Formula Two
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 the series has always meant a need for a path to reach this peak.
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.
This encouraged new marques such as Cooper to move up to Formula Two, before competing against large manufacturers like Alfa Romeo and Maserati.
The dominant engine of this formula was the Coventry Climax FPF four-cylinder, with the rare Borgward sixteen-valve unit enjoying some success.
Ickx, driving a Matra MS5, won the inaugural championship by 11 points from 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 following year Ickx qualified with the third fastest time overall but was forced to start behind the slower Formula One cars.
A year later Gerhard Mitter was killed at the Nürburgring while practising for the 1969 German Grand Prix in a Formula Two car.
In the early years of the 1600cc formula, Brabham and Lotus were the most numerous constructors, although Ferrari intermittently entered a works team, as did BMW (with Lola and Dornier-built chassis).
The French firm Matra won the three first editions of the European championship, with Tecno winning the fourth.
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.
Dominant chassis of this era were generally from March and Ralt, with Chevron, the French Elf and Martinis and German Maurers being briefly successful.
The initial regulations joined F2-style chassis with the naturally aspirated 3000 cc Cosworth DFV V8 engines, that were by then obsolete in the all-turbocharged Formula One.
[3] Unlike the previous incarnation, 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.
[6] The inaugural championship was won by Andy Soucek although was marred by the death of Henry Surtees during the fourth round at Brands Hatch.
The Central Automotoclub of the USSR (CAMK) joined the FIA in October 1956, aiming to develop Soviet motorsport after seeing international races like the British F1 GP.
Japan also ran a series for full-bodied versions of F2 cars called Fuji Grand Champion Series—somewhat akin to the F5000-based revival of Can-Am.
During 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.
[16] Stirling Moss,[17] Jack Brabham, Jim Clark and Niki Lauda won titles.
