1990 British Formula Three Championship

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The 1990 British Formula Three season was the 40th season of the British Formula Three Championship, starting on 1 April at Donington Park and ending on 7 October at Silverstone following 17 races.

The season was notable for its domination by future Formula One champion Mika Häkkinen and fellow Finn and future F1 driver Mika Salo; both drove Mugen-Honda-powered Ralt chassis, prepared by West Surrey Racing and Alan Docking Racing respectively. Häkkinen started the year strongly with three wins from the first four races, but Salo responded with four victories in the next six events to establish an 11-point advantage over his rival. The 11th round of the series at Snetterton proved a turning point, however, as Salo spun out while leading, allowing Häkkinen to begin a sequence of six wins from the final seven rounds which would allow him to seal the title with two rounds to spare.

Häkkinen's reward would be a deal to race with the Lotus F1 team in 1991, although Salo's career momentum was ruined by a drunk-driving charge that forced him to move to Japan to further his career.[1] Other drivers in the field that went on to enjoy success in international motorsport included Christian Fittipaldi, who went on to win the International Formula 3000 championship the following year before enjoying stints in F1 and CART, and future touring car and sportscar driver Peter Kox.

1990 also marked the start of a dominant period for Mugen-Honda engines, which would power each British F3 champion until 2005 with only one exception. Charles Rickett won the Class B title in a year-old Volkswagen-powered Ralt.

Drivers and Teams[]

Team Chassis Engine No. Driver Rounds
Class A
Bowman Racing Ralt RT33 Volkswagen-Spiess 1 United Kingdom Steve Robertson All
4 Belgium Philippe Adams All
12 Mexico Fernando Plata 1–7
United Kingdom Stephen Hepworth 10–17
14 Netherlands Peter Kox 1–10, 12–17
West Surrey Racing Ralt RT34 Mugen-Honda 2 Finland Mika Häkkinen All
3 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi All
16 Japan Minoru Tanaka All
Paul Stewart Racing Reynard 903 Mugen-Honda 5 United Kingdom Paul Stewart 1–3
Ralt RT34 4–17
Reynard 903 6 Republic of Ireland Derek Higgins 1–4
Ralt RT34 5–17
Alan Docking Racing Ralt RT34 Mugen-Honda 7 Finland Mika Salo All
8 Japan Hideki Noda All
Swallow Racing Reynard 903 Mugen-Honda 10 United Kingdom Julian Westwood 1–4
Ralt RT34 5–17
Reynard 903 11 United Kingdom Jonathan McGall 1–3
Ralt RT34 4–17
Formula Services Reynard 903 Alfa Romeo 18 Brazil Jose Cordova 1–4
Mexico Adrián Fernández 5
Hubbard Racing Reynard 903 Opel 20 South Africa Hilton Cowie 5–9, 13–15, 17
Ralt RT33 94 3
21 Brazil Niko Palhares 3–4
Ralt RT34 5–9
Racefax Motorsport Ralt RT32 Mazda 23 Switzerland Alain Menu 1–2, 4
Dawson Auto Developments Reynard 903 Alfa Romeo 25 Portugal António Simões 2–3, 5, 10–11, 13, 17
Tech-Speed Motorsport Reynard 903 Volkswagen-Spiess 27 United Kingdom Gary Ayles 1–4, 6–9
United Kingdom Scott Stringfellow 13
28 Spain Jordi Gené All
Hepworth Racing Reynard 903 Volkswagen-Spiess 30 United Kingdom Stephen Hepworth 1–6
United Kingdom Jason Elliott 9–10
Denmark Henrik Larsen 11–14
United Kingdom Ross Hockenhull 16
Superpower Engineering Reynard 903 Volkswagen-Spiess 33 United Kingdom Paul Warwick 1
Ralt RT34 Mugen-Honda 2–9
Republic of Ireland Bernard Dolan 10
United Kingdom Gary Ayles 11–17
Team Itchi-Ban Reynard 903 Mugen-Honda 37 Sweden Nic Jönsson 15–16
38 Sweden Mikael Gustavsson 15
39 Sweden Linus Lundberg 15
G-Son Racing Reynard 903 Volkswagen-Spiess 40 Sweden Fredrik Ekblom 1
Diamond Racing Reynard 903 Volkswagen-Spiess 44 Mexico César Tiberio Jiménez 4
Reynard R&D Reynard 903B Mugen-Honda 50 United Kingdom Jason Elliott 11, 13, 15–17
Class B
Peter Lea Racing Reynard 873 Alfa Romeo 51 United Kingdom Eddie Kimbell 1–13
United States Sandy Brody 14–17
Reynard 883 56 United Kingdom Alan Tulloch 1–10, 13–17
Stronghold Racing Ralt RT32 Toyota 52 United Kingdom Steve Bradley 1–4, 6, 8–11, 14
Ralt RT33 Volkswagen-Spiess 15, 17
Steve Deeks Reynard 883 Alfa Romeo 53 United Kingdom Steve Deeks 5–8, 10, 17
Bowman Racing Ralt RT33 Volkswagen-Spiess 54 United Kingdom Charles Rickett 1–13
Hong Kong Darren Shaw 14, 16
United States Dana Brewer 15, 17
Tollbar Racing Ralt RT32 Volkswagen-Spiess 55 Spain Juan Serda All
Davies Racing Ralt RT31 Volkswagen-Spiess 57 United Kingdom Tony Davies 1, 4–6, 10, 17
Tech-Speed Motorsport Reynard 873 Volkswagen-Spiess 58 United Kingdom Paul Smith 10
G-Son Racing Reynard 883 Volkswagen-Spiess 60 Sweden Monica Stråth 1
Racefax Motorsport Ralt RT32 Volkswagen-Spiess 61 United Kingdom Dominic Chappell 1–3
Ralt RT33 4–17
Hubbard Racing Reynard 893 Volkswagen-Spiess 64 Finland Pekka Herva 14–15, 17
Ralt RT33 Opel 91 Switzerland Flurin Zegg 4
Zeus Motorsport Reynard 883 Volkswagen-Spiess 66 United Kingdom Peter Sneller 1–2, 4–8, 10–12, 15–17
Petroglobe International Reynard 893 Alfa Romeo 67 United States Dana Brewer 13
Diamond Racing Reynard 893 Toyota 70 Mexico César Tiberio Jiménez 3
Cram Motorsport Ralt RT33 Toyota 71 United Kingdom Rob Mears All
JWD Motorsport Ralt RT31 Toyota 83 United States Jack Dickenson 4, 9
Carlton Tingling Reynard 883 Volkswagen-Spiess 85 Jamaica Carlton Tingling 15

Race calendar and results[]

Round Circuit Date Pole Position Fastest Lap Winning Driver Winning Team Class B Winner
1 Donington Park 1 April Finland Mika Häkkinen Finland Mika Häkkinen Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom West Surrey Racing United Kingdom Dominic Chappell
2 Silverstone 8 April Finland Mika Häkkinen Finland Mika Salo Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Alan Docking Racing United Kingdom Charles Rickett
3 Thruxton 16 April Finland Mika Häkkinen Finland Mika Häkkinen Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom West Surrey Racing United Kingdom Charles Rickett
4 Brands Hatch 29 April Finland Mika Häkkinen Finland Mika Häkkinen Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom West Surrey Racing United Kingdom Charles Rickett
5 Silverstone 7 May Finland Mika Salo Finland Mika Salo Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Alan Docking Racing Spain Juan Serda
6 Brands Hatch 20 May Finland Mika Häkkinen Finland Mika Häkkinen Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Alan Docking Racing United Kingdom Dominic Chappell
7 Thruxton 28 May Finland Mika Salo Finland Mika Häkkinen Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Alan Docking Racing United Kingdom Charles Rickett
8 Silverstone 10 June Finland Mika Häkkinen Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Steve Robertson United Kingdom Bowman Racing United Kingdom Charles Rickett
9 Donington Park 1 July Brazil Christian Fittipaldi Brazil Christian Fittipaldi Brazil Christian Fittipaldi United Kingdom West Surrey Racing United Kingdom Charles Rickett
10 Silverstone 14 July Finland Mika Salo Finland Mika Salo Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Alan Docking Racing United Kingdom Charles Rickett
11 Snetterton 5 August Finland Mika Salo Finland Mika Häkkinen
Finland Mika Salo1
Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom West Surrey Racing United Kingdom Charles Rickett
12 Oulton Park 12 August Finland Mika Häkkinen Finland Mika Häkkinen Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom West Surrey Racing United Kingdom Charles Rickett
13 Silverstone 27 August Finland Mika Häkkinen Finland Mika Häkkinen Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom West Surrey Racing United Kingdom Charles Rickett
14 Brands Hatch 2 September Finland Mika Häkkinen Finland Mika Häkkinen Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom West Surrey Racing Hong Kong Darren Shaw
15 Donington Park 16 September Finland Mika Häkkinen Finland Mika Häkkinen Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom West Surrey Racing United Kingdom Dominic Chappell
16 Thruxton 23 September United Kingdom Paul Stewart Finland Mika Salo Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Alan Docking Racing Hong Kong Darren Shaw
17 Silverstone 7 October Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom Steve Robertson Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom West Surrey Racing United Kingdom Peter Sneller

^1 Häkkinen and Salo set identical fastest lap times and were subsequently both awarded an additional point.

Championship Standings[]

Points in brackets include dropped scoresonly the best 14 of 17 scores count towards the championship

Pos. Driver DON SIL THR BRH SIL BRH THR SIL DON SIL SNE OUL SIL BRH DON THR SIL Pts
Class A
1 Finland Mika Häkkinen 1 (3) 1 1 2 2 2 Ret (6) 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 121
2 Finland Mika Salo 2 1 2 4 1 1 1 2 5 1 (7) 2 2 Ret 3 1 Ret 98
3 United Kingdom Steve Robertson 3 2 Ret Ret 3 3 Ret 1 Ret 3 2 Ret 4 3 Ret 9 3 49
4 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi 4 14 5 6 7 6 4 8 1 6 3 Ret DSQ 5 Ret 4 2 36
5 Netherlands Peter Kox Ret 4 3 2 5 Ret 6 5 2 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 6 4 28
6 Belgium Philippe Adams 11 Ret 6 10 4 20 Ret 9 9 4 4 5 6 2 2 Ret 11 25
7 United Kingdom Paul Stewart 6 23 Ret 11 9 Ret 13 4 4 Ret 5 4 3 6 Ret 3 13 21
8 United Kingdom Jonathan McGall Ret 5 Ret 12 10 11 5 3 7 10 17 3 7 7 Ret Ret 6 13
9 Republic of Ireland Derek Higgins Ret 7 Ret 5 8 4 9 22 3 Ret Ret Ret Ret 4 Ret Ret 7 12
10 United Kingdom Paul Warwick 17 Ret 4 3 Ret 5 7 6 10 10
11 Japan Minoru Tanaka 5 8 Ret 8 13 Ret 3 Ret Ret 5 Ret Ret 10 12 Ret 5 8 10
12 Japan Hideki Noda 7 6 Ret DNS 6 9 11 16 Ret Ret Ret 6 5 11 4 10 Ret 8
13 United Kingdom Jason Elliott Ret 8 DNS 20 5 8 5 4
14 United Kingdom Julian Westwood Ret 12 8 9 14 7 10 7 8 7 Ret 7 8 9 6 7 10 1
15 Spain Jordi Gené 10 10 9 13 12 Ret DSQ 10 Ret 11 6 8 9 10 7 Ret 9 1
16 Mexico Fernando Plata 8 9 7 7 11 8 12 0
17 United Kingdom Gary Ayles 20 Ret 11 14 Ret 8 14 Ret Ret Ret Ret 8 8 19 12 0
18 Denmark Henrik Larsen 8 Ret 11 13 0
19 United Kingdom Stephen Hepworth 13 16 15 Ret 15 12 Ret 9 9 Ret 14 15 20 Ret 0
20 Switzerland Alain Menu 9 Ret DNS 0
21 Republic of Ireland Bernard Dolan 9 0
22 Brazil Niko Palhares Ret Ret Ret 10 NC 11 Ret 0
23 Brazil Jose Cordova DNS 11 10 DNS 0
24 Portugal António Simões 13 Ret Ret 12 10 Ret Ret 0
25 South Africa Hilton Cowie 12 Ret Ret DSQ 12 11 12 Ret Ret Ret 0
26 United Kingdom Ross Hockenhull 11 0
27 Sweden Nic Jönsson Ret 13 0
28 United Kingdom Scott Stringfellow 15 0
Sweden Fredrik Ekblom Ret 0
Mexico Adrián Fernández Ret 0
Sweden Linus Lundberg Ret 0
Mexico César T. Jiménez DNS 0
Sweden Mikael Gustavsson DNS 0
Class B
1 United Kingdom Charles Rickett Ret 15 13 15 Ret 21 14 13 12 13 11 10 13 101
2 United Kingdom Dominic Chappell 12 19 DNS Ret Ret 13 15 15 Ret 15 Ret 11 14 16 9 14 Ret 72
3 United Kingdom Eddie Kimbell Ret 18 14 16 17 16 17 19 15 Ret 12 DNS 16 43
4 United Kingdom Rob Mears 18 Ret 16 Ret Ret 14 Ret 18 13 16 14 Ret Ret 17 10 15 DSQ 42
5 United Kingdom Peter Sneller Ret 17 DNS Ret 15 16 Ret 14 15 12 DSQ 16 14 39
6 Spain Juan Serda 16 20 20 17 16 18 18 21 16 20 16 13 18 20 DSQ 18 18 33
7 United Kingdom Steve Bradley DSQ 21 18 Ret 17 20 14 19 13 19 12 16 23
8 Hong Kong Darren Shaw 15 12 20
9 United Kingdom Alan Tulloch 15 22 19 18 18 19 19 Ret Ret 21 17 21 11 Ret Ret 20
10 United States Sandy Brody Ret Ret 17 15 8
11 United Kingdom Steve Deeks Ret DNS DNS 17 18 17 8
12 Sweden Monica Stråth 14 6
13 United Kingdom Tony Davies 19 19 19 22 22 DNS 6
14 Finland Pekka Herva 18 Ret Ret 4
15 Mexico César T. Jiménez 17 3
16 United States Dana Brewer 19 14 19 3
17 United Kingdom Paul Smith 17 2
18 Jamaica Carlton Tingling 13 2
19 United States Jack Dickenson DNS 17 1
Switzerland Flurin Zegg DNS 0

References[]

  1. ^ "Formula 1 News, Live Grand Prix Updates, Videos, Drivers and Results - ESPN".

External links[]

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