Cup of Peace and Friendship

Cup of Peace and Friendship
CategoryFormula racing (1963-1989)
Touring car racing (1973-1989)
RegionEastern Bloc
Inaugural season1963
Folded1990
Last Drivers' champion Alexandr Potekhin
Josef Michl

The Cup of Peace and Friendship (also Friendship Cup of Socialist Countries) was an auto racing championship series dedicated to Eastern Bloc drivers between 1963 and 1990.

History

The Cup of Peace and Friendship was created in 1963 as an initiative of Lech Tulak and Jerzy Jankowski of the Polish Automobile and Motorcycle Federation. The main purpose of the cup was to promote standard regulations for auto racing in Eastern Bloc countries.[1] In its initial form it was a championship for open-wheel, single seaters and included both individual and national team awards. Heinz Melkus and East Germany were the first champions.[2]

For the inaugural season in 1963, cup races were held to Formula Junior, before its replacement by the new 1-litre Formula Three from 1964. 1972 saw the creation of Formula Easter, which would form the technical basis of the championship for the next seventeen years, before switching to Formula Mondial for the final two seasons in 1989 and 1990. From 1973 a touring car class was also introduced.[2]

After the revolutions of 1989, the championship was made open to western entrants, but mounting financial difficulties made 1990 the final season of the Cup of Peace and Friendship.[3]

Champions

Single seater Touring car
Season Category Champion Driver Car Champion Nation Champion Driver Car Champion Nation
1963 Formula Junior Heinz Melkus Melkus 63-Wartburg East Germany not held not held not held
1964 Formula 3 Jerzy Jankowski Rak 64-Wartburg East Germany not held not held not held
1965 Formula 3 Heinz Melkus Melkus 65-Wartburg East Germany not held not held not held
1966 Formula 3 Heinz Melkus[4] Melkus 65-Wartburg East Germany not held not held not held
1967 Formula 3 Heinz Melkus Melkus 65-Wartburg East Germany not held not held not held
1968 Formula 3 Miroslav Fousek[5] Škoda F3 Czechoslovakia[6] not held not held not held
1969 Formula 3 Vladimír Hubáček Lotus 41C-Cosworth Czechoslovakia not held not held not held
1970 Formula 3 Vladislav Ondřejík Lotus 41C-Cosworth Czechoslovakia not held not held not held
1971 Formula 3 Klaus-Peter Krause SEG-Wartburg East Germany not held not held not held
1972 Formula Easter Heinz Melkus[7] Melkus 71-Wartburg Czechoslovakia not held not held not held
1973 Formula Easter Albín Patlejch MTX 1107-Škoda East Germany Andrzej Wojciechowski Polski Fiat 125p Czechoslovakia
1974 Formula Easter Karel Jílek MTX 1-02-Škoda Czechoslovakia Jaroslav Bobek Škoda 120S Czechoslovakia
1975 Formula Easter Madis Laiv Estonia 18-VAZ Soviet Union Milan Žid Škoda 130RS Czechoslovakia
1976 Formula Easter Jiří Červa MTX 1-03-VAZ Czechoslovakia Milan Žid Škoda 130RS Czechoslovakia
1977 Formula Easter Karel Jílek MTX 1-03-VAZ Czechoslovakia Oldřich Brunclik Škoda 130RS Czechoslovakia
1978 Formula Easter Ulli Melkus SRG MT77-VAZ East Germany Vlastimil Tomášek Škoda 130RS Soviet Union
1979 Formula Easter Václav Lim Avia AE2-VAZ Czechoslovakia Vlastimil Tomášek VAZ-2101 Czechoslovakia
1980 Formula Easter Ulli Melkus SRG MT77-VAZ Czechoslovakia Miroslav Heřman VAZ-2101 Czechoslovakia
1981 Formula Easter Jiří Moskal MTX 1-03-VAZ East Germany Petr Samohýl Škoda 120 Soviet Union
1982 Formula Easter Jan Veselý RAF 80-VAZ Czechoslovakia Vlastimil Tomášek VAZ-2101 Czechoslovakia
1983 Formula Easter Ulli Melkus SRG MT77-VAZ East Germany Alexey Grigoriev VAZ-2101 Soviet Union
1984 Formula Easter Ulli Melkus SRG MT77-VAZ East Germany Vlastimil Tomášek VAZ-2101 Czechoslovakia
1985 Formula Easter Ulli Melkus SRG MT77-VAZ Czechoslovakia Vlastimil Tomášek VAZ-2101 Czechoslovakia
1986 Formula Easter Václav Lim Avia AE3-VAZ East Germany Vlastimil Tomášek Skoda 130LR Czechoslovakia
1987 Formula Easter Toomas Napa Estonia 21M-VAZ Soviet Union Petr Bold VAZ-2105 Soviet Union
1988 Formula Easter Viktor Kozankov Estonia 21.10-VAZ Soviet Union Alexey Grigoriev VAZ-2105 Soviet Union
1989 Formula Mondial Viktor Kozankov Estonia 21.10-VAZ Soviet Union Yuri Katsai VAZ-2108 Soviet Union
1990 Formula Mondial Alexandr Potekhin Estonia 21.10-VAZ not held Josef Michl Škoda 136L not held


Circuits

Circuit Location Years
Albena Circuit Albena 1977-1987
Brno Circuit Brno 1963-1965, 1967
Strahov Circuit Prague 1966
Štramberk Circuit Štramberk 1968
Havířov-Šenov Havířov 1969-1970, 1976, 1981, 1983, 1990
Most Street Circuit Most 1972-1980, 1982
Autodrom Most Most 1984-1986, 1988
Sachsenring Hohenstein-Ernstthal 1963-1965, 1973-1974
Schleizer Dreieck Schleiz 1966, 1970-1990
Autobahnspinne Dresden Dresden 1967, 1969
Pécs Circuit Pécs 1964
Ferihegy Budapest 1965-1966
Győr Circuit Győr 1967
Hungaroring Mogyoród 1986-1987
Gliwice Circuit Gliwice 1963
Kraków-Rakowice-Czyżyny Airport Kraków 1964, 1967
Warsaw Babice Airport Warsaw 1965-1966
Magnolia Circuit Szczecin 1968-1970
Toruń Airport Toruń 1973-1980
Tor Kielce Kielce 1981-1982, 1984
Poznań Circuit Poznań 1983, 1985-1987, 1989-1990
Reșița Circuit Reșița 1984, 1986, 1988-1989
Galați Circuit Galați 1985
Borovaya Circuit Minsk 1963, 1969-1977
Neva Ring Leningrad 1966
Biķernieki Circuit Riga 1968, 1984-1986, 1988-1990
Autodrom Chayka Kiev 1978-1983
Source: [8]

References

  1. ^ "Sport Samochodowy" [Motorsport] (PDF). automobilklubpolski.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-10-20. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  2. ^ a b "The Friendship of Socialist Countries Cup (FSCC)". teamdan.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-11. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  3. ^ Shugurov, Lev. "Проект реорганизации Кубков дружбы" [Friendship Cup Reorganization Project]. CarRacer.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  4. ^ "Formula 3 1966 Championship Tables". the-fastlane.co.uk.
  5. ^ "Formula 3 1968 Championship Tables". the-fastlane.co.uk.
  6. ^ Dziedātājs, Kaspars. "1968 Soc.valstu Draudzības kauss Kopvērtējums" [1968 Socialist Countries Friendship Cup Overall Results]. Racinghistory.lv (Blog) (in Latvian). Retrieved 2025-07-18.
  7. ^ Purucker, Ray. "Pokal für Frieden und Freundschaft" [Cup for Peace and Friendship]. Puru's Motorsportseite (Blog) (in German). Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  8. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20170511094940/http://www.formula2.net/index.html