1982 British Formula Three Championship

The 1982 British Formula Three Championship was the 32nd season of the British Formula Three Championship. The championship was clinched by Irish racing driver Tommy Byrne, driving for Murray Taylor Racing, with 101 points. The runner up was Argentine driver, Enrique Mansilla, driving for West Surrey Racing, who finished only three points behind Byrne despite funding challenges caused by the Falklands War.^[1] The season also saw future Formula One stars Ayrton Senna and Martin Brundle win their first Formula Three races, Brundle at Oulton Park, and Senna at the non-championship race in November at Thruxton.^[2] The championship was contested over 20 races, starting with Silverstone on 7 March and ending with Thruxton on 24 October.

Race calendar and results

Round	Circuit	Date	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Team
1	Silverstone	7 March	Tommy Byrne	Dave Scott	Tommy Byrne	Murray Taylor Racing
2	Thruxton	14 March	Tommy Byrne	Tommy Byrne	Tommy Byrne	Murray Taylor Racing
3	Silverstone	21 March	Dave Scott	Tommy Byrne	Dave Scott	Mint Engineering
4	Thruxton	12 April	Martin Brundle	Tommy Byrne	Tommy Byrne	Murray Taylor Racing
5	Mallory Park	25 April	Tommy Byrne	James Weaver	Tommy Byrne	Murray Taylor Racing
6	Snetterton	2 May	Tommy Byrne	Tommy Byrne	Tommy Byrne	Murray Taylor Racing
7	Silverstone	31 May	James Weaver	James Weaver	Roberto Moreno	Ivens Lumar Racing
8	Silverstone	13 June	James Weaver	Emanuele Pirro[N 1]	Emanuele Pirro[N 2]	Euroracing
9	Cadwell Park	20 June	Enrique Mansilla	Enrique Mansilla	Roberto Moreno	Ivens Lumar Racing
10	Silverstone	27 June	James Weaver	Roberto Moreno	Roberto Moreno	Ivens Lumar Racing
11	Brands Hatch	11 July	Tommy Byrne	Enrique Mansilla	Tommy Byrne	Murray Taylor Racing
12	Mallory Park	1 August	Enrique Mansilla	Tommy Byrne	Enrique Mansilla	West Surrey Racing
13	Oulton Park	7 August	Dave Scott	Enrique Mansilla	Enrique Mansilla	West Surrey Racing
14	Brands Hatch	15 August	Enrique Mansilla	Enrique Mansilla	Dave Scott	Mint Engineering
15	Silverstone	30 August	Martin Brundle	Davy Jones	Enrique Mansilla	West Surrey Racing
16	Snetterton	12 September	Enrique Mansilla	Martin Brundle	Enrique Mansilla	West Surrey Racing
17	Oulton Park	26 September	Martin Brundle	Dave Scott	Martin Brundle	Dave Price Racing
18	Silverstone	3 October	Martin Brundle	Tommy Byrne	Tommy Byrne	Murray Taylor Racing
19	Brands Hatch	10 October	Martin Brundle	Enrique Mansilla	Dave Scott	Mint Engineering
20	Thruxton	24 October	Martin Brundle	Martin Brundle	Martin Brundle	Dave Price Racing
NC	Thruxton	13 November	Ayrton Senna	Ayrton Senna	Ayrton Senna	West Surrey Racing

Championship Standings

Pos.	Driver	Car	Team	Pts
1	Tommy Byrne	Ralt-Toyota RT3	Murray Taylor Racing	101
2	Enrique Mansilla	Ralt-Toyota RT3	West Surrey Racing	98
3	Dave Scott	Ralt-Toyota RT3 Ralt-Volkswagen RT3	Mint Engineering	74
4	Martin Brundle	Ralt-Volkswagen RT3	Dave Price Racing	60
5	James Weaver	Ralt-Toyota RT3	Eddie Jordan Racing	53
6	Roberto Moreno	Ralt-Toyota RT3 Ralt-Alfa Romeo RT3	Ivens Lumar Racing	42
7	David Sears	Ralt-Toyota RT3		11
7	Richard Trott	Ralt-Toyota RT3	Anson Racing, Richard Trott Racing	11
9	Luiz Schaffer	Ralt-Toyota RT3	Neil Trundle Racing	10
10	Mario Hytten	Ralt-Toyota RT3	DB Motorsport	8
11	Davy Jones	Ralt-Toyota RT3	Murray Taylor Racing	6
12	Carlos Abella	Ralt-Volkswagen RT3	Nick Cook Racing, Galvani Racing	5
12	Alfonso Toledano	Ralt-Toyota RT3		5
12	David Leslie	Magnum -Toyota 823	Robinson Motorsport, Eddie Jordan Racing	5
12	Mike O'Brien	Anson-Toyota SA3	Luton Airport / Horizon	5
12	Bengt Trägårdh	Ralt-Volkswagen RT3	Dave Price Racing	5
17	Mike White	Ralt-Toyota RT3		4
17	Enrique Benamo	Ralt-Toyota RT3		4
17	Tim Lee-Davey	Ralt-Toyota RT3		4
20	Dave Coyne	Ralt-Toyota RT3		3
20	Peter Artgetsinger	Ralt-Toyota RT3		3
22	Calvin Fish	Ralt-Toyota RT3		2

^{[3][4] [5] [6] [7]}

References

1. As Emanuele Pirro was not eligible for points due to fielding a European Formula 3 specification entry, Tommy Byrne received the bonus point for the fastest lap.
2. As Emanuele Pirro and James Weaver were not eligible for points due to fielding European Formula 3 specification entries, Enrique Mansilla was awarded the winners' nine points.

1. "Enrique Mansilla,14/2/1957".
2. "1982 – Thruxton".
3. "1982 / British Formula 3".
4. "British Formula 3 1982".
5. Autosport 1982 F3 Seasonal survey
6. Auto Hebdo n°350 06/01/1983 Bilan F3
7. Automobile Sport 82/83. p. 168. Retrieved 7 April 2025.