British Formula 3000
| Category | Single seaters |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Inaugural season | 1989 |
| Folded | 1996 |
The British Formula 3000 championship, alternatively known as the British Formula Two Championship, was a competition for Formula 3000 held in the United Kingdom, active from 1989 to 1994 and in 1996. Several attempts to restart the series since then have met with failure.
The original championship was started in 1989 as a national series for one-year-old F3000 single-seaters. Cars from both Lola and Reynard Motorsport could be seen on the grid, with the predominant engine being the Cosworth DFY. Grids increased until the series reached its apex in 1991.
The first two champions, Gary Brabham and Pedro Chaves, moved up to Formula One but met little success, never qualifying for a race. In 1991, Paul Warwick, younger brother to then-Arrows F1 driver Derek, dominated the first half of the series but died in a crash mid-season at Oulton Park. He retained the lead through the final round and was awarded the title posthumously.
In 1992, the championship was renamed Formula Two, although it had nothing to do with the competition that had previously carried that name, continuing to be an actual Formula 3000 series. Grids kept dwindling and after mid-1993 less than ten cars appeared regularly on the grid.
Yvan Muller won the title in 1992 before leaving single-seaters and moving to touring car racing, but 1993 champion Philippe Adams had a brief career in F1. Jose Luis Di Palma was champion the next year but competitive drivers were few.
In 1995, an attempt to switch to a spec series with Reynard chassis and Cosworth engines failed to get off the ground when the series was cancelled after posting only one entry. In 1996 the series was resurrected and Gareth Rees dominated the action, and was the final champion.
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