1989 British Formula Three Championship

The 1989 British Formula Three season was the 39th season of the British Formula Three Championship, starting at Thruxton on 27 March and concluding there on 15 October after 16 races.

1989 British Formula 3 International Series
Previous: 1988 Next: 1990

The title battle was largely fought between two sportscar racing stars of the future - West Surrey Racing's Allan McNish and Bowman Racing's David Brabham, both driving Ralt chassis. The former was initially declared champion at the end of the season as a result of Brabham being disqualified from his second-place finish the ninth round of the season at Silverstone and being penalised a further 18 points due to an irregularity with his Volkswagen engine. However, Brabham's points was reinstated following a court hearing in early 1990, giving him the title by a margin of 10 points over McNish.[1]

Other notable drivers in the field included future BTCC champions Rickard Rydell (who would contest the championship again two years later) and Alain Menu, and future Formula One stars Mika Häkkinen and Mika Salo, who would go on to be the title protagonists in 1990.

1989 proved a high-water mark for the series in terms of entry numbers, which regularly exceeded 40 cars. The result of this was the creation of qualifying heats at certain rounds in order to slim the field down prior to the main race. It was also the first year for the Neil Brown Engineering-tuned Mugen-Honda engine, used by McNish among others, which would power all but one British F3 champion from 1990 to 2006. Class B was won by Fernando Plata in a year-old VW-powered Ralt.

Race calendar and results
Round Circuit Date Pole Position Fastest Lap Winning Driver Winning Team Class B Winner
1 Thruxton 27 March Rickard Rydell Alain Menu Rickard Rydell Eddie Jordan Racing Eddie Kimbell
2 Silverstone 9 April David Brabham Alain Menu David Brabham Bowman Racing Craig Simmiss
31 Brands Hatch 23 April Mika Häkkinen Mika Häkkinen David Brabham Bowman Racing Ken Bowes
4 Silverstone 1 May Steve Robertson Derek Higgins Derek Higgins West Surrey Racing Fernando Plata
5 Brands Hatch 21 May Mika Häkkinen Otto Rensing David Brabham Bowman Racing Fernando Plata
6 Thruxton 29 May Derek Higgins Derek Higgins Allan McNish West Surrey Racing Fernando Plata
7 Silverstone 4 June Allan McNish Rickard Rydell Allan McNish West Surrey Racing Fernando Plata
8 Donington Park 2 July Rickard Rydell Allan McNish Allan McNish West Surrey Racing Warwick Rooklyn
9 Silverstone 15 July David Brabham Mika Häkkinen Allan McNish West Surrey Racing Fernando Plata
101 Snetterton 6 August David Brabham David Brabham Paul Stewart Paul Stewart Racing Fernando Plata
11 Oulton Park 13 August David Brabham David Brabham David Brabham Bowman Racing Fernando Plata
12 Silverstone 28 August David Brabham Derek Higgins David Brabham Bowman Racing Warwick Rooklyn
13 Brands Hatch 3 September Philippe Adams Allan McNish Philippe Adams Bowman Racing Warwick Rooklyn
14 Donington Park 17 September David Brabham Steve Robertson Steve Robertson Bowman Racing Scott Stringfellow
15 Silverstone 7 October Allan McNish Allan McNish David Brabham Bowman Racing Warwick Rooklyn
16 Thruxton 15 October Allan McNish Derek Higgins Allan McNish West Surrey Racing Warwick Rooklyn

^1 These races were shortened due to accidents.

Championship Standings

Class A
Pos. Driver Team Points
1 David Brabham Bowman Racing 80
2 Allan McNish West Surrey Racing 70
3 Derek Higgins West Surrey Racing 46
4 Rickard Rydell Eddie Jordan Racing 35
5 Steve Robertson Bowman Racing 27
6 Philippe Adams Bowman Racing 23
7 Mika Häkkinen Dragon Motorsport 18
8 Alain Menu Racefax Motorsport 16
9 Otto Rensing Paul Stewart Racing 15
10 Paul Stewart Paul Stewart Racing 13
11 John Alcorn Becsport 12
12 Gary Ayles Jack Brabham Racing 11
13 Jason Elliott Paul Stewart Racing
Swallow Racing		 11
14 Mika Salo Alan Docking Racing 10
15 Niclas Schönström Swallow Racing 9
16 Gary Ward RGS Motorsport 6
17 Julian Westwood Racefax Motorsport 5
18 Paul Warwick Intersport 3
19 John Estupiñan Bowman Racing 3
20 António Simões Dawson Auto Developments 3

Class B
Pos. Driver Team Points
1 Fernando Plata Bowman Racing 89
2 Warwick Rooklyn Bowman Racing 68
3 Scott Stringfellow Jim Lee Racing 68
4 Eddie Kimbell Peter Lea Racing 32
5 Craig Simmiss CS Engineering 27
6 Stephen Hepworth Driver 25
7 Ken Bowes Hi-Tech Motor Sports Development 24
8 Chad Wentzel Hubbard Racing 15
9 Lindoro da Silva START Racing
Hi-Tech Motor Sports Development		 10
10 Dominic Chappell Long Ridge Racing 10
11 Charles Rickett Jim Lee Racing 10
12 Darren Shaw MacDonald Race Engineering 7
13 Guido Basile Terropol Promotions 6
14 Paul Smith Tech-Speed Motorsport 5
15 Gary Thomas CS Engineering 4
16 Rob Mears Cram Motorsport 4
17 Chris Needham Hi-Tech Motor Sport Developments 3
18 Juan Serda Roger Cowman Racing 2
19 Alan Tulloch Peter Lea Racing 1
20 Chris Perkins Royal Air Force MSA 1

References
  1. http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/october-2012/85/david-brabham
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