Giuseppe "Beppe" Gabbiani (born 2 January 1957) is an Italian racing driver . He participated in 17 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 1 October 1978, and scored no championship points. He also participated in one non-Championship Formula One race.
85-449: In Formula 2 , he won the 1983 Eifelrennen . In sports car racing , he finished third in the 2003 1000km Spa . ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) ( key ) ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.) Formula 2 Formula Two ( F2 or Formula 2 ) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It
170-453: A 1.0 L engine size, but permitting pure-bred racing engines. Formula Two was largely the domain of Formula One stars on their days off. Engines were mostly by Cosworth (based on Ford blocks) and Honda , though some other units appeared, including various Fiat based units and dedicated racing engines from BMC and BRM . For 1967, the FIA increased the maximum engine capacity to 1600cc. With
255-577: A 1.8L turbocharged Audi engine developed by Mountune Racing , with 425 brake horsepower (317 kW; 431 PS). The cars fell between Formula One and Formula Three in performance, and cost each driver £195,000 for a season. The 2009 championship comprised eight events in Europe between the months of May and November. There were two races per weekend – each 110 km long (around 40 minutes). Two 30-minute practice sessions and two 30-minute qualifying sessions preceded both races. The inaugural championship
340-402: A Coventry Climax 10.8 hp 4-cylinder engine, the same horsepower rating as the 66 mm bore F type. The engines were available either separate or in unit construction with a three speed gearbox. Also displayed at the 1923 Olympia Motor Show was a 1,005 cc twin cylinder 2-stroke engine. The bore was 80 mm and the stroke 85 mm. The main engine of interest at the 1923 show was
425-407: A Formula One World Champion was A graded for five. This system permitted less experienced drivers to work towards the championship and forward their careers, while allowing senior drivers to keep their hand in during the long breaks between Grands Prix of the time. In the early years of the 1600cc formula, Brabham and Lotus were the most numerous constructors, although Ferrari intermittently entered
510-700: A Formula Two car, while still racing front-engined Grand Prix cars. The dominant engine of this formula was the Coventry Climax FPF four-cylinder, with the rare Borgward sixteen-valve unit enjoying some success. A slightly enlarged version of the F2 Cooper won the first two Formula One Grands Prix in 1958, marking the beginning of the rear-engined era in Formula One. The 1.5 L formula was short-lived, with Formula Junior effectively replacing first Formula Three and then Formula Two until 1963—but
595-597: A dry sump system. Carburetion was by two twin-choke Weber DCO side-draft carburettors. It started life as a 1,475 cc Formula Two engine by enlarging the 2.95 in bore of the FPE to 3.2 in with the slightly increased 2.8 in (71 mm) stroke, and was gradually enlarged for use in Formula One . A 1,964 cc (3.4" x 3.3") version took Stirling Moss and Maurice Trintignant to Cooper 's first two Grand Prix victories against 2.5 L opposition in 1958. After
680-541: A feeder series for Formula One, the competing GP2 and Formula Renault 3.5 series had significantly more powerful cars, and no Formula Two driver had managed to progress to a Formula One team until Jolyon Palmer in 2016 with Renault Sport F1 Team . In 2015, the FIA announced plans to overhaul the Super Licence system, streamlining the qualification criteria and weighting the various feeder series to allow drivers
765-494: A major shareholder of Lansing Bagnall at the time, formed the company, independent of his other interests for the purpose of acquiring Coventry Climax. In 1986 Coventry Climax went into receivership and was acquired by Cronin Tubular . In 1990, a further change of ownership came with the engine business being sold to Horstman Defence Systems of Bath, Somerset , thus breaking the link with Coventry. Kalmar Industries acquired
850-506: A match for these (and the pre-War German and Italian cars were no longer available), the old 1.5 L voiturette formula replaced 3.0 L supercharged cars in an attempt to equalise performance. This left no category below Formula A/Formula One, so Formula Two (originally known as Formula B) was first formally codified by the FIA as a smaller and cheaper complement to the Grand Prix cars of the era to be effective from 1 January 1948 . Among
935-566: A more linear progress system. Included with this were plans for a revival of the Formula Two category, which was given priority over all other categories of competition. Further details were published by the World Motorsport Council, revealing plans to model the new Formula Two championship along the same lines as the revived European Formula 3 Championship and the newly introduced Formula 4 category. The series will be
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#17327868884721020-617: A new engine for the three-litre formula. The company was purchased by Jaguar Cars in 1963, which itself merged with the British Motor Corporation (BMC) in 1966 to form British Motor Holdings (BMH). In May 1964, the Royal Automobile Club presented the Dewar Trophy , which is given at the recommendation of RAC's Technical and Engineering Committee for the most outstanding British achievement in
1105-784: A new group called BL Commercial Vehicles (BLCV) under managing director David Abell . In the early 1970s, the fire pump business was sold back into private ownership, and the Godiva Fire Pumps company was formed in Warwick . In 1977 Coventry Climax acquired the Warrington forklift truck business of Rubery Owen Conveyancer , renaming it Climax Conveyancer . In 1982 BL sold off the Coventry Climax forklift truck business back into private ownership to Coventry Climax Holdings Limited. Sir Emmanuel Kaye , also chairman and
1190-687: A part of the FIA Global Pathway . Rather than reviving the series by creating a new one where none had previously existed, the FIA chose to rebrand the GP2 Series as the FIA Formula 2 Championship in early 2017. Since then, drivers to have graduated to F1 include Charles Leclerc , George Russell and Oscar Piastri . All eleven teams run the Dallara F2 2024 chassis, powered by a Mecachrome engine. The Central Automotoclub of
1275-503: A race-winning, works Maserati F1 engine he had on loan into Coventry Climax, where it produced 225 bhp running on the same dynamometer upon which the FPE had made 264 bhp after some development. Ultimately, development on the engine was abandoned in favour of focusing on the FPF engine, which was already proven competitive in 1.5L form with side-draft Weber carburetors in the F2 races, and
1360-464: A separate division of the company for the fire pumps. While the motor car engine business suffered during the recession, the mobile fire pump division of Coventry Climax became a great success, particularly during the late 1930s and this continued during the war. Another diversification was into commercial vehicle engines. This started in 1929 with the launch of a large (5.8 litre) six-cylinder side-valve petrol engine intended for buses and trucks, and
1445-415: A stock of engines that were converted to drive electric generators, a field in which they had experience from building WW1 searchlight generators. They also started to make engine driven pumps, and mounted on a trailer as a mobile fire fighting appliance this was to be a great success. The economic problems of the 1930s hit the business hard, and Leonard Pelham Lee , who had taken over from his father, created
1530-431: A water pump and an oil filter, whereas the 4 cylinder engine relied on thermosyphon alone and no oil filter. The FW 38 hp 1,020 cc straight-four SOHC was designed by Hassan and Mundy as the motive unit for a portable service fire pump which was supplied to the government under three contracts totaling over 150,000 units. This engine was revolutionary in its lightness, with a bare weight of 180 pounds, combined with
1615-490: A works team, as did BMW (with Lola and Dornier -built chassis). A number of smaller constructors such as Matra and Tecno were successful. Chevron also provided cars. The French firm Matra won the three first editions of the European championship, with Tecno winning the fourth. In 1972, the formula was changed to increase power by permitting 2.0 L production-based engines—Cosworth BDs and BMW four-cylinder engines dominated
1700-489: Is quoted as producing more than 300 bhp , and a corporate decision was made not to release FPE to Kieft in light of the lack of proper fuel injection, leaving the Kieft F1 project, as well as other prospective users, HWM and Connaught , high and dry. There were reports to the effect that the engine was not run because of fears about the rumoured power of other 2.5L GP engines, but shortly after, John Cooper brought
1785-648: The Brabham marque won three titles, with the drivers going to Jack Brabham (twice), Jim Clark and Jochen Rindt . Races were held at some of the most legendary venues in France, Pau , Clermont-Ferrand and Reims , to name just three. However once the European Championship had successfully completed this first season, the French version was abandoned. Coventry-Climax#FPF Coventry Climax
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#17327868884721870-583: The FIA Formula Two Championship was a one make series, with the competitors all using the same chassis and engine. Jonathan Palmer 's MotorSport Vision company managed the championship and also operated and maintained the cars on behalf of the drivers. There were no teams in the championship – unlike other professional motorsport series each driver instead worked with engineers supplied by MotorSport Vision. The cars were designed by Williams Grand Prix Engineering , and were powered by
1955-807: The Ferrari engine returned briefly with minimal success. The Hart 420R (ultimately derived from the Cosworth BDA) was briefly successful in Marches and Team Surtees won the European F2 Championship in 1972 with Hart engines, driver Mike Hailwood, but most notably in the works Toleman team's cars. Dominant chassis of this era were generally from March and Ralt , with Chevron, the French Elf and Martinis and German Maurers being briefly successful. Honda returned to Formula Two in
2040-509: The Index of Thermal Efficiency once during the 24 Hours of Le Mans . The FW series engines in modified forms also powered Lotus Eleven cars which took three class wins at Le Mans and one Index of Performance win. In 1966–67, Fisher-Pierce of America imported an 85 hp version of the FWB with twin-carburetors to be mounted vertically in their outboard marine unit. This boat engine came out to
2125-512: The "return to power" of Formula One the gap between Formula One and Formula Two was felt to be too wide, and the introduction of new 1600cc production-based engine regulations for Formula Two restored the category to its intended role as a feeder series for Formula One. The FIA also introduced the European Formula Two Championship in 1967. Ickx, driving a Matra MS5, won the inaugural championship by 11 points from
2210-715: The 1935 Gilford Motors CF176 coach. Going into the war, Coventry Climax used their marine diesel experience to further develop and build the Armstrong Whitworth supercharged H30 multifuel engine for military use. This has been fitted as an auxiliary engine in the British Chieftain and Challenger battle tanks and Rapier anti-aircraft missile systems. In the late 1940s, the company shifted away from automobile engines and into other markets, including marine diesels, and forklift trucks – plus continuing to make their very successful fire pumps . In 1946,
2295-622: The 1961 1.5 L Formula One was effectively a continuation of this Formula Two. For 1960, in preparation for the new Formula One, two international championships were held, the Formula Two Constructors' Championship and the Formula Two Drivers' Championship . The Drivers' Championship was won by Jack Brabham , while the Manufacturers' Championship ended in a tie between Porsche and Cooper. Formula Junior
2380-525: The 2.0 litre engine era, HWM , Connaught and Cooper were among the constructors who built cars for the class, usually powered by Bristol . When F2 was brought back in 1.5 litre form in 1956, Cooper and Lotus were the first to build cars to the new specification, taking advantage of the availability of Coventry Climax engines. Championships were held from 1956 to 1960, 1964 to 1967 and again in 1972. Stirling Moss , Jack Brabham , Jim Clark and Niki Lauda won titles. The British Formula 3000 series
2465-550: The Australian, Frank Gardner . The most popular 1600cc engine was the Cosworth FVA, the sixteen-valve head on a four-cylinder Cortina block that was effectively the "proof of concept" for the legendary DFV. The 1967 FVA gave 220 bhp (160 kW; 220 PS) at 9000 rpm. Other units also appeared, including a four-cylinder BMW and a V6 Dino Ferrari . Nevertheless, many Formula One drivers continued to drive
2550-458: The ET199 forklift was announced, which the company claimed was the first British-produced forklift truck. The ET199 was designed to carry a 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) load with a 24-inch (610 mm) load centre, and with a 9 ft (2.7 m) lift height. In 1950, Harry Mundy joined Coventry Climax, and a new lightweight all-aluminium overhead camshaft engine was developed in response to
2635-645: The F2 category made its debut in Soviet autosport championships. Two years later, updated F2 regulations were introduced. It wasn't until 1971 that F2 cars started to regularly appear on Soviet tracks, and F2 series were included in Soviet motorsport championships until 1977. Prior to the Formula Nippon, during the 1.6 L 1967–1971 era, a Formula 2 series championship existed in Japan. Japanese teams were building their own cars and engines. As for races ran in Europe,
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2720-472: The F5000-based revival of Can-Am . Australia has had its own Australian Formula 2 category since 1964. From 1978 the formula has specified that cars be powered by a production-based single-cam engine with a capacity between 1100 cc and 1600 cc. Induction must be by means of carburettor/s, the engine must be naturally aspirated and an 8500 rpm rev limit is applied. An Australian Formula 2 Championship
2805-519: The FPE during the 10 years, and the car, one spare chassis, and the FPE parts were sold in a lot at Bonhams Chichester auction on 15 September 2012 for £185,000. The FPF was a double overhead cam all-aluminium four-cylinder that was essentially half of the above FPE V8 engine, which was designed as a pure racing engine from the outset. Designed in 1955 and becoming available in 1956, it had gear-driven camshafts, steel alloy cylinder sleeves, and individual oil scavenge as well as pressure feed pumps for
2890-460: The FPF engine followed. Stirling Moss scored the company's first Formula One victory in Argentina in 1958, using a 2-litre version of the engine. In general terms, however, the engines were not powerful enough to compete with the 2.5-litre machinery, and it was not until the 2.5-litre version of the FPF arrived in 1959 that Jack Brabham was able to win the world championship in a Cooper-Climax. At
2975-658: The FW together. The following design aspects are credited to these two people, except the last two items, in which Peter Windsor Smith played a considerable role in place of Mundy, who left the firm in 1955 and returned in 1963. At the Olympia Motor Show in 1923, Coventry Climax listed four F-type 4-cylinder water cooled engines. All had 100 mm stroke, and the bores were 59 (1,094 cc displacement), 63 (1,247 cc), 66 (1,368 cc) and 69 mm (1,496 cc). The GWK car had featured in Coventry Climax adverts from late 1920 with
3060-600: The FWA named the 744 cc FWC, as used by Dan Gurney early in his career in US club racing. The objective of this engine was for Lotus to campaign for the 750 cc Le Mans Index of Performance prize in 1957, three engines were made for this purpose, and it won the prize in a Lotus Eleven driven by Cliff Allison and Keith Hall. Lotus also campaigned the FWC at Le Mans in 1958. The FWE powered Lotus Elites won their class six times and
3145-463: The FWA stroke for a displacement of 1,216 cc. In exchange for a 1,000 unit purchase agreement signed by Chapman , it was specifically designed with forged steel crank for the Lotus Elite but became a favourite with a number of sports car racing firms for its racing durability and high power-to-weight ratio. Other FW variants included a short-stroke (1.78 inches) steel crank version of
3230-721: The First World War to be used in generating sets for searchlights . In 1919, Pelham Lee acquired an existing company, Johnson & Smith Ltd, and changed its name to Coventry Climax Engines Ltd with premises at East Street, Coventry. [Board of Trade Certificate, Herbert Collection, Coventry] (Coventry Simplex continued under separate management). Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the company supplied engines to many companies manufacturing light cars such as Abbey , AJS , Albatross , Ashton-Evans , Bayliss-Thomas , Clyno , Crossley , Crouch , GWK , Marendaz , Morgan , Triumph , Swift , Standard , and Waverley Cars of London. In
3315-506: The OC was made with a capacity of 1,122 cc as a straight-four using a bore of 63 mm and stroke of 90 mm with overhead inlet and side exhaust valves, producing 34 bhp (25 kW). It was introduced in the early 1930s and also built under licence by Triumph . The OC engine had morphed into the MC engine by 1933. It looked virtually identical, but there were internal differences. It
3400-701: The USSR (CAMK) joined the FIA in October 1956, aiming to develop Soviet motorsport after seeing international races like the British F1 GP. In 1959, CAMK introduced a new classification system for racing cars in the USSR. However, F2 cars were not part of the 1960 Soviet motorsport championship because there were no suitable stock engines available, and the Soviet Union did not produce specialized racing engines at that time. Consequently, it wasn't until 1962 that
3485-489: The automotive field, to Leonard Pelham Lee. The citation reads: "Awarded to Coventry Climax Engines Ltd. for the design, development, and production of engines which have brought British cars to the forefront in the field of Grand Prix racing." The history of this trophy dates back to 1906. The last time the Dewar Trophy was awarded before 1964, the recipient was Alec Issigonis for British Motor Corporation (BMC) in 1959 on
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3570-890: The design and production of the ADO15 Mini . BMH merged with the Leyland Motor Corporation in 1968 to form the British Leyland Motor Corporation, which was then nationalised in 1975 as British Leyland (BL). Coventry Climax became part of the British Leyland Special Products Division, alongside Alvis , Aveling-Barford , and others. At the end of 1978, BL brought together Coventry Climax Limited, Leyland Vehicles Limited (trucks, buses, and tractors), Alvis Limited (military vehicles), and Self-Changing Gears Limited (heavy-duty transmissions) into
3655-544: The dynamometer at Chrysler 's Kew facility. Remnants of other FPE parts were much later found by the then-owner of 1954 Kieft F1 chassis, Gordon and Martyn Chapman, in an air-raid cellar in the abandoned building which used to belong to Bill Lacey (of Power Engines Ltd., a Coventry Climax specialist) near the main entrance of Silverstone Circuit , including 3 blocks, 2 cranks, 16 cylinder heads, 20-some cam covers (carriers?), two card boxes full of timing gears and camshafts, which all belonged to "Doc Murfield" who had purchased
3740-410: The early 1930s, the company also supplied engines for buses, and in 1935 supplied the 'L' engine to David Brown tractors for the 550 Model A, being a collaborative venture with Ferguson. In the 1920s, the company moved to Friars Road, Coventry, and in the late 1930s, they also acquired the former Riley premises on Widdrington Road, Coventry. With the closure of Swift in 1931, the company was left with
3825-464: The early 1980s with a powerful V6, but this was very much a works engine and the cost of competing with the works Ralt-Honda team became prohibitive. As a result, grids diminished in size and declining interest in the series threatened it with extinction. After the 1984 season, the FIA replaced Formula Two with the newly created Formula 3000 category, which was designed to cut the cost of competition. The initial regulations joined F2-style chassis with
3910-404: The early years, with BMW-powered Marches gradually establishing dominance. For 1976, engines developed purely for racing were permitted to compete, with Renault developing a particularly potent V6; allied to a sponsorship scheme from oil company Elf the formula was briefly dominated by French teams and drivers; BMW started to back a works March team and raised the stakes in the late-Seventies. Even
3995-548: The entire stock of parts was sold to Andrew Getley in the mid-1960s. When the Formula One regulation changed to 3 Litres for 1966, Mr. Getley permitted Paul Emery to rebuild one FPE to 3 Litre format and fit it into a one-off Shannon steel monocoque chassis to make the Shannon F1 car named SH1 driven by Trevor Taylor at 1966 British Grand Prix . Bored out to 3 Litres and Tecalemit Jackson fuel injection installed, this Emery-built FPE produced 312 bhp on
4080-525: The forklift truck interests of Coventry Climax in 1985. The company traded as "Kalmar Climax" for a few years but is now trading as Kalmar Industries Ltd. The 'Coventry Climax logo trademark is the property of Canadian Peter Schömer, based in Chichester . Within the complicated corporate lineage, the reputation of Coventry Climax as a top-rate engine designer-builder is largely credited to Walter Hassan and Harry Mundy , who designed and developed
4165-545: The government's ambitious requisition outline asking for a portable fire pump that was capable of pumping double the amount of water specified in the previous outline, with half the weight. This was designated the FW for "Feather Weight". The engine was displayed at the Motor Show in London and attracted attention from the motor racing fraternity for its very high " horsepower per pound of weight ". With strong persuasions at
4250-411: The intention to use the fuel injection system made by Skinners Union (SU). However, this fuel injection system, designed for aeroplane engines, was found not to have the means to enrich the mixture for acceleration, which is not suitable for automobile use. FPE initially showed 240 bhp using Weber carburettors, but the press at the time reported the rumoured fuel-injected Mercedes 2.5L GP engine
4335-622: The interim 2,207 cc (3.5" x 3.5") version, a larger block was cast to result in 2,467 cc (3.7" x 3.5") in 1958, and then to a full-sized 2,497 cc (3.7" x 90 mm ) in 1960. Jack Brabham won the World Championship of Drivers in both 1959 and 1960 driving FPF powered Coopers. The FPF with a larger block (to accommodate larger bores) was then adapted to the new 1.5-litre Formula One of 1961 as 1,499.8 cc (82 mm x 71 mm) FPF Mk.II and won three World Championship Grand Prix races in that year. In addition, capacity
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#17327868884724420-458: The later type twin spark plug heads in the stock, was run in the original 1954 Kieft -Climax V8 Grand Prix chassis with downdraft Weber 40IDF carburetors when they were finally mated, and the construction finished on 21 September 2002 at VSCC Silverstone Meeting, and this car was campaigned in VSCC events for the next 10 years. Four sets of period-correct Weber 40DCNL carburetors were installed on
4505-440: The maintenance-free valve adjustment using shims under an overhead camshaft. In 1953 it was adapted for automotive racing as the 1,098 cc FWA retaining the cast crank three main bearing construction of the FW but with a distributor ignition in place of a magneto, a different camshaft, and a higher, 9.8:1 compression ratio. With a bore of 2.85 inches and a stroke of 2.625 inches, it produced 71 hp (53 kW) and
4590-442: The market as Bearcat 85. Commission Sportive Internationale announced in 1952 that 2.5L naturally aspirated engines would be a part of Formula One regulation starting 1954. Walter Hassan and especially Harry Mundy having their roots deeply in the racing field, started discussions and preliminary designs of a 2.5L 8 Cylinder GP engine in 1952 without a formal directive from the father and son Pelham Lees . Because this project
4675-430: The mid-1970s. The Japanese Formula 2 championship ran between 1978 and 1986, before Japan too adopted a set of regulations very similar to F3000 rules, with the series being known as Japanese Formula 3000 from 1987. The series is now known as Super Formula , after using the name Formula Nippon from 1996 to 2012. Japan also ran a series for full-bodied versions of F2 cars called Fuji Grand Champion Series —somewhat akin to
4760-482: The most successful. There were a total of 22 Grand Prix victories before 1966 with crossplane , flat-plane , two- and four-valve versions of the FWMV. When the new, 3-litre, formula was introduced, Coventry Climax decided not to build engines for the new formula and withdrew from racing after the unsuccessful FWMW project, with the exception of the new 2-Litre version of the FWMV. Also, in the early 1960s, Coventry Climax
4845-416: The naturally aspirated 3000 cc Cosworth DFV V8 engines, that were by then obsolete in the all- turbocharged Formula One. The premier series was the FIA Formula 3000 International Championship , though a number of other championships were also run to Formula 3000 regulations. Following an absence of 25 years, a Formula Two championship was re-established by the FIA in 2009. Unlike the previous incarnation,
4930-463: The new 6-cylinder 1,753 cc CX engine. This had 61 mm bore and 100 mm stroke, and was rated at 13.8 hp. The same six-cylinder engine appeared in the Waverley car at the 1925 Olympia motor show. The engine size had increased to 1,991 cc (65 mm bore, 16 hp rating), with overhead valves and Lanchester style vibration damper, it was coupled to a 4-speed Meadows gearbox. At first,
5015-417: The outbreak of war, the rules for voiturette racing permitted 1.5 L supercharged engines; Grand Prix cars were permitted 3.0 L supercharged or 4.5 L naturally aspirated . In 1946, the 3.0 L supercharged rules were abandoned and Formulae A and B (later 1 and 2) introduced, effective from 1 January 1947. Formula A permitted the old 4.5 L naturally aspirated cars, but as the 3.0 L supercharged cars were more than
5100-530: The parts from Andrew Getley in 1968-69 and had entrusted them to Bill Lacey. These parts were assembled into two engines under the ownership of Gordon Chapman and then under Bill Morris, who bought the engine parts and the Kieft chassis after Gordon Chapman's death. One engine was sold by Chapman to the then-owner of Shannon SH1, and this FPE is said to be in Austria together with Shannon SH1. Another using two of
5185-494: The race due to problems unrelated to the engines. The FWA became popular in sportscar racing and was followed by the Mark II and then by the FWB, which had a capacity of nearly 1.5-litres. The new Formula Two regulations suited the 1.5-litre engine, and it quickly became the engine to have in F2 racing. By 1957, the first Climax engines began to appear in Formula One in the back of Cooper chassis. Initially, these were FWBs, but
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#17327868884725270-785: The races held in this first year of Formula Two was the 1948 Stockholm Grand Prix . In 1948 Scuderia Ferrari built the Ferrari 166 F2 , which made its racing debut at the Florence Grand Prix on September 26, 1948. The rules limited engines to two-litre naturally aspirated or 500 cc supercharged (an option very rarely used). As a result, the cars were smaller, lighter, and cheaper than those used in Formula One. This encouraged new marques such as Cooper to move up to Formula Two, before competing against large manufacturers like Alfa Romeo and Maserati . In fact, Formula One in its early years attracted so few entrants that in 1952 and 1953 all World Championship Grand Prix races, except
5355-658: The same time, the company produced the FWE engine for the Lotus Elite , and this enjoyed considerable success in sports car racing , with a series of class wins at the Le Mans events in the early 1960s. In 1961, there was a new 1.5-litre formula, and the FPF engine was given a new lease on life, although the company began work on a V8 engine, designated the FWMV, and this became competitive in 1962 predominantly in Lotus, Cooper, Brabham, and Lola chassis, with Jim Clark's Lotus outstandingly
5440-555: The series has always meant a need for a path to reach this peak. For much of the history of Formula One, Formula Two has represented the penultimate step on the motorsport ladder. Prior to the Second World War, there usually existed a division of racing for cars smaller and less powerful than Grand Prix racers. This category was usually called voiturette ("small car") racing and provided a means for amateur or less experienced drivers and smaller marques to prove themselves. By
5525-492: The series was simply called Formula 2. Amongst the makes, the best known was the Mitsubishi Colt. Cars raced with parallel FIA rules, using 1600 cc displacement engines, from 1967 to 1970. Japan ran a series known as "Japanese Formula 2000 championship" to rules similar to two-litre F2 between 1973 and 1977. Production-based single-cam engines were permitted to run at 2.4 L, but they soon came into line with FIA rules in
5610-534: The show, including those by Cyril Kieft (who had Stirling Moss as an F3 driver) and a young Colin Chapman , Lee concluded that success in competition could lead to more customers for the company, and so the team designed the FWA, a F eather W eight engine for A utomobiles. The first Coventry Climax racing engine appeared at the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans in the front of one of two Kieft 1100 sports racers, but both cars (one with an MG engine) failed to finish
5695-670: The slower Formula One cars. Ickx quickly forced his way back into a points position, only to be forced to retire with broken suspension. Jim Clark , regarded as one of the greatest race drivers of all time, was killed in a Formula Two race early in 1968, at the Hockenheimring . A year later Gerhard Mitter was killed at the Nürburgring while practising for the 1969 German Grand Prix in a Formula Two car. The "invasion" of Formula One drivers in Formula Two ranks (a situation similar to that of buschwhacking in modern-day NASCAR )
5780-536: The smaller and lighter cars on non-championship weekends, and some Grand Prix grids (notably in Germany, where the long circuit at the Nürburgring could cope with large entries) would be a mix of Formula One and Formula Two cars. Jacky Ickx made his Grand Prix debut at the Nürburgring in a Formula Two car in 1966. The following year Ickx qualified with the third fastest time overall but was forced to start behind
5865-546: The unique Indianapolis 500 , were run in Formula Two (there were, however, non-championship Formula One events). F2 went into decline with the arrival of the 2.5 L F1 in 1954 (with small-capacity sports car racing becoming particularly popular), but a new Formula Two was introduced for 1957, for 1.5 L cars. This became dominated by rear-engined Coopers drawing on their Formula 3 and "Bobtail" sports car, with Porsches based on their RSK sports cars enjoying some success. Ferrari originally developed their "Sharknose" Dino 156 as
5950-511: Was GWK , who produced over 1,000 light cars with Coventry-Simplex two-cylinder engines between 1911 and 1915. Just before the First World War , a Coventry-Simplex engine was used by Lionel Martin to power the first Aston Martin car. Ernest Shackleton selected Coventry-Simplex to power the tractors that were to be used in his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914. Hundreds of Coventry-Simplex engines were manufactured during
6035-428: Was a British manufacturer of forklift trucks , fire pumps, racing engines, and other speciality engines. The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer , but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry , and renamed as Coventry-Simplex by H. Pelham Lee , a former Daimler employee, who saw a need for competition in the nascent piston engine market. An early user
6120-419: Was a pure racing engine from the beginning, which was in stark contrast to the corporate product history up to FWA, the engine was named FPE for Fire Pump Engine (Eight according to another lore) by the playful minds of Hassan and Mundy. After the corporate blessing was given to the project with the name ' Godiva ', this DOHC, 90-degree, steel crossplane crank V8 engine was built in 1954 for an F1 Kieft with
6205-424: Was approached by Rootes to mass-produce FWMAs for use in a compact family car project called Apex with an all-aluminium alloy overhead cam engine combined with a full- synchromesh aluminium transaxle . This combination was considered very radical at the time, especially the synchromesh on all forward gears, which had been declared 'impossible' by Alec Issigonis of BMC Mini fame. The adoption to mass-production
6290-539: Was briefly known as "Formula Two" in an attempt to make its status more apparent to casual spectators. However, the series was in terminal decline and the change of name did not help. At one point the use of 4.2 L TVR engines cars in F3000 chassis was discussed as a possible British F2, but this did not materialise. Prior to the formation of the European Championship, France held its own, very popular championship between 1964 and 1967. Despite only running for four seasons,
6375-404: Was first used at Le Mans in 1954 by Kieft Cars . After the FWA was introduced, the FW was renamed to FWP (Pump). The larger bore (3 inches) and longer stroke (3.15 inches) 1,460 cc FWB engine followed; it retained the FWA head but had a forged steel crank and produced a nominal 108 bhp (81 kW). The most significant of the series was the FWE which used the FWB bore size and
6460-421: Was followed in 1931 by a six-cylindered 6.8 litre petrol engine of inlet over exhaust ( IOE ) design, and a 4-cylinder engine in 1932. In 1934 Commercial Motor referred to the 'popular Coventry Climax engines' as the six-cylindered L6 and the four-cylindered B4 – the latter being of 'especially modern design with wet liners'. Examples of vehicles using the engines include the 1932 Karrier Bantam refuse truck, and
6545-538: Was increased to 2,751 cc (96 mm x 95 mm) for the Indianapolis 500 and this larger variant was also utilised for sports car racing, the Intercontinental Formula and Formula Libre racing. It also served as a stopgap in the new 3.0 L Formula One regulation, which went into effect in 1966. The old 2,497 cc FPF gained a new lease of life in 1964 with the introduction of
6630-506: Was introduced in 1959, an attempt to be all things to all people (both a training formula replacing Formula Three and a high-level international category below Formula One replacing Formula Two), and it was soon realised that there was a need to split it into two new formulae; Formula Two and Formula Three were reintroduced for the 1964 season, with Formula Three requiring one-litre production-based engines, which were similar to Formula Junior with very restricted tuning, and Formula Two also having
6715-411: Was permitted because of the unique grading system used. Any driver with an A grading was not permitted to score championship points. A driver gained an A rating via various means which changed somewhat over the years, such as finishing in the points in two Grand Prix events or the top three in two World Sports Car events. The annual Formula Two champion was also granted an A rating for one year, and
6800-408: Was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000 , but revived by the FIA from 2009 – 2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship . The name returned again in 2017 when the former GP2 Series became known as the FIA Formula 2 Championship . While Formula One has generally been regarded as the pinnacle of open-wheeled auto racing, the high-performance nature of the cars and the expense involved in
6885-559: Was sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport in the years from 1964 to 1965, from 1969 to 1977 and from 1979 to 1988. Mexico ran its own Formula Two series (previously known as Formula K) for 12 years in the early 1990s. The cars were similar to Formula Atlantic vehicles, fitted with 2.2 L Chrysler engines. Formula Two racing was popular in the United Kingdom in the late 1940s and early 1950s. During
6970-419: Was still 1,122 cc, I.O.E., and four cylinders inline, but the camshaft was different, as were the cam followers. The timing marks on the flywheel are now observed from the top of the engine rather than the underside as on the OC. Carburation varied, from the side draught Solex , the down draught SU , to the progressive choke down draught and then a larger side draught SU system on Triumph engines. The engine
7055-481: Was successful, and the project came out to the market as the 875cc Hillman Imp totaling over 400,000 units made by 1976, including the later 998cc version. At Earls Court in 1962, Coventry Climax chairman, Leonard Pelham Lee announced the withdrawal from building Formula 1 engines, stating that the company was losing money and not gaining enough publicity from their involvement. Nonetheless, Coventry Climax remained in Formula One until they were unable to come up with
7140-459: Was water-cooled by thermosyphon with no water pump or fan. A six-cylinder version of the MC engine, the JM, was made with a capacity of 1,476 cc with a 59 mm bore, developing 42 bhp (31 kW). The JMC version had its capacity increased to 1,683 cc by increasing the bore to 63 mm and produced 48 bhp (36 kW). It was different from the 4 cylinder engine in that it had both
7225-405: Was won by Andy Soucek although was marred by the death of Henry Surtees during the fourth round at Brands Hatch. The series was discontinued by the FIA and MSV after the 2012 season. The championship had struggled to attract enough drivers in the final year, with the single team concept proving to be unpopular compared to championships run on a more conventional basis. Despite being marketed as
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