The 37th BRDC International Trophy, was the opening round of the 1985 International Formula 3000. The inaugural was held at Silverstone, on 24 March.
Report
Entry A total of 17 F3000 cars were entered for the first ever event. Every new formula sets new questions and this one was no exception; some teams ran ex-Formula One machinery, while the Lola T950 was based upon an IndyCar design, whereas Ralt and March drew upon their Formula Two experience.Peter Swinger, "Motor Racing Circuits in England : Then & Now" (Ian Allan Publishing, , 2008)
Qualifying Michel Ferté took pole position for Equipe Oreca, in their March Engineering-Cosworth 85B, averaging a speed of 135.404 mph.
Race
The race was held over 44 laps of the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit. Mike Thackwell wrote himself into the history books by winning the International Trophy for the third time and the first F3000 race in the process, driving a works Ralt RT20 from teammate John Nielsen in a similar car. Thackwell won in a time of 1hr 07:41.01mins., averaging a speed of 114.397 mph, with Nielsen over 34 seconds behind. The next three places were filled by March 85Bs in the hands of Michel Ferté, Christian Danner and Gabriele Tarquini, with the sixth place going to a Formula One Tyrrell 012, driven by Roberto Moreno.
Classification
Race result
Pos. No. Driver Entrant Car - Engine Time, Laps Reason Out 1st 1 Mike Thackwell Team Ralt Ralt-Cosworth RT20 1hr 07:41.01 2nd 2 John Nielsen Team Ralt Ralt-Cosworth RT20 1hr 08:13.35 3rd 3 Michel Ferté Oreca Motorsport March-Cosworth 85B 1hr 09:09.77 4th 8 Christian Danner BS Automotive March-Cosworth 85B 43 5th 13 Gabriele Tarquini Sanremo Racing Srl March-Cosworth 85B 42 6th 20 Roberto Moreno Barron Racing Tyrrell-Cosworth 012 42 7th 9 Emanuele Pirro Onyx Racing March-Cosworth 85B 41 8th 15 Alain Ferté Lola Motorsport Lola-Cosworth T950 41 9th 22 Mario Hytten Corbari Italia Lola-Cosworth T950 41 10th 7 Tomas Kaiser BS Automotive March-Cosworth 85B 39 NC 17 Thierry Tassin PMC Motorsport Williams-Cosworth FW08C 38 NC 18 Lamberto Leoni PMC Motorsport Williams-Cosworth FW08C 38 DNF 19 Claudio Langes Barron Racing Tyrrell-Cosworth 012 33 Electrical DNF 5 Philippe Streiff Autos Gonfaronnaises Sportives AGS-Cosworth JH20 7 Suspension DNF 10 Johnny Dumfries Onyx Racing March-Cosworth 85B 1 Accident DNF 14 Alessandro Santin Sanremo Racing Srl March-Cosworth 85B 0 Accident DNS 4 ”Pierre Chauvet” Onyx Racing March-Cosworth 85B Accident
Fastest lap: John Nielsen, 1:27.64secs. (121.191 mph) http://www.ulitmateracinghistory.com/race.php?raceid=17627
References