Elite Racing League
All information on this page is not part of canon.
The Elite Racing League is a racing series made by ShaneEyoho, it is a single seater series and is not canon in the Formula rejects universe although it could be in the future should interest grow in the series.
General Information
The Elite Racing League (commonly abbreviated to ERL and often written as 'Elite Racing League') is a FICTIONAL open-wheel single-seater racing competition, the competition itself made its debut to the racing world in 1960 as a Formula 1 support series, the formula is governed by the FIA. What makes this season unique compared to the likes of F1, most of the races from 2016 onwards take place during the off season alongside various winter series meaning the roster of drivers and constructors can vary from season to season.
The Series started out, as mentioned, in 1960 and has seen many good races between now and then, the seasons can be seen below, as the ERL has a long and somewhat complicated history, each season page will run through the basics of what happened during those seasons.
The series stayed as a Formula 1 support series until 1997 when it broke away from the FIA and went independent following backing from title sponsor FedEx this would continue until 2004 when the ERL came back to FIA regulations and backing due to a decrease in ratings and race attendance.
Due to the series (between 1960 and 1997) being an Formula 1 support series, several Formula 1 World Champions participated in this series due to some of the Formula 1 teams at the time also having teams in the ERL (eg: Ferrari.)
The Elite Racing League made its debut on TV at the start of its 1978 season (18 months after Formula 1 debuted at their Japanese Grand Prix in 1976.)
1980 Formula One merge
In 1980 (due to lack of driver interest) a merge between F1 and its ERL support series was made due to their not being enough drivers on the market for the two series to have different grids so the FIA decided to merge the two championships, the ERL would still get its own championship/race slots it would just race the F1 calendar instead of its own, it also meant that future legends of the time could participate in the series more often this actually increased TV ratings as the ERL races usually took place on a Saturday before an F1 Grand Prix on the Sunday.
The merge lasted until 1987 when the FIA were satisfied to continue to run the ERL, once again, as its separate entity - the series would become independent in 1997.
In 1980 drivers weren't allowed to leave their official F1 teams however in 1981 the regulations for the ERL side of the race weekends, the drivers and teams were allowed to move freely between teams (eg: For the 1981 ERL season a McLaren driver could sign for Lotus etc...)
Seasons
In the official ERL rules from 1970 in order for a race to officially be a championship race there needed to be at least 12 drivers on the grid, this rule was changed to 14 as part of the many 1980's regulation changes, it was changed back to 12 during the independent run between 1998 and 2004 it was then increased to 20 for the "Modern Era" from 2005 to present.
Year | Grands Prix | Drivers Champion | Constructors Champion |
---|---|---|---|
1960 | 7 | Template:AUS Jack Brabham (Cooper) | Template:GBR Cooper-Climax |
1961 | 8 | Template:AUS Jack Brabham (Cooper) | Template:GBR Cooper-Climax |
1962 | 8 | Template:GBR Jim Clark (Lotus) | Ferrari |
1963 | 8 | Bruce McLaren (Cooper) | Template:GBR Lotus-Climax |
1964 | 9 | Jo Bonnier (Ferrari) | Ferrari |
1965 | 8 | Jo Bonnier (Ferrari) | Ferrari |
1966 | 8 | Lorenzo Bandini (Ferrari) | Ferrari |
1967 | 8 | Template:GBR Jim Clark (Lotus) | Template:GBR Lotus-Climax |
1968 | 8 | Denny Hulme (McLaren) | Honda |
1969 | 9 | Template:AUS Jack Brabham (Brabham) | Template:GBR Brabham-Ford |
1970 | 10 | Denny Hulme (McLaren) | Template:GBR McLaren-Ford |
1971 | 10 | Niki Lauda (BRM) | Template:GBR Lotus-Ford |
1972 | 12 | Niki Lauda (Ferrari) | Honda |
1973 | 12 | Niki Lauda (Ferrari) | Ferrari |
1974 | 12 | Denny Hulme (McLaren) | Template:GBR McLaren-Ford |
1975 | 14 | Ronnie Peterson (Lotus) | Honda |
1976 | 14 | Chris Amon (Honda) | Honda |
1977 | 14 | Emerson Fittipaldi (McLaren) | Template:GBR McLaren-Ford |
1978 | 15 | Template:SUI Clay Regazzoni (Ferrari) | Ferrari |
1979 | 15 | Template:SUI Clay Regazzoni (Ferrari) | Ferrari |
1980 | 13 | Template:AUS Alan Jones (Williams) | Fittipaldi-Ford |
Other awards
COMING SOON
Evolution of the Calendar
COMING SOON