1985 European Formula 3000 Championship

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The 1985 European Formula 3000 Championship was the inaugural season of the Formula 3000 category. The European Formula 3000 Championship replaced Formula Two as the official feeder series to Formula One. It was scheduled over 12 rounds and contested over 11 rounds. 14 different teams tried their luck with 33 different drivers and 7 different chassis. The series was won by the German Christian Danner driving for BS Automotive. [1]

Contents

Danner, who was laying second in the championship at the time, would graduate to Formula One when he made his Grand Prix debut for the German Zakspeed team at the 1985 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps on 15 September, a week before he won the final round of the F3000 championship at Donington Park to clinch the title from Mike Thackwell.

Danner had the dubious honour of being the first in a long line of Formula 3000 champions who would fail to make an impact on Formula One, despite the championship being seen as the highest level FIA single-seater championship behind Grand Prix racing. Only future champions Jean Alesi, Olivier Panis and Juan Pablo Montoya would actually go on to win a Formula One Grand Prix.

Portugal GP which drove 21st of April is first ever support series round of Formula 1 weekend.

Drivers and teams

TeamChassisEngineNo.DriversRounds
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ralt Racing Ltd Ralt RB20 Cosworth DFV 1 Flag of New Zealand.svg Mike Thackwell All
2 Flag of Denmark.svg John Nielsen All
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Équipe Oreca March 85B Cosworth DFV 3 Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Michel Ferté All
4 Flag of Austria.svg Pierre Chauvet 1, 4, 11
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Olivier Grouillard 2-3, 5-10
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Pascal Fabre 12
35 Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Alain Ferté 12
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives AGS JH20 Cosworth DFV 5 Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Philippe Streiff 1-3, 5-8, 10-12
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg BS Automotive March 85B Cosworth DFV 7 Flag of Sweden.svg Tomas Kaiser 1-5, 9-12
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Jean-Philippe Grand 6-7
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Philippe Alliot 8
8 Flag of Germany.svg Christian Danner All
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Onyx March 85B Cosworth DFV 9 Flag of Italy.svg Emanuele Pirro All
10 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Johnny Dumfries 1-5
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Mario Hytten 6-12
Flag of Italy.svg Sanremo Racing March 85B Cosworth DFV 13 Flag of Italy.svg Gabriele Tarquini All
14 Flag of Italy.svg Alessandro Santin 1-5, 9-12
Flag of Italy.svg Ivan Capelli 6
Flag of Italy.svg Aldo Bertuzzi 8
33 Flag of Italy.svg Roberto Del Castello 2-5
Flag of Italy.svg Guido Daccò 6-12
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lola Motorsport Lola T950 Cosworth DFV 15 Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Alain Ferté 1-5
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Johnny Dumfries 7-8
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Philippe Streiff 9
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Weaver 10-11
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Valentino Musetti 12
16 Flag of Italy.svg Fulvio Ballabio 12
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg PMC Motorsport Williams FW08C Cosworth DFV 17 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Thierry Tassin 1-2
18 Flag of Italy.svg Lamberto Leoni 1-2, 5-8
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Barron Racing Tyrrell 012 Cosworth DFV 19 Flag of Italy.svg Claudio Langes 1-2
20 Flag of Brazil.svg Roberto Moreno 1-3, 5
Flag of Spain.svg Adrián Campos 4
Flag of Italy.svg Corbari Italia Lola T950 Cosworth DFV 21 Flag of Argentina.svg Juan Manuel Fangio II 2-7
22 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Mario Hytten 1-5
March 85B21 Flag of Argentina.svg Juan Manuel Fangio II 8-9
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Max Busslinger10-11
Flag of Italy.svg Stefano Livio12
22 Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Alain Ferté 6-8
Flag of Italy.svg Lamberto Leoni 9-12
Flag of Sweden.svg Ekström Racing March 85B Cosworth DFV 23 Flag of the United States.svg Eric Lang2, 12
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Eddie Jordan Racing March 85B Cosworth DFV 25 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Thierry Tassin 3, 7-8, 10-12
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Roger Cowman Arrows A6 Cosworth DFV 26 Flag of Sweden.svg Slim Borgudd 2, 5, 7, 12
Flag of Italy.svg Genoa Racing March 85B Cosworth DFV 34 Flag of Italy.svg Ivan Capelli 5, 7-12
Sources: [2] [3]

Season review

RndTrackDateLapsDistanceTimeSpeedPole PositionFastest LapRace WinnerReport
1 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Silverstone 24 March44207.64 km1'07:41.01183.976 km/h Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Michel Ferté Flag of Denmark.svg John Nielsen Flag of New Zealand.svg Mike Thackwell Report
2 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Thruxton 7 April54204.768 km1'05:00.83188.912 km/h Flag of New Zealand.svg Mike Thackwell Flag of Germany.svg Christian Danner Flag of Italy.svg Emanuele Pirro Report
3 Flag of Portugal.svg Estoril 21 April47204.45 km1'12:44.424168.640 km/h Flag of New Zealand.svg Mike Thackwell Flag of New Zealand.svg Mike Thackwell Flag of Denmark.svg John Nielsen Report
4 Flag of Germany.svg Nürburgring 28 April Flag of New Zealand.svg Mike Thackwell Cancelled due to snow
5 Flag of Italy.svg Vallelunga 12 May65208.0 km1'15:14.83165.53 km/h Flag of New Zealand.svg Mike Thackwell Flag of Italy.svg Emanuele Pirro Flag of Italy.svg Emanuele Pirro Report
6 Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Pau 27 May72198.72 km1.30:28.63131.781 km/h Flag of Italy.svg Emanuele Pirro Flag of Germany.svg Christian Danner Flag of Germany.svg Christian Danner Report
7 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Spa-Francorchamps 2 June29201.521 km1'11:56.510167.852 km/h Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Michel Ferté Flag of New Zealand.svg Mike Thackwell Flag of New Zealand.svg Mike Thackwell Report
8 Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Dijon 30 June55209.0 km1'08:54.10181.998 km/h Flag of Denmark.svg John Nielsen Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Thierry Tassin Flag of Germany.svg Christian Danner Report
9 Flag of Italy.svg Pergusa-Enna 28 July40198.0 km1'01:58.99191,664 km/h Flag of New Zealand.svg Mike Thackwell Flag of Germany.svg Christian Danner Flag of New Zealand.svg Mike Thackwell Report
10 Flag of Austria.svg Österreichring 17 August31184.202 km0'53:56.114204.915 km/h Flag of Germany.svg Christian Danner Flag of New Zealand.svg Mike Thackwell Flag of Italy.svg Ivan Capelli Report
11 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Zandvoort 24 August48204.096 km1'15:19.023162.589 km/h Flag of Germany.svg Christian Danner Flag of Germany.svg Christian Danner Flag of Germany.svg Christian Danner Report
12 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Donington Park 22 September40160.920 km0'59:17.83160.954 km/h Flag of New Zealand.svg Mike Thackwell Flag of Italy.svg Ivan Capelli Flag of Germany.svg Christian Danner Report
NC Flag of the Netherlands Antilles (1959-1986).svg Curaçao 13 October58205.900 km1:41:29.572 Flag of New Zealand.svg Mike Thackwell Flag of Denmark.svg John Nielsen Flag of Denmark.svg John Nielsen Report
Source: [4]

Round 1: Silverstone, United Kingdom

At the start, the track was wet, and Emanuele Pirro took the lead from the second row, with pole sitter Michel Ferté dropping through the field. Alessandro Santin went off and out of the race at the first corner. At Maggots, Mike Thackwell took the lead from Pirro, and began to pull out a lead. By the end of the first lap, Christian Danner was up to second from sixth on the grid, with Ferté back into third place already. Pirro had fallen back to fourth, and Roberto Moreno was in fifth. At the Woodcote Chicane, Ferté got back past Danner into second place. Gabriele Tarquini spun exiting the Woodcote Chicane, but was miraculously avoided by everyone, and continued. On the drying track, Johnny Dumfries crashed, and Ferté took the lead back from Thackwell at the Woodcote Chicane. Not long after this, the heavens opened again, and Thackwell got back past Ferté while they both lapped Pirro. Moreno spun at the Woodcote Chicane, but quickly got back going again. Ferté also spun at the chicane, and badly damaged the front end of his car. John Nielsen got past Ferté's damaged car before Thackwell took his third Silverstone International Trophy victory, 32 seconds ahead of second placed Nielsen. Ferté finished third, Danner finished a lap down in fourth, and Tarquini and Moreno finished fifth and sixth respectively, despite them both spinning.

Round 2: Thruxton, United Kingdom

Gabriele Tarquini got the best start, going from fifth to first in one corner, but while going past Mike Thackwell, he clipped the front nose of the New Zealander's car, causing it to bend. Going into Campbell, Roberto Moreno slid off the track and out of the race. Johnny Dumfries harmlessly spun off at the next corner, Cobb, and he quickly rejoined the race. Michel Ferté took the lead from Thackwell into the Club Chicane, with Tomas Kaiser passing him on the pit straight afterwards. Thackwell pitted for a new front nosecone, and soon after, his teammate, John Nielsen pitted for a new nosecone himself. Ferté, who had started on wet tires, pitted for dry tires, as the track was almost completely dry. Kaiser then held a brief lead, before being overtaken by Emanuele Pirro. Then Thackwell, who had recovered most of the time he lost in the pit stop, overtook Ferté into Church. On the last lap, the back markers of Tarquini and Eric Lang were all that separated Pirro and Thackwell, but Lang had handling issues and slowed Thackwell down. After being overtaken, Lang promptly spun. Thackwell couldn't make up the lost time, and finished second to Pirro. Ferté finished third again, and Kaiser, Tarquini and Danner made up the rest of the points scorers.

Round 3: Estoril, Portugal

For the first time, Formula 3000 supported a round of Formula One. At the start, Thackwell got a good start, and Pirro nearly spun on the grass while trying to make up positions from tenth. After pulling out a big lead, Thackwell slowed because of electrical problems, leaving his teammate Nielsen to inherit the lead. Ferté and Tarquini fought for second place, while Nielsen pulled out a large lead. Pirro took fourth place from Moreno, and Nielsen took victory, with Ferté beating out Tarquini for second, with Pirro in fourth, Moreno in fifth, and Olivier Grouillard in sixth, taking his first point of the year.

Nurburgring, Germany

Round 4 was planned to take place at the still new Nurburgring GP Track, but heavy snow halted racing, and teams, fans, and drivers had to pack up and head to the next race.

Round 4: Vallelunga, Italy

At the start, Ferté took the lead from pole sitter Thackwell, with his teammate Nielsen up into third, and local hero Pirro settling into fourth. The front four stuck together like glue for most of the race, with Ferté keeping the door firmly shut to Thackwell. Nielsen overtook his teammate for second, but seemingly couldn't do anything about the Frenchman either. A collision between Ivan Capelli and Lamberto Leoni that launched Capelli into the air and heavily damaged his car, and damaged Leoni's rear wing. Pirro overtook Thackwell for third place, before quickly overtaking Nielsen for second. Then, while overtaking a back marker, Pirro made his move on Ferté, going three wide to make the overtake. Thackwell crashed out of the race when he had to avoid his teammate when he made a mistake. Ferté suffered an electrical fault that ended his race. Pirro won at his home race, with Nielsen second, Danner third, Grouillard in fourth, Philippe Streiff in fifth, and Dumfries sixth.

Round 5: Pau, France

Ferté overtook Thackwell for second at the start, while Pirro held onto the lead. Nielsen was fourth and Alain Ferté, older brother of Michel, dropped from third to fifth. Michel Ferté spun, and he took Thackwell out with him, sidelining the New Zealander. Ferté continued further down the field. Nielsen also went out of the race, and Danner in third was chasing down second placed Alain. Pirro started to slow because of overheating while Danner took second place. Danner made quick work of the Italian, and took the lead of the race. Alain Ferté retired with gearbox issues, while Danner held on to win the race, with Pirro holding onto second. Leoni was third, Grouillard fourth, Streiff in fifth, and Juan Manuel Fangio II in sixth, albeit 21 laps down.

Round 6: Spa-Francorchamps

The track at Spa-Francorchamps had been recently shortened from the 14 kilometer, mostly flat out original layout, to the shorter 7 kilometer version. The track had also been resurfaced, and it was very slippery. The two Ferté brothers were 1-2 at the start, with Michel ahead of Alain, and Pirro was in third place. Belgian Thierry Tassin was quickly up to sixth at his home race, passing Danner along the way. Streiff and Pirro fought hard over third and fourth, both ended up pushing too hard and retired with damaged cars. Michel Ferté was next to make a mistake, damaging his car too badly to continue. Tassan was next, being forced to retire from third. Alain Ferté was the most fortunate, as he spun and clipped the barrier, but was able to continue, even if he lost the lead to Thackwell. Nielsen took second from Alain, but nearly spun after. It wasn't too long until Nielsen's engine gave up on him, and Alain inherited second again. Thackwell won by 50 seconds to Alain, with Danner taking the final podium spot. Tarquini was fourth, Guido Daccò was fifth, and Fangio II finished sixth.

Championship standings

Scoring system

Points are awarded to the top 6 classified finishers. [5]

Position 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th 
Points964321

Final point standings

PosDriver SIL
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
THR
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
EST
Flag of Portugal.svg
NÜR
Flag of Germany.svg
VLL
Flag of Italy.svg
PAU
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg
SPA
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg
DIJ
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg
PER
Flag of Italy.svg
ÖST
Flag of Austria.svg
ZAN
Flag of the Netherlands.svg
DON
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
Pts
1 Flag of Germany.svg Christian Danner 469C31313161151
2 Flag of New Zealand.svg Mike Thackwell 12NCCRetRet12192Ret45
3 Flag of Italy.svg Emanuele Pirro 714C12RetRet245Ret38
4 Flag of Denmark.svg John Nielsen 2NC1C2RetRet3Ret241334
5 Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Michel Ferté 332CRetRetRet8RetRetRet417
6 Flag of Italy.svg Gabriele Tarquini 553CRetDNS413413RetRet14
7 Flag of Italy.svg Ivan Capelli RetDNSRetRetRet1DNS313
8 Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Philippe Streiff RetRet1055Ret9Ret53512
9 Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Alain Ferté 8127CRetRet24610
10 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Mario Hytten 910RetCRetRetRet12510Ret28
11 Flag of Italy.svg Lamberto Leoni NC16Ret3Ret15Ret311118
12 Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Olivier Grouillard 8644Ret7887
13 Flag of Italy.svg Guido Daccò DNS55612676
14 Flag of Sweden.svg Tomas Kaiser 104DSQC8Ret11983
15 Flag of Brazil.svg Roberto Moreno 6Ret593
16 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Johnny Dumfries Ret7RetC6Ret101
17 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Thierry Tassin NC13RetRetRet68Ret1
18 Flag of Argentina.svg Juan Manuel Fangio II Ret11CRetRet614Ret1
19 Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Philippe Alliot 61
20 Flag of Italy.svg Alessandro Santin Ret9RetCRet77790
21 Flag of Italy.svg Roberto Del Castello 148C70
22 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Weaver 14100
23 Flag of Sweden.svg Slim Borgudd DNQ10RetRet0
24 Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Pascal Fabre 100
25 Flag of the United States.svg Eric Lang11120
26 Flag of Italy.svg Aldo Bertuzzi 110
27 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Max Busslinger15120
28 Flag of Italy.svg Fulvio Ballabio 140
29 Flag of Italy.svg Claudio Langes Ret150
30 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Val Musetti 150
31 Flag of Italy.svg Stefano Livio160
Flag of Austria.svg Pierre Chauvet DNSCRet
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Jean-Philippe Grand DNSRet
Flag of Spain.svg Adrián Campos C
PosDriver SIL
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
THR
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
EST
Flag of Portugal.svg
NÜR
Flag of Germany.svg
VAL
Flag of Italy.svg
PAU
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg
SPA
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg
DIJ
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg
PER
Flag of Italy.svg
ÖST
Flag of Austria.svg
ZAN
Flag of the Netherlands.svg
DON
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
Pts
Sources: [6] [7] [8]
ColourResult
GoldWinner
SilverSecond place
BronzeThird place
GreenPoints classification
BlueNon-points classification
Non-classified finish (NC)
PurpleRetired, not classified (Ret)
RedDid not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
BlankDid not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

Notes

References

  1. "1985 Formula 30000 season". F3000 results. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  2. "FIA Formula 3000 Int. Championship - 1985: Entrylist". Speedsport Magazine. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  3. "F3000 International Championship Entry List 1985". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  4. "F3000 International Championship Results 1985". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  5. "FIA Formula 3000 Int. Championship - Season 1985: Points standings". Speedsport Magazine. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  6. "F3000 International Championship Standings 1985". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  7. "FIA Formula 3000 Int. Championship - Season 1985: Results". Speedsport Magazine. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  8. "1985 FIA European 3000 Championship". Motor Sport . Retrieved 30 December 2023.