British Formula Atlantic 1975
Two ill-fated drivers dominated the Atlantic headlines in 1975, Tony Brise and Gunnar Nilsson. Brise dominated the first three months of the season, winning eight of the nine races in the two championships in his Modus M3 and developing an unassailable lead in the John Player series. He joined the Hill GP team in May and was due to become team leader for 1976 before a plane crash brought his short career to a tragic end. Nilsson spent 1975 in Formula 3, winning the British title comfortably in his works March 753. He then moved to Atlantic late in the year to drive a Chevron B29 and won the last five races of the season. Cancer would cut short his career after two seasons in F1 with Lotus.
Although Brise appeared to be running away with the John Player title, Jim Crawford kept finishing second, and a win at Mallory Park in August ensured that he was still within sight of Brise right up until his Chevron retired at the last race. A string of second places was good enough to win the Southern Organs title for Ted Wentz as neither Brise nor Nilsson competed in enough races.
The strong revival of Formula 3 during 1975 would have a significant impact on Formula Atlantic which lost both its main sponsors at the end of the year.
The races
02 Mar 1975 > Brands Hatch
09 Mar 1975 > Mallory Park
16 Mar 1975 > Brands Hatch
30 Mar 1975 > Snetterton
13 Apr 1975 > Silverstone
20 Apr 1975 > Brands Hatch
04 May 1975 > Silverstone
18 May 1975 > Brands Hatch
26 May 1975 > Oulton Park
15 Jun 1975 > Mallory Park
29 Jun 1975 > Snetterton
13 Jul 1975 > Brands Hatch
19 Jul 1975 > Silverstone
03 Aug 1975 > Silverstone
10 Aug 1975 > Snetterton
24 Aug 1975 > Mallory Park
14 Sep 1975 > Brands Hatch
21 Sep 1975 > Brands Hatch
04 Oct 1975 > Oulton Park
12 Oct 1975 > Thruxton
19 Oct 1975 > Brands Hatch
1975 John Player British Formula Atlantic Championship table
| 1 | Tony Brise | Modus M3 - Ford BDA Nicholson | 150 pts | 6 wins |
| 2 | Jim Crawford | Chevron B29 - Ford BDA Hart | 125 pts | 2 wins |
| 3 | Cyd Williams | Brabham BT40 - Ford BDA Swindon | 59 pts | |
| 4 | Richard Morgan | Chevron B29 - Ford BDA Nicholson Wheatcroft R18 - Ford BDA Nicholson | 58 pts | 2 wins |
| 5= | Ted Wentz | Lola T360 - Ford BDA Swindon | 53 pts | 1 win |
| 5= | Peter Wardle | Surtees TS15 - Ford BDA Swindon | 53 pts |
This series ran over 12 races and used a 20-15-12 points system. The other race was won by Nilsson in the Chevron B29. Points table from the John Player Motorsport Yearbook 1976 p161.
1975 Southern Organs British Formula Atlantic Championship table
| 1= | Ted Wentz | Lola T360 - Ford BDA Swindon | 42 pts | 1 win |
| 2= | Gunnar Nilsson | Chevron B29 - Ford BDA Swindon | 36 pts | 4 wins |
| 3= | Tony Brise | Modus M3 - Ford BDA Nicholson | 31 pts | 3 wins |
| 4= | Richard Morgan | Chevron B29 - Ford BDA Nicholson Wheatcroft R18 - Ford BDA Nicholson | 29 pts | 1 win |
| 5= | Val Musetti | March 73B/74B - Ford BDA | 18 pts |
This series was run over nine rounds and used a 9-6-4 points system. Tony Brise only appeared in four of the nine races, winning three and finishing third in the other. Gunnar Nilsson only joined the series in late September, but dominated the last four rounds, winning all four and taking three pole positions in the Rapid Movements Chevron B29. But it was Ted Wentz, with a solitary win but five second places who took the title.