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

CategoryLight weight sports cars
Country United Kingdom
Inaugural season1970
Folded1971
ConstructorsNerus
Merlyn
Royale
Aldon
Elden
Engine suppliersFord Kent
BMC
Tyre suppliersFirestone F100

History

edit

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, fearing that 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

edit
 
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.

Car Model Number built
Aldon F100[2]
Alexis 19 2
Dulon LD10
DRW 95
Elden MK7[3] 3
Landar R7
Mantis
Merlyn MK 16
Milmor MK6
Nerus Silhouette[4] 2
Nike
Raffo JB100
Royale RP4 11

Champions

edit
Year Driver Car Engine
1970   Ray Allen Royale RP4 Ford Kent
BMC
1971   Tom Pryce Royale RP4 ???

References

edit
  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.