1983 Elite Racing League season
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All information on this page is not part of canon.
1983 Elite Racing League season | |
Previous: 1982 | Next: 1984 |
Drivers Champion | Manufacturers Champion |
---|---|
TBD | TBD |
The 1983 Elite Racing League season was the 24th season of the FIA's Formula One motor racing support series (the series would remain a support series until 1997.)
Following events in parent series Formula 1, a major change in technical regulations mandated a flat undertray for the cars with a complete ban on the ground effect technology pioneered by the Lotus 78 in 1977. This was done to reduce downforce and cornering speeds, which were deemed to have reached dangerous levels in 1982, a season in which several violent and fatal accidents occurred.
Season Review
- The Belgian Grand Prix returned to Spa-Francorchamps after several years
- The Caesars Palace Grand Prix was discontinued due to poor attendance and ratings.
- The European Grand Prix moved to Brands Hatch whilst the British Grand Prix moved back to Silverstone.
Teams and Drivers
- FILA entered the sport as main sponsor for the Brabham team however they decided to run their ERL team as a separate entity (something Ferrari and McLaren had been doing for a while due to the sheer amounts of money they have) as such the Brabham name finally became part of the official team name as "Fila Sport Brabham Team."
- Lotus began "Phase 2" of their re-development scheme by introducing Renault engines, effectively becoming an exclusive Renault customer team.
- Honda were rumored to be returning after several years away from both the ERL and F1 however whilst they made a slight return to Formula 1 towards the tail end of 1983, they didn't return to the ERL, despite this the ERL did get a new manufacturer team for the first time since 1980 with the addition of Alfa Romeo who had been in the series before but as an engine supplier.
- Ligier and Matra parted ways due to Matra leaving the series after just 2 seasons meaning Ligier were reunited with Ford even though they lost their Talbot sponsorship.
- Benetton entered the sport as title sponsor for Tyrrell, they would later have their own team on the grid.