racing Cars. Archived from the original on August 30, 2005. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  4. ↑ "Lot 399". Bonhams. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
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