1983 British Formula Three Championship

The 1983 British Formula Three Championship was the 33rd season of the British Formula Three Championship, starting at Silverstone on 6 March and concluding at Thruxton on 23 October after 20 races.

The 1983 season is among the most fondly remembered in the history of the championship due to the head-to-head title battle between future Formula One stars Ayrton Senna and Martin Brundle - both driving Toyota-powered Ralt chassis, prepared by West Surrey Racing and Eddie Jordan Racing respectively. Senna built up a commanding advantage by winning the first nine races in succession, but a series of retirements for the Brazilian later in the year allowed Brundle to close the gap. The Brit took the points lead heading into the series finale, but Senna dominated the race to secure the title.

Senna won 12 of the 20 races in the season, establishing a record that wouldn't be surpassed until Jan Magnussen won 14 races in 1994. Both Senna and Brundle stepped up to F1 in 1984, joining Toleman and Tyrrell respectively.

Other notable drivers from the year included future Le Mans winner Davy Jones, BTCC star David Leslie and Senna's future Lotus team-mate Johnny Dumfries. 1983 was also the final season before 'Class B' was established, offering a separate prize for those competing in older cars.

Race calendar and results

Round	Circuit	Date	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Team
1	Silverstone	6 March	David Leslie	Ayrton Senna	Ayrton Senna	West Surrey Racing
2	Thruxton	13 March	Ayrton Senna	Martin Brundle	Ayrton Senna	West Surrey Racing
3	Silverstone	20 March	Ayrton Senna	Ayrton Senna	Ayrton Senna	West Surrey Racing
4	Donington Park	27 March	Ayrton Senna	Ayrton Senna Davy Jones	Ayrton Senna	West Surrey Racing
5	Thruxton	4 April	Ayrton Senna	Martin Brundle	Ayrton Senna	West Surrey Racing
6	Silverstone	24 April	Ayrton Senna	Ayrton Senna	Ayrton Senna	West Surrey Racing
7	Thruxton	2 May	Ayrton Senna	Ayrton Senna	Ayrton Senna	West Surrey Racing
8	Brands Hatch	8 May	Ayrton Senna	Ayrton Senna	Ayrton Senna	West Surrey Racing
9	Silverstone	30 May	Ayrton Senna	Ayrton Senna	Ayrton Senna	West Surrey Racing
10	Silverstone	12 June	Martin Brundle	Davy Jones	Martin Brundle1	Eddie Jordan Racing
11	Cadwell Park	19 June	Ayrton Senna	Martin Brundle	Martin Brundle	Eddie Jordan Racing
12	Snetterton	3 July	Martin Brundle	Ayrton Senna	Martin Brundle	Eddie Jordan Racing
13	Silverstone	16 July	Ayrton Senna	Ayrton Senna	Ayrton Senna	West Surrey Racing
14	Donington Park	24 July	Ayrton Senna	Ayrton Senna	Martin Brundle	Eddie Jordan Racing
15	Oulton Park	6 August	Martin Brundle	Ayrton Senna	Calvin Fish	David Price Racing
16	Silverstone	29 August	Ayrton Senna	Davy Jones	Ayrton Senna	West Surrey Racing
17	Oulton Park	11 September	Ayrton Senna	Davy Jones	Martin Brundle	Eddie Jordan Racing
18	Thruxton	18 September	Ayrton Senna	Martin Brundle	Martin Brundle	Eddie Jordan Racing
19	Silverstone	2 October	Davy Jones	Martin Brundle	Martin Brundle	Eddie Jordan Racing
20	Thruxton	23 October	Ayrton Senna	Ayrton Senna	Ayrton Senna	West Surrey Racing

^1 Brundle was ineligible to score points as he was using European specification tyres. Allen Berg therefore secured maximum points at this round.^[1]

Championship Standings

Best 17 of 20 scores counted

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Ayrton Senna	West Surrey Racing	132
2	Martin Brundle	Eddie Jordan Racing	123
3	Davy Jones	Murray Taylor Racing	77
4	Calvin Fish	David Price Racing	67
5	Allen Berg	Neil Trundle Racing	32
6	Mario Hytten	Axxess Racing Team	23
7	David Leslie	Robinson Motorsport	22
8	Eric Lang	Murray Taylor Racing	10
9	Tony Trevor	Driver	9
10	Richard Trott	Richard Trott Racing	8
11	Johnny Dumfries	Associated Racing	8
12	David Hunt	Eddie Jordan Racing	2
13	Tim Lee-Davey	David Luff Racing	2
14	Carlton Tingling	Tingling Racing	1
15	Mike Blanchet	Tarry Racing	1

References