Atlantic Championship - History

History

The history of Formula Atlantic begins with the SCCA Formula B class, created in 1965 for single-seat formula cars with engines not exceeding 1600 cm³ in capacity. Prior to Formula Atlantic, professional Formula B races were held in the United States from 1965 to 1972, firstly with the SCCA's poorly-supported Formula A, then as part of the SCCA Formula Continental Championship in 1968 (when they were largely overshadowed by the V8-powered Formula 5000 cars) and then as an independent series from 1969 to 1972.

Formula Atlantic as a class evolved in the United Kingdom in 1971 from the US Formula B rules, with 1600 cm³ production-based twin-cam engines (initially Lotus-Ford twin-cams but then Cosworth BDA and BDD, however other engines like Alfa Romeo were also eligible). Conceived by John Webb of Brands Hatch (who would later also develop the Sports 2000 class) as a category for national competitors with the performance near a Formula Two car but running costs at or below that of a contemporary Formula Three car. A single (Yellow Pages championship ran in 1971–72, with a rival BP backed series appearing in 1973. 1974 saw the BP series changing sponsor to John Player, and the Yellow Pages series becoming backed by John Webb's MCD organisation and Southern Organs; in practice most top drivers competed in both series and there were no date clashes. Only one series ran in 1975-76, in the final year taking the title 'Indylantic and adopting Indianapolis-style single-car qualifying. But the formula was under threat from Formula 3 and no series ran in 1977–78. The series returned in 1979 with backing (for one season only) from Hitachi and continued to 1983, with diminishing grids and few new cars appearing.

As a result of its similarity to Formula 2 and Formula 3 in terms of chassis regulations, Formula Atlantic typically used chassis closely related to these cars—with performance somewhere in between the two—so most of the manufacturers were familiar from those classes, particularly the likes of Brabham, Lotus, March, Chevron early on, with Ralt and then Reynard later. US manufacturer Swift came to displace the British imports and dominate in North America. Several smaller marques also appeared.

The first professional races run under Formula Atlantic rules in North America were conducted in 1974 by the Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs (CASC) in Canada (now ASN Canada), drawing much attention and large fields due to its national CTV television coverage. IMSA in the United States took advantage of the large number of teams and organized their own series in 1976.

During these years, the series attracted guest drivers from Europe, including Formula One, particularly at the Trois-Rivières street race in Quebec, Canada. Guest drivers included James Hunt, Jean-Pierre Jarier, Riccardo Patrese, Patrick Depailler, Jacques Laffite, Didier Pironi and Vittorio Brambilla.

In 1977, the SCCA sanctioned the US events and in 1978 the CASC and SCCA series merged, and conducted the series jointly until 1983, when it ran as the Formula Mondial North American Cup; Michael Andretti won the championship. The series could not sustain the success of earlier seasons and was cancelled for 1984.

In its place a "Pacific" series was conducted exclusively on the US West Coast in 1985. This rebirth expanded to an East Coast "Atlantic" series the following year and the two ran concurrently through 1990. From 1990 to 2005, the series was sponsored by Toyota and the cars were powered by 1600 cc Toyota 4A-GE engines available in kit form from Toyota Racing Development. With the support of Toyota, the two US series were reunited into a single North American championship and have remained so to this date.

The same rules were adopted as Formula Pacific (not to be confused with the US Formula Atlantic Pacific Championship) and races were run in Australia, and New Zealand, where Formula Pacific became the top class of racing. For a few years the prestigious Macau Grand Prix was run to Formula Pacific rules before becoming a Formula Three race. South Africa also adopted Formula Atlantic rules, but later mandated that the cars were fitted with Mazda Wankel engines.

In recognition of the global acceptance of the formula it was briefly renamed Formula Mondial in 1983, but its peak of international popularity was some years past.

Former drivers in the series include legends such as Gilles Villeneuve, Jacques Villeneuve, Bobby Rahal and Michael Andretti, and many current and former IRL and Champ Car drivers including Jimmy Vasser, Paul Tracy, Calvin Fish, A. J. Allmendinger, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Scott Harrington, Robbie Buhl, Andrew Ranger, Ronnie Bremer, Danica Patrick, Alex Tagliani, Patrick Carpentier, Buddy Rice, Dan Wheldon, Sam Hornish, Jr., Raphael Matos, Roger Yasukawa, and Simona De Silvestro.

The latest in a long line of television celebrities to enter this series—starting with Dick Smothers at the very first race in 1968—was Frankie Muniz of the Fox Network comedy "Malcolm in the Middle", making his debut in 2007. Sharing the dream of many American open wheel racers, Muniz stated his intention to use Champ Car Atlantics as a direct path to racing in the Champ Car World Series.