1989 British Formula Three Championship

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1989 champion, David Brabham David Brabham 2012 (7321981998) (cropped).jpg
1989 champion, David Brabham

The 1989 British Formula Three season was the 39th season of the British Formula Three Championship, starting at Thruxton on 27 March and concluding there on 15 October after 16 races.

Contents

The title battle was largely fought between two sportscar racing stars of the future - West Surrey Racing's Allan McNish and Bowman Racing's David Brabham, both driving Ralt chassis. The former was initially declared champion at the end of the season as a result of Brabham being disqualified from his second-place finish the ninth round of the season at Silverstone and being penalised a further 18 points due to an irregularity with his Volkswagen engine. However, Brabham's points was reinstated following a court hearing in early 1990, giving him the title by a margin of 10 points over McNish. [1]

Other notable drivers in the field included future BTCC champions Rickard Rydell (who would contest the championship again two years later) and Alain Menu, and future Formula One stars Mika Häkkinen and Mika Salo, who would go on to be the title protagonists in 1990.

1989 proved a high-water mark for the series in terms of entry numbers, which regularly exceeded 40 cars. The result of this was the creation of qualifying heats at certain rounds in order to slim the field down prior to the main race. It was also the first year for the Neil Brown Engineering-tuned Mugen-Honda engine, used by McNish among others, which would power all but one British F3 champion from 1990 to 2006. Class B was won by Fernando Plata in a year-old VW-powered Ralt.

The scoring system was 9-6-4-3-2-1 points awarded to the first six classified finishers, with one extra point added to the driver who set the fastest lap of the race. All results counted to the final tally.

Race calendar and results

RoundCircuitDatePole PositionFastest LapWinning DriverWinning TeamClass B Winner
1 Thruxton 27 March Flag of Sweden.svg Rickard Rydell Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Alain Menu Flag of Sweden.svg Rickard Rydell Flag of Ireland.svg Eddie Jordan Racing Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Eddie Kimbell
2 Silverstone 9 April Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Alain Menu Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Bowman Racing Flag of New Zealand.svg Craig Simmiss
3 1 Brands Hatch 23 April Flag of Finland.svg Mika Häkkinen Flag of Finland.svg Mika Häkkinen Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Bowman Racing Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ken Bowes
4 Silverstone 1 May Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Steve Robertson Flag of Ireland.svg Derek Higgins Flag of Ireland.svg Derek Higgins Flag of the United Kingdom.svg West Surrey Racing Flag of Mexico.svg Fernando Plata
5 Brands Hatch 21 May Flag of Finland.svg Mika Häkkinen Flag of Germany.svg Otto Rensing Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Bowman Racing Flag of Mexico.svg Fernando Plata
6 Thruxton 29 May Flag of Ireland.svg Derek Higgins Flag of Ireland.svg Derek Higgins Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Allan McNish Flag of the United Kingdom.svg West Surrey Racing Flag of Mexico.svg Fernando Plata
7 Silverstone 4 June Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Allan McNish Flag of Sweden.svg Rickard Rydell Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Allan McNish Flag of the United Kingdom.svg West Surrey Racing Flag of Mexico.svg Fernando Plata
8 Donington Park 2 July Flag of Sweden.svg Rickard Rydell Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Allan McNish Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Allan McNish Flag of the United Kingdom.svg West Surrey Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Warwick Rooklyn
9 Silverstone 15 July Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Flag of Finland.svg Mika Häkkinen Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Allan McNish Flag of the United Kingdom.svg West Surrey Racing Flag of Mexico.svg Fernando Plata
10 1 Snetterton 6 August Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Paul Stewart Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Paul Stewart Racing Flag of Mexico.svg Fernando Plata
11 Oulton Park 13 August Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Bowman Racing Flag of Mexico.svg Fernando Plata
12 Silverstone 28 August Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Flag of Ireland.svg Derek Higgins Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Bowman Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Warwick Rooklyn
13 Brands Hatch 3 September Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Philippe Adams Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Allan McNish Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Philippe Adams Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Bowman Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Warwick Rooklyn
14 Donington Park 17 September Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Steve Robertson Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Steve Robertson Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Bowman Racing Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Scott Stringfellow
15 Silverstone 7 October Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Allan McNish Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Allan McNish Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Bowman Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Warwick Rooklyn
16 Thruxton 15 October Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Allan McNish Flag of Ireland.svg Derek Higgins Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Allan McNish Flag of the United Kingdom.svg West Surrey Racing Flag of Australia (converted).svg Warwick Rooklyn

^1 These races were shortened due to accidents.

Championship Standings

Class A

Pos.DriverTeamPoints
1 Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Bowman Racing 80
2 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Allan McNish West Surrey Racing 70
3 Flag of Ireland.svg Derek Higgins West Surrey Racing 46
4 Flag of Sweden.svg Rickard Rydell Eddie Jordan Racing 35
5 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Steve Robertson Bowman Racing 27
6 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Philippe Adams Bowman Racing 23
7 Flag of Finland.svg Mika Häkkinen Dragon Motorsport18
8 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Alain Menu Racefax Motorsport16
9 Flag of Germany.svg Otto Rensing Paul Stewart Racing 15
10 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Paul Stewart Paul Stewart Racing 13
11 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Alcorn Becsport12
12 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Gary Ayles Jack Brabham Racing 11
13 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jason Elliott Paul Stewart Racing
Swallow Racing
11
14 Flag of Finland.svg Mika Salo Alan Docking Racing 10
15 Flag of Sweden.svg Niclas SchönströmSwallow Racing9
16 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Gary WardRGS Motorsport6
17 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Julian WestwoodRacefax Motorsport5
18 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Paul Warwick Intersport3
19 Flag of Colombia.svg John Estupiñan Bowman Racing 3
20 Flag of Portugal.svg António SimõesDawson Auto Developments3

Class B

Pos.DriverTeamPoints
1 Flag of Mexico.svg Fernando Plata Bowman Racing 89
2 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Warwick Rooklyn Bowman Racing 68
3 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Scott StringfellowJim Lee Racing68
4 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Eddie KimbellPeter Lea Racing32
5 Flag of New Zealand.svg Craig SimmissCS Engineering27
6 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Stephen HepworthDriver25
7 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ken BowesHi-Tech Motor Sports Development24
8 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Chad WentzelHubbard Racing15
9 Flag of Brazil.svg Lindoro da SilvaSTART Racing
Hi-Tech Motor Sports Development
10
10 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dominic ChappellLong Ridge Racing10
11 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Charles Rickett Jim Lee Racing10
12 Flag of Hong Kong 1959.svg Darren ShawMacDonald Race Engineering7
13 Flag of Italy.svg Guido BasileTerropol Promotions6
14 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Paul Smith Tech-Speed Motorsport 5
15 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Gary ThomasCS Engineering4
16 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Rob MearsCram Motorsport4
17 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Chris NeedhamHi-Tech Motor Sport Developments3
18 Flag of Spain.svg Juan SerdaRoger Cowman Racing2
19 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alan TullochPeter Lea Racing1
20 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Chris PerkinsRoyal Air Force MSA1

References

  1. "Lunch with... David Brabham".