British Formula 3 1981
Jonathan Palmer moved up to F3 in 1981 together with West Surrey Engineering, who had run him in FF1600. They bought Stephan Johansson's 1980 championship-winning Ralt RT3 and also obtained the services of Dick Bennetts who had run the car in 1980. After extensive winter testing, Palmer won the first four races and went on to win the title comfortably.
Mike White led the March works team but the March 813 oversteered badly on British spec Goodyears and his competitiveness - and career prospects - waned. Thierry Tassin started in the works Argo JM8 but this new design was a catastrophe and he moved to Neil Trundle's Ralt-equipped team to become Palmer's closest challenger.
The races
01 Mar 1981 > Silverstone
08 Mar 1981 > Thruxton
29 Mar 1981 > Silverstone
12 Apr 1981 > Mallory Park
20 Apr 1981 > Thruxton
04 May 1981 > Thruxton
10 May 1981 > Snetterton
25 May 1981 > Silverstone
14 Jun 1981 > Cadwell Park
21 Jun 1981 > Silverstone
05 Jul 1981 > Silverstone
12 Jul 1981 > Brands Hatch
18 Jul 1981 > Silverstone
02 Aug 1981 > Mallory Park
15 Aug 1981 > Oulton Park
31 Aug 1981 > Silverstone
27 Sep 1981 > Oulton Park
04 Oct 1981 > Silverstone
11 Oct 1981 > Snetterton
25 Oct 1981 > Thruxton
07 Nov 1981 > Thruxton
Marlboro British Formula 3 Championship events shown in bold
1981 Marlboro British Formula 3 Championship table
| 1 | Jonathan Palmer | Ralt RT3/80 - Toyota 2T-G Mader | 122 pts | 7 wins |
| 2 | Thierry Tassin | Argo JM8 - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor Ralt RT3/81 - Toyota 2T-G Mader Ralt RT3/81 - VW | 92 pts | 5 wins |
| 3 | Raul Boesel | Ralt RT3/81 - Toyota 2T-G Mader | 81 pts | 3 wins |
| 4 | Mike White | March 813 - Alfa Romeo | 38 pts | 1 win |
| 5 | David Leslie | Ralt RT3/81 - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor | 29 pts | |
| 6 | Dave Scott | Ralt RT3/81 - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor | 28 pts | 2 wins |
| 7 | James Weaver | Ralt RT3/80 - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor Ralt RT3/81 - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor Tiga F381 - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor | 21 pts | 1 win |
| 8 | Cliff Hansen | Ralt RT3/81 - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor | 13 pts | |
| 9 | Kurt Thiim | March 813 - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor | 12 pts | |
| 10 | Michael Bleekemolen | Ralt RT3/81 - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor | 11 pts | |
| 11 | Roberto Moreno | Ralt RT3/81 - Toyota 2T-G Novamotor | 9 pts | 1 win |
Points table from Autosport 19 November 1981 p51 but modified to allow for the disqualifications of Palmer and Moreno at Silverstone on 4 October. Palmer lost his seven points for second place (and fastest lap) but then had to drop one less result, so only lost four on aggregate. Moreno lost his one point for sixth, on top of the 18 points he had already lost as a penalty after his disqualification for fuel irregularities at the British GP support meeting. Other drivers gained points as they were bumped up: Scott to second, Tassin to third, Mike Blanchet to fourth, Leslie two places to fifth, Claus Schinkel two places to sixth, and Boesel who inherited Palmer's point for fastest lap.
All points scorers in the 1981 series used Toyota engines except Mike White who used Novamotor-built Alfa Romeos, the engine that dominated F3 elsewhere in Europe, and Tassin who used a Brabham-tuned Volkswagen engine at the Silverstone race in July. Palmer took maximum points in eight races, the other being the June race at Silverstone which was won overall by Mauro Baldi.