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70-425: Former Single-Seater Racing Championship French Formula Three Championship Category Single-seaters Country [REDACTED] France Inaugural season 1964 Folded 2002 Last Drivers' champion [REDACTED] Tristan Gommendy Last Teams' champion [REDACTED] ASM Formule 3 The French Formula Three Championship

140-601: A Formula One car as a testing mule which lead directly to their entry into the Formula One World Championship in 1977. A second European Formula 2 championship followed with René Arnoux in 1977 with the customer Martini team, before Alpine sold the F2 operation to Willi Kauhsen to concentrate on the Le Mans and Formula One programs. Alpine Renault continued to develop their range of models all through

210-593: A 2017 relaunch for the Alpine brand. The Vision was later presented at the 86th Geneva Motor Show by Alpine. The production version reused the A110 name and the first official pictures were revealed on 28 February 2017 prior to the unveiling at the 87th Geneva Motor show. On 10 December 2020, Alpine and MV Agusta announced that they would make a special edition of the MV Agusta Superveloce influenced by

280-516: A Five-speed manual gearbox and with the group 4 model get a higher tune with more cubic capacity and 3 twin barrel Weber carburetors . After the A310, Alpine transformed into the new Renault Alpine GTA range, produced from plastic and polyester components, commencing with normally aspirated PRV V6 engines. In 1985 the V6 turbo was introduced to complete the range. This car was faster and more powerful than

350-440: A Formula One car must weigh at least 798 kilograms (1,759 lb); the minimum weight for NASCAR is 1,500 kilograms (3,200 lb). Open-wheeled racing is among the fastest in the world. Formula One cars can reach speeds in excess of 360 kilometres per hour (220 mph). At Autodromo Nazionale Monza , Antônio Pizzonia of BMW Williams F1 team recorded a top speed of 369.9 kilometres per hour (229.8 mph) (over 102 m/s) in

420-603: A dealership network in the country, with these new electric vehicles being developed specifically to meet the preferences of American consumers. The first assembly plant for Alpine was at a small workshop owned by Rédélé on the Pasteur avenue in Dieppe. In 1969, to cope with increasing demand, the assembly was moved to a larger facility on de Bréauté avenue, its present location. The Dieppe plant has 3.8 hectares of covered buildings. As of 2019 , it had 386 employees. The plant

490-473: A joint venture ( Société des Automobiles Alpine Caterham or SAAC) owned equally by both parts, with the aim of developing affordable sport cars under the Alpine (for Renault) and Caterham (for Caterham Cars) brands, which would be available in 2016. In this partnership, Caterham acquired 50% ownership of the Renault's Dieppe assembly plant assets. On 10 June 2014, Renault announced it would be repurchasing

560-467: A mirror used for a similar purpose on a horse-drawn vehicle in 1904. Prior to World War II , street automobiles generally had wheels that protruded beyond the vehicle's main body, though they were typically covered with mudguards to protect the car body and following traffic from water and mud spray. With the advent of unibody vehicle construction, the desire to maximise interior space, to improve aerodynamics, and aircraft-inspired styling trends of

630-543: A number of successes through the 1950s and was joined by a low and stylish cabriolet. Styling for the car was contracted to the Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti . Under the glassfibre body was a very stiff chassis based on a central tubular backbone which was to be the hallmark of all Alpines. Alpine then took the Michelotti cabriolet design and developed a 2+2 closed coupe (or ' berlinette ') body for it: this became

700-580: A protection system to the cockpit called the "halo" , a wishbone-shaped frame aimed to deflect debris away from a driver's head. Despite initial criticism, including for the reason of obstructing the driver's vision, it gained some praise in the Formula 2 sprint race in Catalunya when Nirei Fukuzumi spun and had the back of his car land on fellow countryman Tadasuke Makino 's halo. In the 2018 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix , McLaren driver Fernando Alonso

770-413: A racecar intended to race at the first Indianapolis 500 , which he went on to win. He developed a revolutionary concept which would become the originator and forefather of the single-seater (i.e. monoposto) racecar design. Harroun has also been credited by some as pioneering the rear-view mirror which appeared on his 1911 Indianapolis 500 winning car, though he himself claimed he got the idea from seeing

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840-562: A series of factory racing Renault 17 Gordinis (one driven by Jean-Luc Thérier ) that won the Press on Regardless World Rally Championship round in Michigan, US. Having achieved the rally championship, and with Renault money now fully behind them, Alpine had set their sights on a new target. The next aim was to win at Le Mans . Renault had also taken over the Gordini tuning firm and merged

910-444: A special assembly line and moved to a low-temperature coating plant (able to paint both the alloy and plastic elements) and then to a sanding robot (to remove imperfections) and wiping robot (to clean the vehicle). Final assembly is made on a single line, with logistics teams preparing beforehand the vehicle's components to travel along the line with it. Cockpits are assembled and put on by the side and pre-assembled powertrains are put on

980-478: A year as well. However, without a competitive Renault Formula Two engine available, the F2 cars could neither be known as Renaults nor Alpines while powered by Ford-Cosworth and BMW engines and were labelled Elf 2 and later Elf 2J. A Renault 2.0 litre engine arrived in time for Jean-Pierre Jabouille to win the European Formula 2 Championship in 1976. By this time, Alpine with Jabouille driving had built

1050-549: Is a French manufacturer of sports cars and racing cars established in 1955. The Alpine car marque was created in 1954. Jean Rédélé , the founder of Alpine, was originally a Dieppe garage proprietor who began to achieve success in motorsport with one of the few French cars that were produced just after the Second World War, the Renault 4CV . The company has been closely related to Renault through its history, and

1120-619: Is different from Wikidata Open wheel car American racecar driver and constructor Ray Harroun was an early pioneer of the concept of a lightweight single-seater, open-wheel "monoposto" racecar. After working as a mechanic in the automotive industry, Harroun began competitive professional racing in 1906, winning the AAA National Championship in 1910. He was then hired by the Marmon Motor Car Company as chief engineer, charged with building

1190-472: Is semi-automatised, with high worker input (before the launch of the 2017 A110, vehicles were almost completely hand-built) and focused on low-volume, high quality assembly. It can produce an average of 15 A110s per day. The plant press neither steel nor aluminium (the A110s are mostly built on prefabricated alloy panels). The plant has not a welding section, as the A110 chassis and bodywork are riveted and glued on

1260-482: The 2004 Italian Grand Prix . Since the end of the V10 era in 2006, such high speeds have not been reached, with later vehicles reaching around 360 kilometres per hour (220 mph). It is difficult to give precise figures for the absolute top speeds of Formula One cars as the data are not generally released by teams. The 'speed traps' on fast circuits such as Monza give a good indication, but are not necessarily located at

1330-615: The Alpine A110 called the Superveloce 800 Alpine, there would be approximately 110 models made. In January 2021, Alpine said it would absorb the Renault Sport entities (Renault Sport Cars and Renault Sport Racing), merging them with the existing Alpine operations to form a new Alpine business unit. The company also said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Lotus Cars to co-develop an electric successor for

1400-626: The Alpine A290 . As part of its global expansion, Alpine in 2023 announced plans to enter the North American market in 2027 with a mid-size electric crossover and a large electric SUV. Using Renault 4CVs, Jean Rédélé gained class wins in a number of major events, including the Mille Miglia and Coupe des Alpes . As his experience with the 4CV grew, he incorporated many modifications, including special five-speed gearboxes replacing

1470-602: The Coupe des Alpes and other international events. By this time the competition cars were fitted with 1440 cc engines derived from the Renault R8 Gordini . Competition successes became numerous, helped by the fact that Alpine was the first company fully to exploit the competitions homologation rules. In 1971, Alpines finished first, second and fourth in the Monte Carlo rally , using cars with engines derived from

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1540-521: The Mazda MX-5 . In February 2009, Renault confirmed that plans to revive the Alpine brand had been frozen as a direct result of the 2008–2009 global financial crisis and recession . It was later revealed that Renault had been working on a prototype around 2007, named the Renault W19. The car featured many design cues from the A110 of the 1960s and was based around the drivetrain and chassis of

1610-546: The Mercedes-Benz W196 racer of 1954–55, which covered the wheels with bodywork for aerodynamic reasons. Modern Formula One regulations mandate the open-wheel configuration. A typical open-wheeler has a minimal cockpit, sufficient only to enclose the driver's body, with the head exposed to the air. In the Whelen Modified Tour and other short track modified series, the driver's head is contained in

1680-719: The Monza Circuit the fastest lap in the 2021 Grand Prix ( Daniel Ricciardo 1:24.812) is more than six seconds per lap faster than the fastest closed-wheel racing car, an LMP1 sports car , and more than 20 seconds per lap faster than the DTM touring car lap record. Driving an open-wheel car is substantially different from driving a car with fenders. Virtually all Formula One and IndyCar drivers spend some time in various open-wheel categories before joining either top series. Open-wheel vehicles, due to their light weight, aerodynamic capabilities, and powerful engines, are often considered

1750-552: The Renault 16 . In 1973 , the newer A110 1800 finished first, second, third, and fifth and went on to win the World Rally Championship outright, beating Porsche , Lancia and Ford . During this time, production of the Alpine A110 increased and manufacturing deals were struck for A110s and A108s with factories in a number of other countries including Spain, Mexico, Brazil and Bulgaria. With 1973 came

1820-645: The Talisman concept (Z12), but the project was ultimately shelved and the Z11 was not shown. In 2005, Renault was reportedly developing a new Alpine car, codenamed project W16. The concept was a small, mid engine 2+2 SUV based around the design of the Renault Wind concept car. The project never came to fruition. In October 2007, Renault's marketing boss Patrick Blain revealed there were plans for several sports cars in Renault's future line up, but stressed that

1890-612: The 1970s, Alpine continued to campaign the A110, and later the Alpine A310 replacement car. However, to compete with Alpine's success, other manufacturers developed increasingly special cars, notably the Lancia Stratos which was based closely on the A110's size and rear-engined concept, though incorporating a Ferrari engine. Alpine's own cars, still based on the 1962 design and using a surprising number of production parts, became increasingly uncompetitive. In 1974 Alpine built

1960-424: The 1980s they built the special R5 Turbo cars, following the rear engine formula they had always used. They built all Clio Williams and RenaultSport Spiders. The factory put its Alpine badges on the early batches of the mid-engine Clio series one Clio V6. The Clio Series 2 was also assembled there with more recent RenaultSport Clio 172 and RenaultSport Clio 182s. Between 1989 and 1995, a projected new Alpine named

2030-427: The 1980s. The A310 was the next modern interpretation of the A110. The Alpine A310 was a sports car with a rear-mounted engine and was initially powered by a four-cylinder 1.6 L sourced Renault 17 TS/Gordini engine. In 1976 the A310 was restyled by Robert Opron and fitted with the more powerful and newly developed V6 PRV engine. The 2.6 L motor was modified by Alpine with a four-speed manual gearbox. Later they would use

2100-515: The 2016 and 2019-2020 championships and winning three Le Mans 24 races. Through its partnership with Signatech, Alpine also launched GT4's touring car and rallying programmes for its A110. In September 2020, Groupe Renault announced it would rename its existing Formula One team as Alpine F1 Team , while Renault would remain as the engine marque. In January 2021, the Alpine company said it would absorb all existing Renault Sport racing activities besides Formula One. In March 2021, Alpine presented

2170-496: The A110. In May 2021, Les Ulis -based Renault Sport Cars was officially renamed Alpine Cars and turned into the main development hub for Alpine as well as the whole Renault group sports cars. In mid-2023, Alpine announced its plans for global expansion, including entering the U.S. market by 2027. The brand will introduce a mid-size electric crossover and a large electric SUV as the first vehicles in its North American lineup. Discussions have been initiated with AutoNation to establish

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2240-601: The A710 "Berlinette 2", was designed and two prototypes were built. The A710 used the 2-litre, 150 horsepower engine from the Renault Clio Williams mounted in an aluminium chassis. Renault's marketing department stated that the car would need to be less basic and include more modern features such as electric windows and air conditioning. Subsequently, the project was deemed too costly (600 million francs), and as adding more modern equipment and interior would compromise

2310-786: The Alpine A108, now featuring the Dauphine Gordini 845 cc engine, which on later models was bored out to give a capacity of 904 cc or (subsequently) 998 cc. The A108 was built between 1958 and 1963. In 1962, the A108 began to be produced also in Brazil, by Willys-Overland, being renamed the Willys Interlagos (berlineta, coupé and convertible). By now the car's mechanicals were beginning to show their age in Europe. Alpine

2380-576: The Alpine name to use in the UK. In May 2012, images of a new Renault Alpine concept titled as Renault Alpine A110-50 were leaked prior to its debut in Monaco. Its styling was based on the Renault DeZir presented in 2010. In November 2012, Renault and Caterham Cars announced the purchasing by the latter of a 50% stake in the Renault's wholly owned subsidiary Société des Automobiles Alpine to create

2450-511: The GTA series as the 'great unsung supercar of the 1980s'. The Alpine A610 was launched in 1991. It was re-styled inside and out but was still recognisable as a GTA derivative. The chassis structure was extensively reworked but the central box principal remained the same. The front was completely re-designed the interior was also greatly improved. Air-conditioning and power steering were fitted as standard. The total production run for A610s derivatives

2520-459: The Netherlands. 1989 saw the launch of the limited edition GTA Mille Miles to celebrate Alpine's 35th anniversary. Production was limited to 100 cars, all fitted with ABS braking, polished wheels, special leather interior and paintwork. This version was not available in right hand drive. 1990 saw the launch of the special edition wide-bodied GTA Le Mans . Otherwise mechanically identical to

2590-552: The Nissan 350Z. The project was later cancelled, speculated to be due in part to the arrival of the Nissan GT-R , alongside the global financial crisis of 2008. The 2017 Alpine A110 heavily resembles this concept, however, despite featuring a mid engine layout. In France, there is a large network of Alpine enthusiasts clubs. Clubs exist in many countries including the UK, USA, Australia, and Japan. In March 2012 Renault bought

2660-712: The United States and Canada, such as Wyoming County International Speedway in New York. The best-attended oval race in the world is the annual Indianapolis 500 (Indy 500) in Speedway, Indiana , sanctioned by IndyCar; in the United States it is quite common to refer to open-wheel cars as IndyCars, because of their recognizable appearance and widespread popularity across America at the Indy 500. Compared to covered-wheel race cars, open-wheeled cars allow more precise placement of

2730-452: The United States, some top-level open-wheel events are held on ovals, of both short track and superspeedway variety, with emphasis more on speed and endurance than the maneuverability required for road and street course events. The Whelen Modified Tour is the only opened wheeled race car series endorsed by NASCAR . This series races on most of NASCAR's most famous tracks in the United States. Other asphalt modified series race on short tracks in

2800-504: The V6 Turbo, the engine was fitted with a catalytic converter and power was reduced to 185 bhp (138 kW). This model was available in the UK and right hand drive versions carried a numbered plaque on the dashboard. The Le Mans is the most collectable and valuable GTA derivative, since only 325 were made (299 LHD and 26 RHD). These were available from Renault dealers in the UK, and the country's motoring press are belatedly recognising

2870-483: The car onto the road. While many other categories of racing cars produce downforce, the top categories of open-wheel racing cars (particularly Formula One and IndyCar ) produce far more downforce relative to their mass than any other racing category, allowing much higher corner speeds on comparable tracks. However, this is not always the case; some open-wheel categories raced primarily as development or amateur categories, such as Formula Ford or Formula Vee , do not permit

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2940-523: The car. In modern cars, the engine is often located directly behind the driver and drives the rear wheels; except in asphalt modified cars, such as the Whelen Modified Tour, where the engine is in front of the driver. Depending on the rules of the class, many types of open-wheelers have wings at the front and rear of the vehicle, as well as a very low and virtually flat undertray that helps achieve additional aerodynamic downforce pushing

3010-525: The company Formula One programme and a partnership with Signatech for other programmes. The Alpine competition department had various racing programmes from the early 1960s onwards. At the end of 1976, the department was merged with Gordini to form Renault Sport. Some Alpine racing activities continued after that, including a 1978 Le Mans 24 overall victory with the Renault Alpine A442, partnering its parent Renault. In 2013, as part of

3080-399: The era, by the end of the 1950s the majority of new road-registerable vehicles had wheels that were under the main body of the car, and thus the open-wheel design became almost exclusively associated with racing vehicles. Formula One cars have almost exclusively used the open-wheel design throughout the history of the championship. The only notable exception was the "Monza body" variation of

3150-492: The fastest racing vehicles available and among the most challenging to master. Wheel-to-wheel contact is dangerous, particularly when the forward edge of one tire contacts the rear of another tire: since the treads are moving in opposite directions (one upward, one downward) at the point of contact, both wheels rapidly decelerate, torquing the chassis of both cars and often causing one or both vehicles to be suddenly and powerfully flung upwards (the rear car tends to pitch forward, and

3220-548: The first model would not arrive until after 2010. Blain confirmed that Renault was unlikely to use a new name for its future sports car and would probably use the Alpine name to brand it. Blain described it as being a "radical sports car" and not just a sports version of a regular model. The new Alpine sports car was to have a version of the Premium Midship platform from the Nissan 350Z and would be classed to compete with

3290-598: The front car tends to pitch backward.) An example of this is the 2005 Chicagoland crash of Ryan Briscoe and Alex Barron . The lower weight of an open-wheel racecar enables better performance. While the exposure of the wheels to the airstream causes a very high aerodynamic drag at high speeds, it allows improved cooling of the brakes, which is important on road courses with their frequent changes of pace. In 2018, several single seater series such as Formula One, Formula 2 (with their new Dallara F2 2018 chassis), and Formula E (with their new Spark SRT05e chassis) introduced

3360-714: The front wheels on the race course, as the tires are clearly visible to the driver. This allows the maximum potential of the cars to be achieved during cornering and passing. Furthermore, open-wheeled cars are less tolerant of vehicle-to-vehicle contact, which usually results in vehicle damage and retiring, whereas some level of contact is expected in covered-wheel racing, as for example in NASCAR. Open-wheeled drivers must be extremely precise to avoid contact. Regulations tend to permit much lower open-wheel car weights than in categories that more closely resemble street-legal vehicles, such as sports , touring , and stock cars . For instance,

3430-445: The international petrol crisis, which had profound effects on many specialist car manufacturers worldwide. From a total Alpine production of 1421 in 1972, the numbers of cars sold dropped to 957 in 1974 and the company was bailed out via a takeover by Renault. Alpine's problems had been compounded by the need for them to develop a replacement for the A110, and launch the car alongside drastically increasing European petrol prices. Through

3500-465: The mainstream market was the fourth-generation Clio Renault Sport, which was put out of production at the site in 2018. Between 2015 and 2016, the plant also assembled the Bolloré Bluecar . Alpine Racing is the Alpine's motorsport division. It is made up of the Alpine subsidiaries Alpine Racing Limited (an Enstone -based operation) and Alpine Racing SAS ( Viry-Châtillon ) mainly for running

3570-464: The normally aspirated version. In 1986 polyester parts were cut for the first time by robot using a high pressure (3500 bar) water jet, 0.15 mm (0.01 in) in diameter at three times the speed of sound. In the same year the American specification V6 turbo was developed. In 1987 the installation of anti-pollution systems allowed the V6 turbo to be distributed to Switzerland, Germany, Austria and

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3640-529: The one-lap qualifying record of 241.428 miles per hour (388.541 km/h) at California Speedway . Even on tight non-oval street circuits such as the Grand Prix of Toronto , open-wheel Indy Cars attain speeds of 190 miles per hour (310 km/h). Regardless of top speeds, Formula One open-wheel race cars hold the outright lap record at the circuits where they race due to their combination of top speed, acceleration, and cornering abilities. For example, at

3710-1260: The original on 13 March 2024 . Retrieved 17 November 2024 . v t e French Formula Three Championship seasons 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=French_Formula_Three_Championship&oldid=1257969910 " Categories : French Formula Three Championship 1964 establishments in France 2002 disestablishments in France Recurring sporting events established in 1964 Recurring events disestablished in 2002 Defunct auto racing series Formula Three series Defunct sports competitions in France Hidden categories: CS1 German-language sources (de) Articles with short description Short description

3780-474: The original three-speed unit. To provide a lighter car, he built a number of special versions with lightweight aluminium bodies, driving them at Le Mans and Sebring with some success in the early 1950s. Encouraged by the development of these cars and subsequent customer demand, he created the Alpine brand in 1954. It was named "Alpine" after his Coupe des Alpes successes. He did not realise that in England

3850-505: The point on the track where the car is travelling at its fastest. BAR Honda team recorded an average top speed of 400 kilometres per hour (250 mph) in 2006 at Bonneville Salt Flats , with unofficial top speed reaching 413 kilometres per hour (257 mph) using their modified BAR 007 Formula One car. Speeds on ovals can range in constant excess of 210–220 miles per hour (340–350 km/h), and at Indianapolis in excess of 230 miles per hour (370 km/h). In 2000, Gil de Ferran set

3920-547: The previous year, Sunbeam had introduced a sports coupe derived from the Sunbeam Talbot , named the " Sunbeam Alpine ". This naming issue caused problems for Alpine throughout its history. In 1955, Rédélé worked with the carrosserie Chappe et Gessalin . They were amongst the pioneers of auto glassfibre construction and produced a small coupe, based on 4CV mechanicals, called the Alpine A106 . The A106 achieved

3990-625: The price and performances, the project was cancelled. Despite its cancellation, the engine and aluminium chassis from the A710 were later used on the Renault Sport Spider. In 1999, Renault partnered with Lotus to develop the Z11 Berlinette, an art-deco design study investigating the return of the Alpine brand. The car was scheduled to be revealed at the 2001 Geneva Motor Show alongside the Koleos concept (codenamed Z10) and

4060-683: The promotional activities for the launching of Alpine roadcars, Alpine partnered with Signatech to enter a Nissan-powered, Oreca -built prototype into the European Le Mans Series championship's LMP2 class, re-establishing Alpine-badged racing activities. Signatech-Alpine won the team championship. They returned for the 2014 season. In 2015, the Signatech-Alpine combination entered into the World Endurance Championship (WEC)'s LMP2 class, achieving

4130-683: The rear. Apart from low-volume cars, the Dieppe plant also assembles racing cars (as the Clio Rally4, a rallying car based on the fifth-generation Renault Clio ), co-develops racing cars, produces and sells parts for racing cars, and tunes engines. From the late 1970s, Alpine's Dieppe plant produced Renault Sport models and, after the discontinuation of the Alpine brand in 1995, it became its main focus. Renault Sport models produced over time by Alpine include: Renault 5 Turbo, Renault Sport Spider , Clio Renault Sport , Mégane Renault Sport . The last Renault Sport model produced by Dieppe aimed at

4200-672: The stake from Caterham Cars in SAAC, renaming it Société des Automobiles Alpine. During 2015, two new Alpine concepts were introduced: the Alpine Celebration, unveiled at the Le Mans race weekend, and the CGI -created Alpine Vision Gran Turismo . In February 2016, at an event held in Monte Carlo , Groupe Renault's chief Carlos Ghosn unveiled the Alpine Vision showcar (a model close to the planned production Alpine) and announced

4270-555: The start of the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix , Romain Grosjean collided with Daniil Kvyat in which his car broke in two and burst into flames as it split the barrier. The halo helped protect Grosjean from possible decapitation while it allowed him to escape from the fire. Alpine (automobile) Société des Automobiles Alpine SAS , commonly known as Alpine ( / ˈ æ l p ɪ n / , French: [alpin] ),

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4340-495: The trade mark (because of the mid-50s Sunbeam Alpine Mk I). In the 1970s, for example, Dieppe were building modified Renault 5s for the worldwide market. The rest of the world knew them as R5 Alpines but in the UK they had to be renamed to R5 Gordini . After numerous company takeovers, the multinational Stellantis own the British Alpine trademark as of January 2021. The Alpine factory in Dieppe continued to expand; in

4410-744: The two to form Renault Sport . A number of increasingly successful sports racing cars appeared, culminating in the 1978 Le Mans win with the Renault Alpine A442 B. This was fitted with a turbo-charged engine; Alpine had been the first company to run in and win an international rally with a turbo car as far back as 1972, when Thérier took a specially modified A110 to victory on the Critérium des Cévennes . 1971 also saw Alpine begin construction of open-wheel racing cars. Initially in Formula Three , they were building Formula Two cars within

4480-807: The use of wings or ground effect aerodynamics. Some major races, such as the Singapore Grand Prix , Monaco Grand Prix (sanctioned by Formula One) and the Long Beach Grand Prix (sanctioned by IndyCar), are held on temporary street circuits . However, most open-wheel races are on dedicated road courses , such as Watkins Glen in the US, Nürburgring in Germany, Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and Silverstone in Great Britain. In

4550-533: The years to the stage where, by 1974, the little cars were handling 1800 cc engines developing 180 bhp (134 kW)+. With a competition weight for the car of around 620 kg (1,367 lb), the performance was excellent. Alpine achieved increasing success in rallying, and by 1968 had been allocated the whole Renault competition budget. This close collaboration with Renault allowed Alpines to be sold and maintained in France by normal Renault dealerships. Real top level success started in 1968 with outright wins in

4620-426: Was 818 vehicles 67 right hand drive and 751 left hand drive. After production of the A610 ended, the Alpine factory in Dieppe produced the Renault Sport Spider and a new era was to begin. The last Alpine, an A610, rolled off the Dieppe line on 7 April 1995, with Renault abandoning the Alpine name. This was always a problem in the UK market. Alpines could not be sold in the UK under their own name because Sunbeam owned

4690-4349: Was a motor racing series for Formula Three cars held in France between 1964 and 2002. The series was merged with the German Formula Three Championship in 2003 to form the Formula 3 Euro Series . Champions [ edit ] Season Driver Team Car 1964 [REDACTED] Henri Grandsire Automobiles Alpine Alpine - Renault A 270 1965 [REDACTED] Jean-Pierre Beltoise Matra Sports Matra - Ford MS5 1966 [REDACTED] Johnny Servoz-Gavin Matra Sports Matra - Ford MS5 1967 [REDACTED] Henri Pescarolo Matra Sports Matra - Ford MS5 1968 [REDACTED] François Cevert Volant Shell Tecno - Ford 68 1969 [REDACTED] François Mazet Volant Shell/ Lotus Components Tecno - Ford 69/ Lotus - Ford 59 1970 [REDACTED] Jean-Pierre Jaussaud Volant Shell/Winfield Tecno - Ford / Martini - Ford MK5 1971 [REDACTED] Patrick Depailler Automobiles Alpine Alpine - Renault A360 1972 [REDACTED] Michel Leclère Automobiles Alpine Alpine - Renault A364 1973 [REDACTED] Jacques Laffite Oreca Martini - Ford MK12 1974–1977 Not held 1978 [REDACTED] Alain Prost Oreca Martini - Renault MK21B [REDACTED] Jean-Louis Schlesser Chevron - Toyota B38 1979 [REDACTED] Alain Prost Oreca Martini - Renault MK27 1980 [REDACTED] Alain Ferté Oreca Martini - Renault MK27/31 1981 [REDACTED] Philippe Streiff Motul Nogaro Martini - Alfa Romeo MK34 1982 [REDACTED] Pierre Petit David Price Racing Ralt - Toyota RT3/ Ralt - VW RT3 1983 [REDACTED] Michel Ferté Oreca Martini - Alfa Romeo MK39 1984 [REDACTED] Olivier Grouillard Oreca Martini - Alfa Romeo MK42 1985 [REDACTED] Pierre-Henri Raphanel Oreca Martini - Alfa Romeo MK45 1986 [REDACTED] Yannick Dalmas Oreca Martini - VW MK49 1987 [REDACTED] Jean Alesi Oreca Martini - Alfa Romeo MK52/ Dallara - Alfa Romeo 386/ Dallara - Alfa Romeo 387 1988 [REDACTED] Érik Comas Oreca Dallara - Alfa Romeo 388 1989 [REDACTED] Jean-Marc Gounon Oreca Reynard - Alfa Romeo 893 1990 [REDACTED] Éric Hélary Formula Project Reynard - Honda 903/ Ralt - Honda RT34 1991 [REDACTED] Christophe Bouchut Graff Racing Ralt - VW RT33 1992 [REDACTED] Franck Lagorce Promatecme Dallara - Opel 392 1993 [REDACTED] Didier Cottaz Formula Project Equipe Dallara - Fiat 393 1994 [REDACTED] Jean-Philippe Belloc Winfield Dallara - Fiat 393 1995 [REDACTED] Laurent Redon Promatecme Dallara - Fiat 394 1996 [REDACTED] Soheil Ayari Graff Racing Dallara - Opel 396 1997 [REDACTED] Patrice Gay Graff Racing Dallara - Opel 396 1998 [REDACTED] David Saelens ASM Formule 3 Dallara - Renault 396 1999 [REDACTED] Sébastien Bourdais La Filiere Martini - Opel MK79 2000 [REDACTED] Jonathan Cochet Signature Dallara - Renault 399 2001 [REDACTED] Ryo Fukuda Saulnier Racing Dallara - Renault 399 2002 [REDACTED] Tristan Gommendy ASM Formule 3 Dallara - Renault 302 Sources: References [ edit ] ^ "Meister Formel 3 Frankreich" [Formula 3 French champion] (in German). Formel 3 Guide . Retrieved 17 November 2024 . ^ Galpin, Darren; Young, Rob; Korzan, Nicolás; Costa, Paulo; Ullrich, Andreas; Jones, Mark Alan (17 November 2024). "Lower category champions – French Formula 3 Championship" . 8W . Forix. Archived from

4760-466: Was already working closely with Renault and when the Renault R8 saloon was introduced in 1962, Alpine redeveloped their chassis and made a number of minor body changes to allow the use of R8 mechanicals. This new car was the A110 Berlinette Tour de France , named after a successful run with the Alpine A108 in the 1962 event. Starting with a 956 cc engine of 51 bhp (38 kW), the same chassis and body developed with relatively minor changes over

4830-458: Was bought by it in 1973. The Alpine competition department merged into Renault Sport in 1976 and the production of Alpine-badged models ceased in 1995. The Alpine brand was relaunched with the 2017 introduction of the new Alpine A110 . In January 2021, as part of a company revamp, Renault announced that Renault Sport was again merged into Alpine to form an Alpine business unit. In 2024, Alpine started producing electric vehicles by rolling out

4900-478: Was sent airborne after being hit from behind by the Renault of Nico Hülkenberg and struck the halo of Sauber driver Charles Leclerc , thereby saving the Monegasque driver from a visor strike. In 2019 , the newly-formed FIA Formula 3 Championship introduced a halo to their new chassis which was unveiled at the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix . In 2020 , the IndyCar Series adopted a halo combined with an aeroscreen, built by Red Bull Advanced Technologies. At

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