Algarve Classic Festival
Seven screamers ventured all the way to Portimão 
in order to take part in the Algarve Classic Festival together with our French Formula Ford Historic friends. Competitors were rewarded for the long journey with spectacular weather all week and a fantastic track - certainly a great way to finish the season. Derossi secured pole ahead of Gallo, Widmer, Pangborn, the duo of Bonny-Renavand, Delea and Timms. Clutch problems forced Derossi to retire on the opening lap of race 1 and thus the battle for the lead was left to Gallo and Widmer who managed to slip past Gallo when the later had to avoid a car facing the wrong way on turn 3. The field was bunched up again due to a short safety car phase, but in the end Widmer managed to cross the finish line ahead of Gallo and Pangborn. Between the races the Derossi's Chevron was turned 90 degrees and setup on just two of its wheels in order to sort out the clutch issue, thus allowing Derossi to start race 2 from the back of the grid. Unsurprisingly Derossi was irresistible, storming through the field to take the lead on lap 6 and the final win of the 2017 season ahead of Gallo and Pangborn as Widmer retired due to a broken throttle cable. Overall a great weekend and we certainly hope to return to the Algarve one day with a full grid as the track is exceptionally well suited for our screamers. Results, pictures and video are all online.
Watch two laps of race 1 at Portimão onboard Widmer's Brabham.
Val de Vienne Championship Finale
The final round of the 2017 championship took place at Cicruit du Val de Vienne 
- our first ever appearance on this technical track. Competitors enjoyed perfectly mild and sunny conditions on Friday for testing and qualifying. Pole went to Widmer, narrowly beating Derossi and Gallo, followed by Pangborn and the closely matched trio of Slotine, Timms and Delea. The weather changed overnight and rain combined with a long trace of oil all around the circuit resulted in extremely slippery conditions for race 1 on Saturday morning despite an hour and a half long effort by marshalls to neutralize the oil. Pole-sitter Widmer didn't get along too well with these challenging conditions despite a slowly drying track and was quickly passed by Derossi and Gallo who fought closely for the lead until Gallo spun on lap 9, handing victory to Derossi. The sun came back out after lunch and so did grip on the track. The second race was started based on the results from race 1 and Derossi, Gallo and Widmer all could still win the championship. Despite a poor start and initially losing some positions Widmer's confidence was back and he caught up and passed Gallo on the second lap and started to chase Derossi while further back Pangborn, Slotine and Delea enjoyed some close racing. A spin by Derossi at Trop Tard on the seventh lap allowed Widmer to close the gap and the two had good fun for a few laps until Derossi span again on lap 11, allowing Widmer to escape. This meant that the 2017 championship would be decided by who had posted the fastest lap on the final race of the season and thus received the extra point. This turned out to be Derossi who had an excellent season overall and is a well deserved champion of the 2017 Historic F3 1000cc European Trophy. Results, pictures and video are all online.
Watch two laps of race 2 at Val de Vienne onboard Widmer's Brabham.
Zandvoort Historic GP
Shortly before qualifying for the Zandvoort 
Historic Grand Prix rain set in, triggering a lot of activity around the paddock as most of the 31 competitors changed to wet tires. Geoffroy Rivet once again showed his class in these tricky conditions, securing pole 3 seconds clear of Milicevic and Derossi. Fortunately, the sun came back out shortly thereafter, rewarding everybody with perfect conditions for the apero as well as the rest of the weekend. Milicevic lead early in race 1 ahead of Rivet and Derossi followed by a closely matched pack including Gallo, Scott, Blockley, Pangborn and Smith. Unfortunately Milicevic's engine lost power after just a few laps while Rivet was shown the black flag as he had not seen the signs for a drive through penalty early on. In the end Derossi won ahead of an impressive Smith who stormed to second from 13th on the grid, narrowly holding off Gallo after Blockley spun. Milicevic in Paul Waine's DeSanctis and Rivet from the pit lane started race from the back of the grid. After a clear start, the race soon settled at the front with Derossi, Smith and Gallo pulling away and Milicevic and Rivet fighting their way through traffic. A real race was on behind the first three with Blockley and Pangborn fighting for 4th place, changing positions and entering corners side by side every lap until Blockley's engine had enough. Scott had the best seat on the circuit to watch this fine racing and small groups or duels developed for the following slots. For the longest time it looked as if the podium from the day before would be repeated. It was the last lap when drama struck with Derossi and Smith closing in on Gustafson and Slotine, all approaching the last chicane. Four cars fighting for positions in a tight corner was too much and unfortunately Derossi and Gustafson collided, forcing both cars to retire and thus handing victory to Smith ahead of Gallo, Pangborn and Scott. Milicevic climbed to 5th position followed by quick newcomer Gerald Ludwig in his ex-Rivet Brabham BT28. Team France wins the 2017 Nations Cup. Results and pictures are online.
Cadwell Park
An amazing 27 screamers lined up for qualifying in perfectly sunny conditions at Cadwell Park 
. Jon Milicevic once again demonstrated his skills and secured pole in a fantastic time ahead of Derossi, Hibberd, Widmer and Thompson. Temperatures continued to raise and track temperature exceeded a scorching 50 degrees by the time the full capacity grid of 26 cars lined up for the start for race 1. Milicevic immediately took the lead ahead of Hibberd, Derossi and Thompson. Derossi retired at the end of lap 3 due to overheating and soon thereafter the safety car came out, bunching everyone up again. Hibberd had hoped to challenge Milicevic on the restart but instead was battling with fuel issues due to the hot temperatures and eventually had to retire as well. Thompson spun at the hairpin after a good fight, allowing Widmer to move to second ahead of Blockley who had an excellent race. After the race, everyone was rewarded with a splendid apero organized by Anne and Peter Hamilton. On Sunday Milicevic once again was irresistible but close battles could be seen throughout the field. Hibberd had a lonely race finishing second ahead of Derossi who managed to squeeze past Needham on the last lap. Lots of sunshine, an iconic track, international competitors from as far as Australia and a great atmosphere in the paddock - an excellent weekend overall. Results, pictures and video are now online.
Watch the first two laps of race 2 at Cadwell Park onboard Widmer's Brabham.
Silverstone International Trophy
Local ace Jon Milicevic in his Brabham took full advantage of racing on his home track and had a perfect weekend, securing pole in qualifying as well as first place and fastest lap in both races. The only other competitor being able to challenge Jon was Goodwood winner Andrew Hibberd, but this time Andrew had to settle for second place as Jon simply proved too quick even for him. The level of competition in Historic F3 racing has increased significantly as demonstrated by the fact that nine cars qualified in a time that would have secured them pole position under similar conditions just two years ago. The group of followers was lead by Steve Smith and Peter Thompson who managed to complete the podium and secure a third place each. While qualifying was under perfect and dry conditions, a torrential downpour shortly thereafter forced race control to suspends action on the track for nearly an hour. As a result, conditions for race 1 were rather tricky as the wet track proved to be very slippery, resulting in repeat spins throughout the field. Widmer was the only other top ten qualifier besides Milicevic, Hibberd and Smith on the podium to avoid a spin and thus secured a forth place ahead of Pangborn, Scott and Derossi. Conditions for race 2 on Sunday were a lot better as the weather was warm and sunny once again. Milicevic quickly pulled clear as Hibberd had a moment on the opening lap at Luffield. Thompson was best of the rest as he stormed through the field securing third place after not finishing on Saturday ahead of Claridge, Derossi, Blockley and Scott. Overall definitely a great weekend on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit! Results, pictures and video are now online.
Watch some laps of race 2 on the Silverstone Grand Prix onboard Derossi's Chevron.
Paul Ricard
Competitors enjoyed perfect conditions in sunny South of France for the start of the 2017 championship with a double-header on the Paul Ricard circuit just one year before Formula One returns to Le Castellet. Gallo in his ex-Jaussaud Tecno took the lead midway through race 1 and never looked back with Derossi's Chevron and Widmer's Brabham slotted in the following positions ahead of Messer and Timms as Slotine couldn't take the start due to engine failure in qualifying. The race ended prematurely for Derossi on lap 6 due to a bent front suspension after some unfortunate contact but luckily the Chevron could be repaired for the second race thanks to the magic of Mr. Filoche! Gallo and Widmer enjoyed a good fight for the lead in HF3 in company of a nice group of Historic Formula Fords in race 2 until the Tecno ran out of fuel, thus handing victory to Widmer ahead of Derossi and Timms who had a good weekend overall. Results and pictures are now online.
Goodwood #75MM
For a third year in a row, the 2017 screamer season started at the 75th Members' Meeting with the Derek Bell Cup for F3 1000cc cars at Goodwood . A light drizzle on Saturday morning resulted in a wet track for qualifying. Last year's winner Andrew Hibberd mastered the tricky conditions best and secured pole position 0.7 seconds ahead of current British F3 champion Simon Armer, followed by Jonathan Hughes in the ex-Methley Merlin who completed the front row while Paul Waine and Christoph Widmer managed to post times good enough for second row. Unfortunately, the engine in 2015 winner James King's Chevron failed on the second lap, side-lining him for the rest of the event. Luckily, the track dried up during the day and 24 screamers lined up for the race late on Saturday afternoon in perfect conditions in front of a sell-out crowd. Jonathan Hughes had the best start and challenged Hibberd going into Madwick corner, but Hibberd wasn't going to yield, took advantage of knowing the track inch by inch and was seen from far away only for the rest of the race, recording lap record upon lap record. Spectators enjoyed an intense 6 car battle for second position between Hughes, Wilson, Thompson, Claridge, Waine and Blockley for the next few laps. Waine spun on lap 4 exiting the chicane and Blockley's race was cut short when he clipped the inside wall on the chicane on lap 8, damaging his front suspension in the process. Claridge retired in lap 14, however, the fierce battle for second place lasted until the last lap, with Wilson narrowly beating Thompson and Hughes, all three passing the checkered flag within one second - a fantastic race overall! Results, video and pictures are now online.
2017 Calendar
We are excited to announce our calendar for 2017. For a third year in a row the season will be launched in March with the non-championship Derek Bell Cup for F3 screamers at the 75th Members' Meeting at Goodwood . Just like in 2016, the regular championship starts in April in sunny South of France with a double-header on the Paul Ricard circuit just one year before Formula One returns to Le Castellet for the French GP. The second round of the 2017 championship will take place on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in May. Next up we return to Cadwell Park in June for a standalone double-header at the spectacular period circuit featured in the Hunt vs. Lauda movie Rush! The 6th Nations Cup Revival will take place in early September at the Grand Prix Historic in Zandvoort - a season highlight and event not to be missed. Round five will conclude the 2017 championship with a double-header at Val de Vienne - our first ever appearance on this circuit. However, that doesn't mean that the season is over as we have been invited to participate in the non-championship Algarve Classic Festival at Portimão - this is the perfect opportunity to combine your passion for historic F3 1000cc racing with holidays in Portugal. Further details can be found on our calendar page - we're looking forward to seeing you in action in 2017!