Aurora F1 championship

[Catchpole]

I am new to this sort of thing and so please forgive me if I am not as slick as some of you all.

I am collecting / collating stuff on the Aurora Chempionship and would love to hear from anyone who has pictures etc from it.

I know Dan Rear will probably look in on this and so to him, yes it's me Phil.

Particular interest is in some of the less well known competitors.

Gerd Biechtler
Warren Booth
Adrian Russell
etc.

[rescue dude]

http://www.silhouet.com/motorsport/a.../aurora79.html


http://www.silhouet.com/motorsport/a.../aurora80.html

Try these links. Hope the mods are happy with me doing this.

[rescue dude]

Just had a look to see if you can change the year in the URL and it works for 1978 but not others.


Hope this helps. It was a great championship.

[Dan Rear]

Hi Phil, glad you've found this brilliant site ! Is the Aurora book/project proceding ??

[Nordic]

Jo Castellano Ensign

J Koechlin, Peru's only F1 driver ?
Koechlin

Warren Booth
Booth

[jondownunder]

Originally Posted by rescue dude

Just had a look to see if you can change the year in the URL and it works for 1978 but not others.

Found the other years:

'77 Shellsport: http://www.silhouet.com/motorsport/a...t/77shell.html

'82 British F1: http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/82ukf1.html

From the superb GEL Motorsport: http://www.silhouet.com/motorsport/

[John Turner]

OK guys, plenty of links to other sites, but are you going to actually discuss the subject on this thread? I'm sure we'd all be interested!

[Steve Wilkinson]

Originally Posted by John Turner

OK guys, plenty of links to other sites, but are you going to actually discuss the subject on this thread? I'm sure we'd all be interested!

A bit like the product it was promoting the Aurora F1 Championship was the cheap and tacky version of Formula 1 as opposed to the cheap and tacky version of Scalextic!

It never brought together a complete grid of proper F1 cars and was to some extent a marketing ploy by the organisers to get punters along to their second division events.

Discuss!

[Nordic]

I agree about Aurora being a poor 2nd to Scalextrix!

However the British F1 series was not all bad, it gave people the chance to see fairly modern F1's driven by some reasonable drivers on tracks that where clearly a challange.

Like most things it did go on for a season or two too long.

[Chris Townsend]

Even though, as a spectator, I enjoyed much of the Aurora series, in retrospect I find myself largely agreeing with John T. Both the Aurora and the glorififed libre series that was ShellSport G8, were examples of race promoters pushing their short term interests at the expense of competitors, spectators and British motor sport in general. There simply wasn't enough money in Britain in the mid to late 70s to sustain the expense of such a championship, and instead the sponsorship deals were largely soaked up by second string drivers and teams. Remember the impact when a real young hotshoe like Geoff Lees or Stephen South appeared? There were too many races, often at circuits that could not any longer realistically accomodate an F1 car. The 1979 Aurora series was often great, but it was great almost by accident.
If the organisers and competitors had got themselves organised in the mid 70s - at a point when F5000 was failing and Atlantic booming - then a single formula series, such as Atlantic, or F2 limited to the Hart 420R, might have emerged, a step above F3 but considerably cheaper than the already ridiculously expensive Euro F2 series, in which young drivers could be measured against the benchmark of established figures such as Trimmer or Edwards.
Imagine what impact the money that Olympus put into Galica, or various sponsors into Guy Edwards, would have had if put into a cheaper, more competitive formula.

Chris

[Steve Wilkinson]

Originally Posted by Chris Townsend

Even though, as a spectator, I enjoyed much of the Aurora series, in retrospect I find myself largely agreeing with John T. Both the Aurora and the glorififed libre series that was ShellSport G8, were examples of race promoters pushing their short term interests at the expense of competitors, spectators and British motor sport in general. There simply wasn't enough money in Britain in the mid to late 70s to sustain the expense of such a championship, and instead the sponsorship deals were largely soaked up by second string drivers and teams. Remember the impact when a real young hotshoe like Geoff Lees or Stephen South appeared? There were too many races, often at circuits that could not any longer realistically accomodate an F1 car. The 1979 Aurora series was often great, but it was great almost by accident.
If the organisers and competitors had got themselves organised in the mid 70s - at a point when F5000 was failing and Atlantic booming - then a single formula series, such as Atlantic, or F2 limited to the Hart 420R, might have emerged, a step above F3 but considerably cheaper than the already ridiculously expensive Euro F2 series, in which young drivers could be measured against the benchmark of established figures such as Trimmer or Edwards.
Imagine what impact the money that Olympus put into Galica, or various sponsors into Guy Edwards, would have had if put into a cheaper, more competitive formula.

Chris

Chris, I think you have hit the preverbial on the head! An overly ambitious formula which if it had been scaled down could well have provided a stepping stone for up and coming drivers. I especially like the idea of a BRITISH F2 just using Hart 420R engines. Powerful, affordable and it would have allowed the young British hot-shots to run in the British F2 rounds as a bonus!

Also the point about what could have been done with the Olympus budget doesn't bear thinking about!

[driftwood]

It would not have been practicle to have created an F2 sereis in Uk aurora ?sheelspot g8 came about due to the obsolete/ cheaper cars being available in the same way we had Libre in the 70`s and 80`s and now have BOSS type racing series now
the euro f2 series was already active and was contested by pro teams with some commercial sponsors but many privateers some with curent f2 cars and soem with previous year or 2 models
I accept the Auros ?shell sereis was no more up market than semi pro club racers racing with a few up n coming guys getting the opportunity to race f1 cars like keegan zunino kennedy( who went onto do try it for real in GP`s) but we also had the girls desire davina and Giacoamo Agostini had a season in cars and there where many true f1 cars racing arrows a1 williams mclarens plus the odd tyrrell wolf and ensigns with shadows in G8 series
you must remember it was the 70`s and early 80`s and the money was not around and marketing was not that slick as it is today
if we knew then what we know now it could have been a better series less races better tracks and maybe some more drivers of the claibre required to do teh cars justice and make better racing
lets be nostalgic about it all instead of deriding it there are many race series we can kick sand into the face of from back then and even today you only need to look at Ford and the way they have ruined FFord racing the past 10 years or even last season

As a pubescent school boy Aurora /shellsport gave me the chances to see f1 type cars in a clubby enviroment without the f1 BS that went with the GP

[Dan Rear]

Agree with Drifty, looking back critically is too easy Steve, John and Chris. Hindsight is wonderful of course. However, at the time, and from mid 78 to end 79, Aurora was excellent. I never regarded it as a rival to F2, never mind F1, which to my mind was an International Formula. Aurora was surely only ever intended as a National series, with a few overseas races thrown in. And despite all the carping about racing 'big' cars at Mallory, the races there were usually the best of the year.

[driftwood]

i do hate it when people agree with me kills the arguing stone dead !!

[Dan Rear]

We could argue for ever drifty about your spelling/grammar/punctuation !!!

[Steve Wilkinson]

Originally Posted by Dan Rear

Agree with Drifty, looking back critically is too easy Steve, John and Chris. Hindsight is wonderful of course. However, at the time, and from mid 78 to end 79, Aurora was excellent. I never regarded it as a rival to F2, never mind F1, which to my mind was an International Formula. Aurora was surely only ever intended as a National series, with a few overseas races thrown in. And despite all the carping about racing 'big' cars at Mallory, the races there were usually the best of the year.

Dan, you miss the point I feel. In 1978/79/80 I attended the Aurora rounds at Oulton Park. I felt the same then as I do now. The reason for attending? Well I had bought a season pass and it was 'free' to get in. I certainly wouldn't have gone without the pass and I wouldn't have spent extra in petrol and entrance costs to go to Mallory or elsewhere. In 1978 I was at the Oulton Park round on the Saturday and the following day at Donington Park for the European F2 round. Chalk and cheese!

Unfortunately the competitors in the Aurora series were going up a blind alley. The cars were not usable in anything else whereas a British F2 style of series would have permitted the more talented to use the same car in European F2 rounds.

It was certainly colourful but I can't look back on it with any nostalgic glow, it was just another Brands Hatch rip off!

[driftwood]

have to leave something for someone to complain about !!

[allenbrown]

I thought Aurora was fantastic. Some of the cars did appear in GPs (or at least in the DNQs or the DNPQs) and some of the drivers were learning their way before moving up to GPs. I thought it was great for the spectator as you got to see real F1 cars up close (and for most spectators, only F1 counts).

Whilst I see the point, in hindsight, that British drivers may have been served better by a F2 series, I don't believe that would have drawn the crowds or the sponsorship money.

We did have a British F3000 and F2 series in the 1990s but it never registered with me except to note the pitiful grids, unknown drivers and frequent cancellations. I really wouldn't have wanted that instead of Aurora.

Allen

[driftwood]

well said Allen the 90`s UK "F2" series was a lame effort by the organisers when the real f3000 series was running across the channel albeit at a high cost
Aurora served its purpose for less than a season of euro f2 would have cost and a Blighty F2 series would not have gained momentum back then as we had numerous privateers running in F3 F2 and even f1 so aurora was ideal place to run obsolete (by1 or 2 years) cars
Try going to a sponsor and asking for money to run an f2 car when f1 will get the deal clsoed and possibly a larger amount too!!
Things have changed as more people today have "real" money to spend on this type car to race today than was available then You only need to look at TGP paddock of the past 5 years to see better equipes than of the 70`s and 80`s Aurora days

Times have changed and not necessarily for the better in some areas but that again is another argument or thread!!

[PeterMorley]

Originally Posted by driftwood

Things have changed as more people today have "real" money to spend on this type car to race today than was available then You only need to look at TGP paddock of the past 5 years to see better equipes than of the 70`s and 80`s Aurora days!!

Apparently John Harper used to use Brian McGuire's old Shellsport (that became Aurora?) transporter for his historic racing - presumably TGP wouldn't let him in with such a heap these days!

A lot of the TGP teams are better presented than the original F1 teams let alone Aurora - in some cases the TGP team is bigger as well.

[allenbrown]

There's a direct connection between Aurora and TGP. As Aurora faded out into the BF1 series and then the short-lived British Open series, the HSCC was starting its "Historically Interesting F1" races in 1982 and 1983 that led to the Historic F1 series of the late 1980s which led to TGP in the 1990s. The cars that raced in BF1 in 1982 were also racing in the HSCC series at the same time, even a nearly new Williams FW07C and moderately new Tyrrell 008s.

So Aurora never really died, it just faded into historic racing.

Allen

[Pete Fenelon]

Originally Posted by Catchpole

I am new to this sort of thing and so please forgive me if I am not as slick as some of you all.

I am collecting / collating stuff on the Aurora Chempionship and would love to hear from anyone who has pictures etc from it.

I know Dan Rear will probably look in on this and so to him, yes it's me Phil.

Particular interest is in some of the less well known competitors.

Gerd Biechtler

We had an interesting thread on Biechteler over on Atlas recently - I spotted his name in the '79 Race of Champions entry list (DNQ, unsurprisingly!) and hadn't heard of him.

http://forums.autosport.com/showthre...threadid=72263

Seems that he had an 'interesting' partner in Klaus Walz

[Pete Fenelon]

Originally Posted by allenbrown

We did have a British F3000 and F2 series in the 1990s but it never registered with me except to note the pitiful grids, unknown drivers and frequent cancellations. I really wouldn't have wanted that instead of Aurora.

Allen

Remember the 1997 'series'? -- Dino Morelli won a shortened three-car race, after which the whole shooting match was abandoned...

[bauble]

I saw lots of Aurora races and some were pretty good and some quite dire, main problem was lack of cars but overall I feel it was a great idea, just like the modern versions Euro Boss etc. After all many people only get to see one Formula 1 race each year, when there used to be quite a few around the UK.
Even second hand Benettons are better than current F£, FR etc.

Never did like Scaletrix though.

[Thundersports]

With the demise of Euroboss as we know it to a basically European based series for late single make cars and the odd F1 car called Bossgp, there is a gap in the market for big single seaters cars built between 1985 and 1997?! I still think a series for F1/F3000 cars in original livery of this period say up to 1997 has a market, as they aren't competitive and don't want to run in Bossgp due to the hordes of 2-3 year old GP2/WSR cars present.