The first one-make championships?

[TimD]

Wandering around the Autosport show this January, it struck me just how many dedicated championships there are which are designed for purpose-built racers from one manufacturer.

The reasoning is obvious - if your race series is a hit, then hundreds of people will want to buy your expensive, purpose built racing car. So we have LM3000s, Radicals, Caterham Superlights, the list goes on and on.

And more and more, these cars have very little relationship with other classes, let alone street cars that the spectator can aspire to.

I don't know about anyone else, but I rather prefer seeing a variety of cars pouring through the first corner, rather than a stream of machines only distinguished by their paint jobs and sponsor logos.


Anyone got any ideas who was first with this trend? There have been individual one-make races as far back as the Sizaire Naudin challenge at Brooklands in 1909. But a championship? That one has me stumped.

And of all the championships in the past, are there any which really stood out, and made for interesting following in spite of the uniformity of the cars?