HSCC HISTORIC FORMULA 2
Friday 10:52 - 11:10
RACE 2 Saturday 09:40 - 10:00 RACE 13 Sunday 11:00 - 11:20
For the third year in a row , the Historic Formula 2 grid comes to The Classic at Silverstone and will once more present a sensational sight and sound as these evocative racing cars of the 1970s race on the wonderful Grand Prix circuit .
This year ’ s HSCC Historic Formula 2 season has returned to greater normality after two years of cancellations and interruptions to overseas races thanks to the Covid pandemic . A wonderful influx of drivers from Europe will really add to this weekend ’ s grid .
By the end of the 1960s , Formula 2 had become a 1600cc category using production based engines . It was at a time when wings and slick tyres were starting to become the norm in single-seater racing and Formula 2 followed that trend .
For the 1972 season , both Formula 2 and Formula 3 moved to larger engines . While it ’ s younger brother Formula 3 went from onelitre engines to 1600cc , Formula 2 went from 1600cc to two litres . That ensured F2 cars remained the prime place for drivers heading for Formula 1 to really make their mark .
Through the middle 1970s Formula 2 racing was absolutely fantastic . A supremely competitive European Championship took in some of the most challenging tracks in Europe and a whole raft of hard charging racers strived to make their mark on the way to Formula 1 .
It was a time when March , Chevron , Surtees , Martini , Ralt and other manufacturers all built successful F2 cars and that legacy gives us what we have today as an historic category . Formula 2 continued right through until 1984 , when it was finally replaced by Formula 3000 . However , the Historic Formula 2 Championship takes cars only up to the end of 1978 , which was the dawn of the groundeffect era . In to the 1980s engines from Honda started to dominate and the historic category cuts off before those cars and engines became eligible .
So far , this year , the F2 cars have raced at Hockenheim in Germany , Paul Ricard in France , and Brands Hatch and Oulton Park in England .
Most if not all of these cars run in glorious period deliveries from the time when they were raced by drivers like James Hunt , Marc Surer , Keke Rosberg and Bruno Giacomelli . Indeed , the March that James Hunt raced back in 1972 when Lord Alexander Hesketh was guiding him towards Formula 1 will be on the grid this weekend in the capable hands of veteran racer Paul Bason , who has owned the ex-Hunt March 712 for more than 30 years .
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