The 2024 edition of the one-litre Formula 3 Nations Cup will be held during the Historic Sports Car Club’s Legends of Brands Hatch Superprix over the weekend of 13-14 July.
The race weekend on the fabulous Grand Prix circuit at the Kent venue will be another highlight of the HSCC Historic Formula 3 Championship season, which marks the 60th anniversary of the creation of the category.
Organised by the One-Litre F3 Historic Racing Association, the Nations Cup is open to a maximum of two teams per country with each team comprising up to three cars. The top two cars from each country will score points based on their finishing position in the two races and the top scoring team will win the Nations Cup Trophy. Teams from regions or even UK counties can be entered.
This will be a return home for the Nations Cup as it was first held on the Grand Prix circuit at Brands Hatch in October 1966 when the British team of Chris Irwin, Piers Courage and Peter Gethin won the Cup with Irwin winning the race in his Chequered Flag Brabham BT18.
Subsequent Nations Cups were held at Hockenheim, twice at Karlskoga and once at Thruxton, which hosted the final Nations Cup for one-litre F3 cars in 1970. The 40-lap Thruxton race in September 1970 was won by the Brabham BT28 of Gerry Birrell. In the Thruxton race, Bev Bond was a member of the lead British team with James Hunt and Mike Beuttler.
When Bond made an F3 racing comeback 40 years later, he took a role with the Association and suggested recreating the Nations Cup. Sadly, Bev passed away in November 2013, but his memory lives on in the Nations Cup as the winning team will receive the GKN Forgings Trophy that he won in the Formula 3 race at the 1971 Silverstone International Trophy meeting.
As part of the 60th anniversary celebrations, this year’s Nations Cup Trophy will feature period drivers as team captains. Further details on this will be announced closer to the event.