Clubmans
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Clubmans is a variety of sports car racing that originated in Britain in 1965. It evolved into the relatively short-lived National Supersports in the mid 1990s and is no longer a mainstream formula - it remains a very popular class of historic racing. Clubmans racing was governed by the BRSCC and largely organised by the Clubmans Register of car owners, drivers and constructors.
Clubmans descended from categories like the 1,172 cc formula for Ford-based specials and some of the 750MC's entry-level formulae. It was intended as a low-cost formula for open-top, front-engined roadgoing sports cars like the Lotus 7 which had been crowded out of the mainstream by rear-engined cars such as the Lotus 23; before long the cars rapidly evolved into highly specialised and very quick sports-racers (retaining the front-engined/rear wheel drive layout well into the 1990s even after the rest of the racing world had moved on, but acquiring wings and slicks in due course). Unlike endurance-oriented forms of sports car racing Clubmans tended to run at club-level meetings; races were typically short (15-30 miles) and driver changes and refuelling were not part of the strategy.
Marques such as Chevron made their debut in the formula and the long-lived series of Mallock U2 cars came to dominate numerically (and often in terms of results). Over the years marques such as Gryphon, Centaur, Haggispeed, Phantom, Vision, Pulsar and Slique as well as specials like the St Bruno Roughcutter and the Hustler graced the grids with varying degrees of success; Clubmans cars also became a popular class in hillclimbing.
Clubmans remained a relatively low-cost formula - cars had a long life and stability of rules meant that drivers tended to remain in the formula and develop their cars. In a straight line, Clubmans cars were often almost as quick as Formula Three single-seaters. The formula acquired a reputation for close competition, varied grids and a healthy social scene.
Engine rules varied somewhat over time - initially the formula used 1,000 cc or 1,500 (later 1,600) cc pushrod engines (that had to be based on Ford or BMC units - practically, the 1,000 cc units were detuned ex-F3 engines); for most of the formula's life the engines were the 1,000 cc ex F3 units and 1,600 cc Ford Kents, and finally the 1,600 Kent in Formula Ford spec ("B sports/Sports 1600") and 1,700 cc crossflow units ("A sports") in high states of tune.
As the Ford units drifted into obsolescence, other units replaced them. Sports 1600 gave way to "K Sports" with a Rover K-series engine and the 16-valve two-litre Vauxhall replaced the 1,700 cc Crossflow unit in 1993.
The front-engine/rear-wheel-drive cars continued until 1995, when rear-engined cars were admitted to the series for the first time and over the next few years took over from the 'classic' cars. Seeking a more upmarket image, the formula was renamed National Supersports, but grids were in decline. (Many of the marques that made their debut in National Supersports now compete in prototype series such as Britsports or VdeV) which provide 'real' prototype racing on a relatively affordable scale.)
Clubmans continues as a highly popular and affordable form of historic racing with categories in existence for cars from most periods of the formula's history.
In Scandinavia Clubmans are still a popular racing class, more than 20 cars are registed in the series. Marques as Mallock, Bodin and Phantom are still in produktion and are still under futher developement, in 2008 3 brand new cars is pressented. The Scandinavian clubman class uses 1800 ccm Ford Zetec engine, and combined with the for the class exelent turn careteristics is one of the fastest sportcar series in the world.
