Formula Three 500cc Editorial Image

Formula Three adopted by the FIA in 1950 evolved from postwar auto racing, with lightweight tube-frame chassis powered by 500 cc motorcycle engines notably Nortons and speedway. The 500 cc formula originally evolved in 1946 from low-cost `special` racing organised by enthusiasts in Bristol, England, just before the Second World War; British motorsport after the war picked up slowly, partly due to petrol rationing which continued for a number of years and home-built 500 cc cars engines were intended to be accessible to the `impecunious enthusiast`. The second post-war motor race in Britain was organised by the VSCC in July 1947 at RAF Gransden Lodge, 500cc cars being the only post-war class to run that day. Unfortunately the race was a complete flop, as three of the seven entrants were non-starters, and, of the four runners, all but one were out of it in the first lap, leaving Eric Brandon in his Cooper Prototype T2 trailing round to a virtual walk-over at the unimpressive speed of 55.79 mph, though his best lap which was the fastest recorded for any 500 was 65.38 mph.