1979 Ralt RT3 F3

1979 saw ground-effect arrive in F3 and constructors such as March, Chevron and Martini soon had their 'wing' cars up and running, some with more success than others. The Ron Tauranac-designed-RT1 continued to be used by many drivers and, although it was still capable of getting its driver on the podium, it was no longer a winner. Thus the RT3 was born and would soon become one of the most successful F3 designs ever. Comprising a very stiff aluminium tub with honeycomb bulkheads, suspension was inboard all round with the fuel tank located centrally. The tub was very narrow which allowed for wide, skirted sidepods for maximum ground-effect. The whole thing was enclosed in a very stylish body and was one of the best-looking F3 cars of the period.

The vendor of this Ralt RT3 informs us that this car, was one of the first six RT3s to be built and was originally supplied to Bertram Schafer racing for the German F3 Championship. It was driven in period in 1979/80 by Hans-Georg Burger, Georg Bellof (brother of Stefan) and Tommy (Slim) Borgudd and, we understand, ran in the F3, Monaco GP support race in both 1979 and 1980, with a best result of 6th in 1980 driven by Burger.

In more recent years, this special car has undergone a complete no-expense-spared rebuild by the well known classic F3 specialist, Nick Edginton. It has a fresh zero-miles Craig Beck Toyota Novamotor, with dyno sheets available, and the Hewland MK9 gearbox was rebuilt with a new CWP by JP Race based at Silverstone circuit. It's supplied with a new set of slicks on the Mike Barnby wheels on the car and a spare set of Ronal wheels wearing a new set of wets. It’s worth noting that the car has not been shaken down since the full rebuild mainly because the vendor is retiring from racing.

Our vendor informs that to replicate this car today to this standard would cost an awful lot more than our guide price, therefore representing superb value for its next lucky owner. This could also be a shrewd purchase, should classic F3 cars of this period ever be invited back to the Monaco Grand Prix Historic in the future.