Formula Atlantic is a specification ofopen-wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through theIMSAAtlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing throughSports Car Club of America Formula Atlantic.
The history of Formula Atlantic begins with theSCCA Formula B class, created in 1965 for single-seat formula cars with engines not exceeding 1600cc 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 theSCCA Grand Prix Championship in1967 and1968, which Roger Barr won in a Twin-Cam powered Crosslé, and then in their own 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 1600cc production-based twin-cam engines (initiallyCosworth Mk.XIII based onLotus-Ford Twin Cam and thenCosworth BDD; however, other engines like Alfa Romeo were also eligible). Conceived by John Webb ofBrands Hatch (who would later also develop theSports 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 singleYellow Pages championship ran in 1971-2, with a rivalBP backed series appearing in 1973. 1974 saw the BP series changing sponsor toJohn 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 1975-6, in the final year taking the titleIndylantic and adopting Indianapolis-style single-car qualifying. But the formula was under threat fromFormula Three, and no series ran in 1977-78. ABRSCC-organized club racing series returned in 1979 with initial backing fromHitachi and continued to 1983, with diminishing grids and few new cars appearing.
As a result of its similarity toFormula Two and Formula Three 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 with those classes, particularly the likes ofBrabham,Lotus,March, andChevron early on, withRalt and thenReynard later. US manufacturerSwift 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 CASC in Canada (now ASN Canada), drawing much attention and large fields due to its nationalCTV 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 theTrois-Rivières street race in Quebec, Canada. Guest drivers includedJames Hunt,Jean-Pierre Jarier,Riccardo Patrese,Patrick Depailler,Jacques Laffite,Didier Pironi, andVittorio 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 theFormula Mondial North American Cup and was won byMichael Andretti. The series could not sustain the success of earlier seasons and was cancelled for 1984.Formula Mondial was an international category introduced by theFIA in 1983 with the intention of replacing both Formula Atlantic andFormula Pacific, the latter being a variant of Formula Atlantic that had been introduced in a number ofPacific Basin countries in the late 1970s.
SCCA Formula Atlantic cars are allowed wings and ground effects. They use either theToyota 4AGE engine or theCosworth BDD. Cars meetingSuper Vee specifications were also allowed but are now rarely seen. Prior to 2006, these rules were also largely used in the professional series, except that all cars had to run a Fuel Injected 4AGE. This meant that competitive amateur teams could also participate in professional races and that old pro series equipment could be raced at the amateur level. However, in 2006 the pro series introduced a spec chassis, theSwift Engineering 016.a, and a new spec engine, theMazda-Cosworth MZR. The result was that the cars used in the pro series were drastically different from the amateur cars. In 2009, to shore up small race fields, the pro series introduced a "C2 class" for amateur-level cars, primarily the Swift 014.a, the dominant chassis in amateur competition at the time. However, the C2 class saw few entries and was abandoned in the middle of the season.
Since 2011, SCCA Club Racing has allowed the Swift 016.a and Mazda-Cosworth MZR, albeit with an inlet restrictor, to maintain parity with the older Toyota-powered cars. As of 2017, most nationals competitors were running the 016.a-Mazda combination. Also eligible for the class are Mazda rotary powered cars made for thePro Mazda Championship. In 2018, the professional series will switch to a new car, and all of the rotary cars will be available for club racing use, although they appear to not be competitive with cars built to the FA specification, even older ones. Additionally, in 2019, the SCCA will allow sealed Mazda MZR engines to be used in older chassis, such as the Swift 014.a, as parts availability for the Toyota engines has become an issue.
The minimum weight of a Toyota or BDD powered Atlantic car is 1230 lbs. (558 kg) with driver.[1] The SCCA considers it its fastest club racing class.[2] Prior to gaining its own class, theFormula SCCA car raced in Formula Atlantic, where it was uncompetitive.[3]
In 2012 and 2014, theRolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion historic automobile racing event atMazda Raceway Laguna Seca inMonterey, California, had a tribute to Formula Atlantic as a part of its scheduled groups.[4]
