British Sprint Championship 1970
The RAC's new British Sprint Championship had a very low-key debut season, with many of the expected competitors, such as Tony Griffiths and Bob Rose, preferring the national hillclimb championship. The number of calendar clashes prevented any hillclimb regular taking part in the full series. Patsy Burt had been competing mainly in sprints in 1968 and 1969 and made the new championship her main focus for 1970. Her 1966 McLaren-Oldsmobile was still very potent, and she won six of the first seven rounds, securing an unassailable points lead. Tony Harrison in the narrow-bodied road registered ex-Phil Scragg Lola T70 was one of the few serious speed event competitors who had registered for the championship.
'King of Curborough' Bob Rose won when the championship visited 'his' track in September, and he also won the two remaining championship rounds at Moreton-in-Marsh and Fairford.
The races
04 Apr 1970 > Yeovilton
02 May 1970 > Greenham Common
24 May 1970 > Woodvale
14 Jun 1970 > Blackpool
28 Jun 1970 > Cadwell Park
02 Aug 1970 > Thruxton
13 Sep 1970 > Duxford
20 Sep 1970 > Curborough
11 Oct 1970 > Moreton-in-Marsh
18 Oct 1970 > Fairford
1970 RAC British Sprint Championship table
| 1 | Patsy Burt | McLaren M3A - Oldsmobile V8 | 63 pts | 6 wins |
| 2 | Tony Harrison | Lola T70L Mk2 - Ford V8 | 56 pts | 1 win |
| 3 | Paul Pycroft | BRM P261 - P101 V12 | 40 pts | |
| 4 | Wridgeway Horton | Jaguar | 36 pts | |
| 5 | Bob Rose | McLaren M10B - Chevrolet V8 | 31 pts | 3 wins |
| 6 | Maurice Gates | Honda S800 | 30 pts | |
| 7 | Peter Dodds | Deep Sanderson 303 - Martin | 27 pts | |
| 8 | Len Bridge | Deep Sanderson 303 - Martin | 24 pts | |
| 9 | Spencer Elton | Brabham BT21C - Ford twin cam Vegantune | 15 pts | |
| 10 | Pat Ryan | Aldon Viper A - BMC s/c | 19 pts | |
| 11 | Mike Barker | Alton 1954/58 - Jaguar 6 | 12 pts | |
| 12 | Richard Thwaites | Brabham BT18 - Buick V8 | 9 pts | |
| 13 | John McCartney | Felday 4 - BRM V8 | 9 pts | |
| 14 | John Quick | Jaguar E-Type | 8 pts | |
| 15 | Arthur Dan | Ford Anglia | 7 pts |
The points system for the new championship was the same as that used for the Hill Climb championship, awarding 10 points for the fastest time in the runoff, then 9 for second and on down to one point for tenths place. An additional point was awarded to each driver that improved on the best time for the course prior to the meeting.