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 The Ford Kent is an internal combustion engine from Ford of Europe. Originally developed in 1959 for the Ford Anglia, it is an in-line four-cylinder pushrod engine with a cast-iron cylinder head and block. The Kent family can be divided into th ...

or 1300cc BMC engine).

History

The Formula F100 was launched by Geoff Clarke and the Motor Racing Stables racing school. Clarke also launched

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...

and thought that Formula F100 could be the

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is ...

equivalent. The British press gave the F100 a far from warm welcome. The press feared the class would rival the popular

Clubmans The Clubman is a class of prototype front-engined sports racing cars that originated in Britain in 1965 as a low-cost formula for open-top, front-engined roadgoing sports cars like the Lotus 7, which had been crowded out of the mainstream by r ...

. The first season was dominated by

Ray Allen Walter Ray Allen Jr. (born July 20, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in ...

driving a Royale RP4. The car was first powered by a

. But when

Nick Cole Nicholas Darnell Cole (born July 28, 1984) is a former American football guard and center. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at New Mexico State. College career Cole played c ...

became the faster driver in a BMC powered Nerus Silhouette, Allen quickly changed engines. Former Formula 1 driver

Les Leston Alfred Lazarus Fingleston (16 December 1920 – 13 May 2012), better known as Les Leston, or in full Leslie Leston, was a British racing driver, born in Bulwell, Nottinghamshire. Early life In his early life Leston was a successful drummer f ...

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 Thomas Maldwyn Pryce (11 June 1949 – 5 March 1977) was a British racing driver from Wales known for winning the Brands Hatch Race of Champions, a non-championship Formula One race, in 1975 and for the circumstances surrounding his death ...

. The young talent won eight of the 20 races. The series' final race at

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...

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

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 The Ford Kent is an internal combustion engine from Ford of Europe. Originally developed in 1959 for the Ford Anglia, it is an straight-4, in-line four-cylinder pushrod engine with a cast-iron cylinder head and block. The Kent family can be divi ...

Crossflow engine. The engine was derived of the

Formula Ford 1600 Formula Ford 1600 is a number of championships which cater to 1600cc, Ford Kent powered Formula Ford racing cars. These are cars that were disbanded when the UK national Formula Ford category adopted the 1800cc Zetec engine in 1993. However, it ...

. 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 Hewland is a British engineering company, founded in 1957 by Mike Hewland, which specialises in racing-car gearboxes. Hewland currently employ 130 people at their Maidenhead facility and have diversified into a variety of markets being particul ...

transmission and Firestone tyres.

Champions

References

{{reflist Formula racing Formula racing series Sports car racing series Recurring sporting events established in 1970 Auto racing series in the United Kingdom