Making life difficult to the Marches

Patrick Nève, driving the Safir RJ03 No. 58, is ahead of Gunnar Nilsson and Alex Dias Ribeiro, in the two factory March 753s, during the Silverstone round of the 1975 BP British F3 Championship.

This British championship, sponsored by BP and organised by the BARC, was the most important F3 championship of its time, and a stepping stone to higher categories, or even for some, the path directly to F1, so it attracted all the up-and-coming young drivers.

In 1975, it was dominated by the three factory teams: March with the Swede Gunnar Nilsson and Brazilian Alex Ribeiro, Modus with the American Danny Sullivan and Safir with Belgian Patrick Nève, who with few resources made life difficult for the much better-funded teams, and even won at Knockhill.

Ultimately, it was Gunnar Nilsson who prevailed with five wins and four podiums, ahead of his March teammate Alex Ribeiro (three wins), and Danny Sullivan (Modus) with his two wins at Silverstone and Cadwell Park.

Patrick Nève, pictured below, finished a strong fourth in the championship for Safir Engineering with one win and five podium finishes. Nève, Nilsson, Ribeiro, and Sullivan would all later go on to compete in Formula 1, with varying degrees of success.