Formula 2 1968

Jochen Rindt was the dominant driver in F2 in 1968, winning six races in his Roy Winkelmann Racing Brabham BT23C, including four European Trophy races. As a graded driver, he was not eligible for the championship which was dominated by the two Matra works drivers, Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Henri Pescarolo. Tino Brambilla joined the Ferrari team in August and was immediately successful, winning outright at Hockenheim and Vallelunga in October to jump into third place in the championship. BMW returned to F2 late in the season with a pair of new BMW-designed, Lola-constructed T102s and a new engine but had limited impact.

Jackie Stewart also won three non-Trophy races in his Matra MS7, run by Ken Tyrrell, Jonathan Williams won one in Frank Williams' Brabham BT23C and Chris Irwin also scored a singleton victory in the works Lola T100.

Had there been a constructors title, it would have been won by Brabham on 142 points from Matra on 123 and Ferrari on 56. These would have been followed by Lola (29), Lotus (27), Tecno (25), McLaren (20) and Chevron (3). A hypothetical team championship would have been won by the works Matras of Matra Sports, followed by the Brabhams of Roy Winkelmann Racing, with Ferrari third, Frank Williams' new operation in fourth, Ken Tyrrell's Matra International fifth and Gold Leaf Team Lotus sixth.

The races

31 Mar 1968 > Gran Premio de Barcelona at Montjuich Park

07 Apr 1968 > Deutschland Trophae at Hockenheim

15 Apr 1968 > BARC 200 at Thruxton

21 Apr 1968 > Eifelrennen at Nürburgring

21 Apr 1968 > Grand Prix de Pau

28 Apr 1968 > Gran Premio de Madrid at Jarama

05 May 1968 > Grote Prijs van Limburg at Zolder

03 Jun 1968 > BUA London Trophy at Crystal Palace

16 Jun 1968 > Rhein-Pokalrennen at Hockenheim

23 Jun 1968 > Gran Premio della Lotteria at Monza

14 Jul 1968 > Flugplatzrennen at Tulln-Langenlebarn

28 Jul 1968 > Grote Prijs van Zandvoort

25 Aug 1968 > Gran Premio del Mediterraneo at Enna-Pergusa

15 Sep 1968 > Grand Prix de Reims

13 Oct 1968 > Preis von Baden-Wurttemberg at Hockenheim

20 Oct 1968 > Grand Prix d'Albi

27 Oct 1968 > Gran Premio di Roma at Vallelunga

European Trophy for F2 Drivers events shown in bold

1968 European Trophy for F2 Drivers table

Previous: the 1967 season

Next: the 1969 season

Beltoise scored maximum points in five races as he also finished second to graded driver Jochen Rindt (Brabham BT23C) at Thruxton and Tulln-Langenlebarn. Courage scored maximum points at Enna, also by finishing second to Rindt, as did Redman at Crystal Palace.

Only Ferrari and BMW offered any challenge to the dominance of Cosworth's FVA engines. The 6-cylinder Ferrari Dino 166 was powerful but heavy and was essentially now a very old design. BMW abandoned their tall 1967 Apfelbeck radial valve engine for a new four-valve, three-plug design derived from their successful touring car engine. Both engines claimed 225 bhp in 1968.

The 1968 Argentine Temporada

A short series of races was held in Argentina at the end of the year which attracted a very strong entry from the European teams. Several locals bought cars for the series, the quickest of whom was Andrea Vianini in his Tecno.

The races

01 Dec 1968 > Buenos Aires

08 Dec 1968 > Autódromo Oscar Cabalén, Cordoba

15 Dec 1968 > San Juan

22 Dec 1968 > Buenos Aires

1968 Argentine F2 Temporada table