Formula Super Vee from 1970 in Europe and the US

Formula Super Vee

The big brother of the widely successful Formula Vee, FSV began in 1971 with successful but barely reported series in Europe and the US. The original specification was for the air-cooled engine from the VW Beetle but the formula flourished following the introduction of the water-cooled Scirocco engine in 1978.

In Europe it fitted into the development ladder around F3 and later Formula Renault Europe but in the US it gained a position between sprint cars and Indy car racing. It was behind Can-Am and Formula Atlantic in the early 1980s but profited from Atlantic's disasterous Mondial season in 1983 and Can-Am's decline in 1984/85.

Our coverage starts with the with US series in the middle of its Lola-dominated air-cooled days and then jumps on to the Ralt-dominated water-cooled era of the early 1980s. The gaps will be filled in as results are located and collated.

Robert Bosch/VW Super Vee Championship

The 1975 season: Daytona, Sebring International Raceway, Road Atlanta, Laguna Seca, Riverside, Lime Rock, Watkins Glen, Road America, Mosport Park, Watkins Glen, Daytona.

The 1980 season: Charlotte Motor Speedway, Milwaukee Mile, Pocono International Raceway, Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio, Road America, Brainerd, Minnesota State Fair, Minnesota State Fair, Ontario Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, Watkins Glen, Riverside, Phoenix International Raceway.

The 1981 season: Charlotte Motor Speedway, Milwaukee Mile, Watkins Glen, Road America, Brainerd, Milwaukee Mile, Michigan International Speedway, Riverside, Phoenix International Raceway.

The 1982 season: Phoenix International Raceway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Detroit, Milwaukee Mile, Road America, Milwaukee Mile, Mosport Park, Michigan International Speedway, Riverside, Laguna Seca, Phoenix International Raceway.

The 1983 season: Long Beach, Mosport Park, Milwaukee Mile, Cleveland, Road America, Pocono International Raceway, Mid-Ohio, Michigan International Speedway, Riverside, Laguna Seca, Phoenix International Raceway.

The 1984 season: Long Beach, Phoenix International Raceway, Milwaukee Mile, Portland International Raceways, Meadowlands Sports Complex, Cleveland, Road America, Watkins Glen, Trois-Rivières, Michigan International Speedway, Laguna Seca, Caesars Palace.

The 1985 season: Long Beach, Indianapolis Raceway Park, Milwaukee Mile, Detroit, Meadowlands Sports Complex, Cleveland, Road America, Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio, Sanair, Laguna Seca, Phoenix International Raceway.

The 1986 season: Long Beach, Indianapolis Raceway Park, Milwaukee Mile, Detroit, Meadowlands Sports Complex, Cleveland, Road America, Mid-Ohio, Road America, Laguna Seca, Phoenix International Raceway, Tamiami Park, St Petersburg.

The 1987 season: Long Beach, Phoenix International Raceway, Indianapolis Raceway Park, Milwaukee Mile, Detroit, Meadowlands Sports Complex, Cleveland, Road America, Mid-Ohio, Pennsylvania International Raceway, Tamiami Park, St Petersburg.

All results and car histories compiled by Chris Townsend.

Please email Allen if you have any material on US or European FSV race results.

FSV Championships

US Championship
European Championship

US Super Vee seasons

:
1975 (Eddie Miller)
:
1980 (Peter Kuhn)
1981 (Al Unser Jr)
1982 (Michael Andretti)
1983 (Ed Pimm)
1984 (Arie Luyendijk)
1985 (Ken Johnson)
1986 (Didier Theys)
1987 (Scott Atchison)

FSV Sections

US Champions

Other FSV Resources

FSV results page in Darren Galpin's Minor Championships Results Index

FSV thread at Atlas F1's TNF (Page 1, Page 2)

1971 Formula Super Vau Gold Pokal thread at TNF

Brazilian FSV thread at TNF

FSV Drivers

There was a strong production line of new talent out of US FSV: 1981 champion Al Unser Jr and 1984 champion Arie Luyendyk each won the Indy 500 twice; 1977 champion Bob Lazier and 1978 champion Bill Alsup were CART Rookies of the Year; 1973 champion Bertil Roos and 1982 champion Michael Andretti made it to F1; 1976 Champion Tom Bagley and 1979 Champion Geoff Brabham both found success in CART. Over in the European series, 1974 champion Keke Rosberg went on to be the 1982 World Champion.

The FSV Register

Previously, ORC maintained a copy of material originally published by John Robinson but only fulfilled a 'babysitting' role until the material found a more appropriate home. That material was then restored to David R Flesher's 'Historic FSV Register'.

In May 2007, the Register moved again with David's site apparently not being maintained any more and Chris Robson launching a new 'Formula Super Vee Website and Historic Registry' at supervee.formulavee.org. However, this site was not actively maintained either and eventually disappeared in 2015. In 2016, Ben Ditson's formulasupervee.com appeared incorporating the same register, and we wish this site a longer future.