1990 British Formula Three Championship

British Formula Three racing event in 1990 1990 British Formula 3 International Series 1989 1991 thumb|right|1990 champion, Mika Hakkinen 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.http://www.espn.co.uk/arrows/motorsport/driver/1178.html Formula 1 News, Live Grand Prix Updates, Videos, Drivers and Results - ESPN 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. The scoring system was 9-6-4-3-2-1 points awarded to the first six finishers, with 1 (one) extra point added to the driver who set the fastest lap of the race. Drivers and Teams Team Chassis Engine No. Driver Rounds Class A Bowman Racing Ralt RT33 Volkswagen-Spiess 1 GBR Steve Robertson All 4 BEL Philippe Adams All 12 MEX Fernando Plata 1–7 GBR Stephen Hepworth 10–17 14 NLD Peter Kox 1–10, 12–17 West Surrey Racing Ralt RT34 Mugen-Honda 2 FIN Mika Häkkinen All 3 BRA Christian Fittipaldi All 16 JPN Minoru Tanaka All Paul Stewart Racing Reynard 903 Mugen-Honda 5 GBR Paul Stewart 1–3 Ralt RT34 4–17 Reynard 903 6 IRL Derek Higgins 1–4 Ralt RT34 5–17 Alan Docking Racing Ralt RT34 Mugen-Honda 7 FIN Mika Salo All 8 JPN Hideki Noda All Swallow Racing Reynard 903 Mugen-Honda 10 GBR Julian Westwood 1–4 Ralt RT34 5–17 Reynard 903 11 GBR Jonathan McGall 1–3 Ralt RT34 4–17 Formula Services Reynard 903 Alfa Romeo 18 BRA Jose Cordova 1–4 MEX Adrián Fernández 5 Hubbard Racing Reynard 903 Opel 20 RSA 1928 Hilton Cowie 5–9, 13–15, 17 Ralt RT33 94 3 21 BRA Niko Palhares 3–4 Ralt RT34 5–9 Racefax Motorsport Ralt RT32 Mazda 23 CHE Alain Menu 1–2, 4 Dawson Auto Developments Reynard 903 Alfa Romeo 25 PRT António Simões 2–3, 5, 10–11, 13, 17 Tech-Speed Motorsport Reynard 903 Volkswagen-Spiess 27 GBR Gary Ayles 1–4, 6–9 GBR Scott Stringfellow 13 28 ESP Jordi Gené All Hepworth Racing Reynard 903 Volkswagen-Spiess 30 GBR Stephen Hepworth 1–6 GBR Jason Elliott 9–10 DNK Henrik Larsen 11–14 GBR Ross Hockenhull 16 Superpower Engineering Reynard 903 Volkswagen-Spiess 33 GBR Paul Warwick 1Ralt RT34Mugen-Honda 2–9 IRL Bernard Dolan 10 GBR Gary Ayles 11–17 Team Itchi-Ban Reynard 903 Mugen-Honda 37 SWE Nic Jönsson 15–16 38 SWE Mikael Gustavsson 15 39 SWE Linus Lundberg 15 G-Son Racing Reynard 903 Volkswagen-Spiess 40 SWE Fredrik Ekblom 1 Diamond Racing Reynard 903 Volkswagen-Spiess 44 MEX César Tiberio Jiménez 4 Reynard R&D Reynard 903B Mugen-Honda 50 GBR Jason Elliott 11, 13, 15–17 Class B Peter Lea Racing Reynard 873 Alfa Romeo 51 GBR Eddie Kimbell 1–13 USA Sandy Brody 14–17 Reynard 883 56 GBR Alan Tulloch 1–10, 13–17 Stronghold Racing Ralt RT32 Toyota 52 GBR Steve Bradley 1–4, 6, 8–11, 14 Ralt RT33 Volkswagen-Spiess 15, 17 Steve Deeks Reynard 883 Alfa Romeo 53 GBR Steve Deeks 5–8, 10, 17 Bowman Racing Ralt RT33 Volkswagen-Spiess 54 GBR Charles Rickett 1–13 HKG 1959 Darren Shaw 14, 16 USA Dana Brewer 15, 17 Tollbar Racing Ralt RT32 Volkswagen-Spiess 55 ESP Juan Serda All Davies Racing Ralt RT31 Volkswagen-Spiess 57 GBR Tony Davies 1, 4–6, 10, 17 Tech-Speed Motorsport Reynard 873 Volkswagen-Spiess 58 GBR Paul Smith 10 G-Son Racing Reynard 883 Volkswagen-Spiess 60 SWE Monica Stråth 1 Racefax Motorsport Ralt RT32 Volkswagen-Spiess 61 GBR Dominic Chappell 1–3 Ralt RT33 4–17 Hubbard Racing Reynard 893 Volkswagen-Spiess 64 FIN Pekka Herva 14–15, 17 Ralt RT33 Opel 91 CHE Flurin Zegg 4 Zeus Motorsport Reynard 883 Volkswagen-Spiess 66 GBR Peter Sneller 1–2, 4–8, 10–12, 15–17 Petroglobe International Reynard 893 Alfa Romeo 67 USA Dana Brewer 13 Diamond Racing Reynard 893 Toyota 70 MEX César Tiberio Jiménez 3 Cram Motorsport Ralt RT33 Toyota 71 GBR Rob Mears All JWD Motorsport Ralt RT31 Toyota 83 USA Jack Dickenson 4, 9 Carlton Tingling Reynard 883 Volkswagen-Spiess 85 JAM 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 FIN Mika Häkkinen FIN Mika Häkkinen FIN Mika Häkkinen GBR West Surrey Racing GBR Dominic Chappell 2 Silverstone 8 April FIN Mika Häkkinen FIN Mika Salo FIN Mika Salo GBR Alan Docking Racing GBR Charles Rickett 3 Thruxton 16 April FIN Mika Häkkinen FIN Mika Häkkinen FIN Mika Häkkinen GBR West Surrey Racing GBR Charles Rickett 4 Brands Hatch 29 April FIN Mika Häkkinen FIN Mika Häkkinen FIN Mika Häkkinen GBR West Surrey Racing GBR Charles Rickett 5 Silverstone 7 May FIN Mika Salo FIN Mika Salo FIN Mika Salo GBR Alan Docking Racing ESP Juan Serda 6 Brands Hatch 20 May FIN Mika Häkkinen FIN Mika Häkkinen FIN Mika Salo GBR Alan Docking Racing GBR Dominic Chappell 7 Thruxton 28 May FIN Mika Salo FIN Mika Häkkinen FIN Mika Salo GBR Alan Docking Racing GBR Charles Rickett 8 Silverstone 10 June FIN Mika Häkkinen FIN Mika Salo GBR Steve Robertson GBR Bowman Racing GBR Charles Rickett 9 Donington Park 1 July BRA Christian Fittipaldi BRA Christian Fittipaldi BRA Christian Fittipaldi GBR West Surrey Racing GBR Charles Rickett 10 Silverstone 14 July FIN Mika Salo FIN Mika Salo FIN Mika Salo GBR Alan Docking Racing GBR Charles Rickett 11 Snetterton 5 August FIN Mika Salo FIN Mika HäkkinenFIN Mika Salo1 1 FIN Mika Häkkinen GBR West Surrey Racing GBR Charles Rickett 12 Oulton Park 12 August FIN Mika Häkkinen FIN Mika Häkkinen FIN Mika Häkkinen GBR West Surrey Racing GBR Charles Rickett 13 Silverstone 27 August FIN Mika Häkkinen FIN Mika Häkkinen FIN Mika Häkkinen GBR West Surrey Racing GBR Charles Rickett 14 Brands Hatch 2 September FIN Mika Häkkinen FIN Mika Häkkinen FIN Mika Häkkinen GBR West Surrey Racing HKG 1959 Darren Shaw 15 Donington Park 16 September FIN Mika Häkkinen FIN Mika Häkkinen FIN Mika Häkkinen GBR West Surrey Racing GBR Dominic Chappell 16 Thruxton 23 September GBR Paul Stewart FIN Mika Salo FIN Mika Salo GBR Alan Docking Racing HKG 1959 Darren Shaw 17 Silverstone 7 October FIN Mika Häkkinen GBR Steve Robertson FIN Mika Häkkinen GBR West Surrey Racing GBR Peter Sneller 1 1 Häkkinen and Salo set identical fastest lap times and were subsequently both awarded an additional point. Championship Standings Points in brackets include dropped scores – only 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 FIN Mika Häkkinen 1 (3) 1 1 2 2 2 Ret (6) 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 121 126 total, 5 points dropped. 2 FIN Mika Salo 2 1 2 4 1 1 1 2 5 1 (7) 2 2 Ret 3 1 Ret 98 99 total, 1 point dropped. 3 GBR Steve Robertson 3 2 Ret Ret 3 3 Ret 1 Ret 3 2 Ret 4 3 Ret 9 3 49 4 BRA Christian Fittipaldi 4 14 5 6 7 6 4 8 1 6 3 Ret DSQ 5 Ret 4 2 36 5 NLD Peter Kox Ret 4 3 2 5 Ret 6 5 2 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 6 4 28 6 BEL Philippe Adams 11 Ret 6 10 4 20 Ret 9 9 4 4 5 6 2 2 Ret 11 25 7 GBR Paul Stewart 6 23 Ret 11 9 Ret 13 4 4 Ret 5 4 3 6 Ret 3 13 21 8 GBR Jonathan McGall Ret 5 Ret 12 10 11 5 3 7 10 17 3 7 7 Ret Ret 6 13 9 IRL Derek Higgins Ret 7 Ret 5 8 4 9 22 3 Ret Ret Ret Ret 4 Ret Ret 7 12 10 GBR Paul Warwick 17 Ret 4 3 Ret 5 7 6 10 10 11 JPN Minoru Tanaka 5 8 Ret 8 13 Ret 3 Ret Ret 5 Ret Ret 10 12 Ret 5 8 10 12 JPN Hideki Noda 7 6 Ret DNS 6 9 11 16 Ret Ret Ret 6 5 11 4 10 Ret 8 13 GBR Jason Elliott Ret 8 DNS 20 5 8 5 4 14 GBR Julian Westwood Ret 12 8 9 14 7 10 7 8 7 Ret 7 8 9 6 7 10 1 15 ESP Jordi Gené 10 10 9 13 12 Ret DSQ 10 Ret 11 6 8 9 10 7 Ret 9 1 16 MEX Fernando Plata 8 9 7 7 11 8 12 017 GBR Gary Ayles 20 Ret 11 14 Ret 8 14 Ret Ret Ret Ret 8 8 19 12 018 DNK Henrik Larsen 8 Ret 11 13 019 GBR Stephen Hepworth 13 16 15 Ret 15 12 Ret 9 9 Ret 14 15 20 Ret 020 CHE Alain Menu 9 Ret DNS 021 IRL Bernard Dolan 9 022 BRA Niko Palhares Ret Ret Ret 10 NC 11 Ret 023 BRA Jose Cordova DNS 11 10 DNS 024 PRT António Simões 13 Ret Ret 12 10 Ret Ret 025 ZAF Hilton Cowie 12 Ret Ret DSQ 12 11 12 Ret Ret Ret 026 GBR Ross Hockenhull 11 027 SWE Nic Jönsson Ret 13 028 GBR Scott Stringfellow 15 0 SWE Fredrik Ekblom Ret 0 MEX Adrián Fernández Ret 0 SWE Linus Lundberg Ret 0 MEX César T. Jiménez DNS 0 SWE Mikael Gustavsson DNS 0 Class B 1 GBR Charles Rickett Ret 15 13 15 Ret 21 14 13 12 13 11 10 13 101 2 GBR Dominic Chappell 12 19 DNS Ret Ret 13 15 15 Ret 15 Ret 11 14 16 9 14 Ret 72 3 GBR Eddie Kimbell Ret 18 14 16 17 16 17 19 15 Ret 12 DNS 16 43 4 GBR Rob Mears 18 Ret 16 Ret Ret 14 Ret 18 13 16 14 Ret Ret 17 10 15 DSQ 42 5 GBR Peter Sneller Ret 17 DNS Ret 15 16 Ret 14 15 12 DSQ 16 14 39 6 ESP Juan Serda 16 20 20 17 16 18 18 21 16 20 16 13 18 20 DSQ 18 18 33 7 GBR Steve Bradley DSQ 21 18 Ret 17 20 14 19 13 19 12 16 23 8 HKG 1959 Darren Shaw 15 12 20 9 GBR Alan Tulloch 15 22 19 18 18 19 19 Ret Ret 21 17 21 11 Ret Ret 20 10 USA Sandy Brody Ret Ret 17 15 8 11 GBR Steve Deeks Ret DNS DNS 17 18 17 8 12 SWE Monica Stråth 14 6 13 GBR Tony Davies 19 19 19 22 22 DNS 6 14 FIN Pekka Herva 18 Ret Ret 4 15 MEX César T. Jiménez 17 3 16 USA Dana Brewer 19 14 19 3 17 GBR Paul Smith 17 2 18 JAM Carlton Tingling 13 2 19 USA Jack Dickenson DNS 17 1 CHE Flurin Zegg DNS 0 References External links The official website of the British Formula 3 Championship Formula Three Category:British Formula Three Championship seasons