Formula Pacific was a motor racing category which was used in the

Pacific Basin The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

area from 1977 to 1982. It specified a single-seat, open-wheeler chassis powered by a production-based four-cylinder engine of under 1600cc capacity. The formula was based on

Formula Atlantic Formula Atlantic is a specification of open-wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing through Sports Car Club o ...

, with provision made for the use of Japanese engines. The category was superseded in 1983 by

Formula Mondial Formula Mondial was an international motor racing category which was introduced to replace both Formula Atlantic and the similar Formula Pacific''The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring'', 1986, page 171 in 1983.''Australian Motor Racing Yearbook, 1982 ...

, which was devised by the

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backst ...

to replace both Formula Atlantic and Formula Pacific.

Introduction

The Formula Pacific category was created at a meeting of representatives from Pacific Basin countries (

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

) in 1976.Graham Howard, A backward look at Formula Pacific, 1982 Australian Grand Prix Program, page 51 The formula was based on

, with provision made for the use of Japanese engines. The first races to be held under the new formula were staged in New Zealand in January 1977.

New Zealand

New Zealand staged its first Formula Pacific races in January 1977 having abandoned

Formula 5000 Formula 5000 (or F5000) was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars tha ...

and moved to the new formula in that year. The category continued there until Formula Mondial was introduced in 1983.

Australia

Formula Pacific was adopted as part of Australian Formula 1 alongside the 5-litre

class in 1979 and it became the sole component of Australian Formula 1 in 1982.

was adopted as the new Australian Formula 1 in 1983 however cars complying with Formula Pacific would continue to compete alongside the new cars until the end of that year.

Japan

The Japan Automobile Federation ran a Formula Pacific championship from 1978 to 1982.

Macau

The

Macau Grand Prix The Macau Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prémio de Macau; ) is a motorsport road race for automobiles and motorcycles held annually in Macau. It is the only street circuit racing event in which both cars and motorcycles participate, and one of onl ...

used Formula Pacific regulations from 1977 until

Formula 3 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 driv ...

rules were adopted for the 1983 event. Winners of the race include eventual F1 drivers

Riccardo Patrese Riccardo Gabriele Patrese (born 17 April 1954) is an Italian former racing driver, who raced in Formula One from to . He became the first Formula One driver to achieve 200 Grand Prix starts when he appeared at the 1990 British Grand Prix, an ...

and

Roberto Moreno Roberto Pupo Moreno (born 11 February 1959), usually known as Roberto Moreno and also as Pupo Moreno, is a Brazilian former auto racing, racing driver. He participated in 75 Formula One Grands Prix, achieved 1 podium, and scored a total of 15 c ...

List of Formula Pacific series winners

% : The 1976 series was open to

cars.Lawrence's Rothmans title, Autosport, 6 January 1977, page 5 + : From 1983 to 1986 the

Australian Drivers' Championship The Australian Drivers' Championship was a motor racing championship contested annually from 1957 to 2014 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor ...

was contested by cars complying with

regulations.

References

{{Class of Auto racing Formula racing Motorsport categories in Australia