1985 British Formula Three Championship
# 1985 British Formula Three Championship

The 1985 British Formula Three Championship was the 35th season of the British Formula Three Championship. Maurício Gugelmin took the BARC/BRDC Marlboro British Formula 3 Championship.

Formula Three witnessed three major changes in 1985; in an attempt to eliminate ground effects, flat-bottomed cars became mandatory; the cancellation of the FIA European Formula Three Championship; and the arrival of Reynard Motorsport, giving Ralt the real rival for the first time since March Engineering stop building F3 cars after the 1981 season. Using a revolutionary carbon-fibre monocoque, a first for F3, Reynard manufacturer cars at the same pace as Ralt, but Adrian Reynard had a knack of producing cars that won on their race debut. The Reynard 853 kept that record going, when Andy Wallace won the opening race of the season. With no European series, the national series across Europe were greatly strengthen, notably the British, French and Italian.

Reynard driver, Russell Spence led at the mid-season break with 55 pts., from Andy Wallace on 50, Maurício Gugelmin, the first Ralt on 41 and Tim Davies with another Reynard on 34.

Ralt drivers later took over: Gerrit van Kouwan won three races after the break and notched up 40 pts.; Dave Scott won twice, scoring 36 pts. Gugelmin’s Ralt was sorted by West Surrey Racing’s Dick Bennetts and with two races remaining, he held narrow two points lead in the title race on 66 pts., from both Spence and Wallace, tied on 64pts. All the momentum was with the man from Joinville, Brazil, and Gugelmin won both these easily to win the Championship.

## BARC/BRDC Marlboro British F3 Championship

Champion: Maurício Gugelmin

Runner Up: Andy Wallace

Class B Champion: Carlton Tingling

## Results

### Marlboro British Formula 3 Championship

| Date | Round | Circuit | Winning driver | Winning team | Winning car |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 03/03/85 | Rd.1 | Silverstone (National) | Andy Wallace | Swallow Racing | Reynard-Volkswagen 853 |
| 10/03/85 | Rd.2 | Thruxton | Russell Spence | PMC Warmastyle Racing | Reynard-Volkswagen 853 |
| 24/03/85 | Rd.3 | Silverstone | Russell Spence | PMC Warmastyle Racing | Reynard-Volkswagen 853 |
| 08/04/85 | Rd.4 | Thruxton | Russell Spence | PMC Warmastyle Racing | Reynard-Volkswagen 853 |
| 14/04/85 | Rd.5 | Donington Park | Andy Wallace | Swallow Racing | Reynard-Volkswagen 853 |
| 21/04/85 | Rd.6 | Zolder | Russell Spence | PMC Warmastyle Racing | Reynard-Volkswagen 853 |
| 06/05/85 | Rd.7 | Thruxton | Gary Evans | Murray Taylor Racing | Ralt-Volkswagen RT30 |
| 27/05/85 | Rd.8 | Thruxton | Andy Wallace | Swallow Racing | Reynard-Volkswagen 853 |
| 09/06/85 | Rd.9 | Silverstone | Maurício Gugelmin | West Surrey Racing | Ralt-Volkswagen RT30 |
| 23/06/85 | Rd.10 | Brand Hatch (Indy) | Ross Cheever | Valour Racing | Ralt-Volkswagen RT30 |
| 21/07/85 | Rd.11 | Silverstone | Gerrit van Kouwen | Pegasus Racing | Ralt-Volkswagen RT30 |
| 28/07/85 | Rd.12 | Donington Park | Dave Scott | Mint Engineering | Ralt-Volkswagen RT30 |
| 11/08/85 | Rd.13 | Snetterton | Gerrit van Kouwen | Pegasus Racing | Ralt-Volkswagen RT30 |
| 17/08/85 | Rd.14 | Oulton Park | Gerrit van Kouwen | Pegasus Racing | Ralt-Volkswagen RT30 |
| 26/08/85 | Rd.15 | Silvertone (National) | Dave Scott | Mint Engineering | Ralt-Volkswagen RT30 |
| 01/09/85 | Rd.16 | Spa-Francorchamps | Ross Cheever | Valour Racing | Ralt-Volkswagen RT30 |
| 15/09/95 | Rd.17 | Zandvoort | Maurício Gugelmin | West Surrey Racing | Ralt-Volkswagen RT30 |
| 13/10/85 | Rd.18 | Silverstone Circuit | Maurício Gugelmin | West Surrey Racing | Ralt-Volkswagen RT30 |

## Championship Tables

### Class A

| Place | Driver | Entrant | Total |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Maurício Gugelmin | West Surrey Racing | 84 |
| 2 | Andy Wallace | Swallow Racing | 76 |
| 3 | Russell Spence | PMC Warmastyle Racing | 64 |
| 4 | Dave Scott | Ruchard Dutton Racing Mint Engineering | 52 |
| 5 | Gerrit van Kouwan | Pegasus Racing | 46 |
| 6 | Tim Davies | Swallow Racing Richard Dutton Racing | 39 |
| 7 | Ross Cheever | Valour Racing | 28 |
| 8 | Gary Evans | Murray Taylor Racing | 26 |
| 9= | Harald Huysman | Eddie Jordan Racing | 10 |
| | Cathy Muller | David Price Racing | 10 |
| 11 | Andrew Gilbert-Scott | Chuck McCarthy Racing | 7 |
| 12 | Anthony Reid | Scan Sport Racing David Price Racing | 5 |
| 13 | Cor Euser | Team Magnum | 3 |
| 14 | Rob Wilson | Valour Racing CW Racing Tarry Racing | 2 |
| 15= | Dave Coyne | David Price Racing | 1 |
| | Keith Fine | Mike Rowe Racing Intersport Racing | 1 |

### Class B

| Place | Driver | Entrant | Total |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Carlton Tingling | Carlton Tingling | 71 |
| 2 | Giles Butterfield | Alan Docking Racing | 64 |
| 3 | Mark Goddard | Solar Racing | 63 |
| 4 | Ray Stover | Richard Dutton Racing | 45 |
| 5 | Mike Wright | Jupiter Racing | 37 |
| 6 | Steve Kempton | Worldwide Dryer Group | 35 |
| 7 | Richard Parsons | Solar Racing | 25 |
| 8 | Ross Hockenhull | Richard Dutton Racing | 23 |
| 9 | Godfrey Hall | Godfrey Hall | 17 |
| 10= | Hendrik ten Cate | Van Amersfoort Racing | 15 |
| | Sean Walker | Richard Dutton Racing | 15 |
| 12 | Bill Coombes | Shape Machine Motor Racing | 13 |
| 13 | Paul Stott | Richard Dutton Racing | 10 |
| 14= | Kevin James | H.A.R.T. | 5 |
| | Terry Pudwell | Jupiter Racing | 5 |
| 16= | Ronnie Grant | Ronnie Grant | 4 |
| | ”Anton Sobriquet” | Jupiter Racing CW Racing | 4 |
| 18= | Ian Khan | Mike Rowe Racing | 2 |
| | Rodolphe Koentges | Rodolphe Koentges | 2 |
| | James Tolerton | James Tolerton | 2 |
| 21st | Wayne Earnshaw | Solar Racing | 1 |
