British Formula Atlantic 1974
There were again two series in 1974, one backed by John Player and the other by Southern Organs. The John Player series fell to John NIcholson and the Lyncar for the second season but it was a close-run thing with five other drivers winning two or more rounds. The ten-round Southern Organs series was won by Jim Crawford after he returned to the series with Fred Opert's Chevron B27 and won the last two round, including the double-points final round, to snatch the title from series-leader Alan Jones (March 74B).
Of the leading contenders, Jones would become World Champion and Crawford, Nicholson and fellow race-winners Tony Brise and David Morgan would all make it into F1 within a year.
March was again the dominant marque with the March 74B and 73B each accounting for nearly a quarter of the grid. The Lyncar was the next most successful in terms of points scored followed by the Brabham BT40, Chevron B25, Modus M1, Chevron B27 and the Scott. A remarkable 21 constructors started at least one race during 1974.
The races
10 Mar 1974 > Mallory Park (John Player round 1)
18 Mar 1974 > Brands Hatch (John Player round 2)
31 Mar 1974 > Silverstone (Southern Organs round 1)
07 Apr 1974 > Silverstone (John Player round 3)
14 Apr 1974 > Snetterton (John Player round 4)
27 Apr 1974 > Oulton Park (Southern Organs round 2)
05 May 1974 > Oulton Park (John Player round 5)
12 May 1974 > Silverstone (John Player round 6)
27 May 1974 > Oulton Park (John Player round 7)
23 Jun 1974 > Mallory Park (John Player round 8)
30 Jun 1974 > Silverstone (Southern Organs round 3)
07 Jul 1974 > Thruxton (Southern Organs round 4)
20 Jul 1974 > Brands Hatch (John Player round 9)
28 Jul 1974 > Silverstone (Southern Organs round 5)
11 Aug 1974 > Mallory Park (Southern Organs round 6)
25 Aug 1974 > Mallory Park (John Player round 10)
07 Sep 1974 > Phoenix Park (John Player round 11)
15 Sep 1974 > Mondello Park (John Player round 12)
29 Sep 1974 > Brands Hatch (John Player round 13)
05 Oct 1974 > Oulton Park (John Player round 14)
13 Oct 1974 > Mallory Park (Southern Organs round 7)
19 Oct 1974 > Brands Hatch (non-championship)
20 Oct 1974 > Brands Hatch (Southern Organs round 8)
27 Oct 1974 > Snetterton (Southern Organs round 9)
03 Nov 1974 > Brands Hatch (Southern Organs round 10)
16 Nov 1974 > Thruxton (non-championship)
Southern Organs Championship table
| 1. | Jim Crawford | March 73B and Chevron B27 | 43 pts | 3 wins |
| 2. | Alan Jones | March 74B | 41 pts | 1 win |
| 3. | Ray Mallock | Ensign LNFB and Brabham BT40 | 38 pts | 1 win |
| 4= | David Morgan | Chevron B25 | 27 pts | 1 win |
| 4= | John Nicholson | Lyncar 005 | 27 pts | 2 wins |
This series used a 9-6-4 system with double points awarded at the last round. The other two races fell to Geoff Friswell (March 73B) and Ted Wentz (March 74B). The points table used here is constructed from race results.
John Player Championship table
| 1. | John Nicholson | Lyncar 005 | 132 pts | 2 wins |
| 2. | Jim Crawford | March 73B | 127 pts | 2 wins |
| 3. | Tony Brise | March 773 and Modus M1 | 101 pts | 3 wins |
| 4. | Alan Jones | March 712M/722 and 74B | 97 pts | 3 wins |
| 5. | Dave Morgan | March 74B and Chevron B25 | 85 pts | 2 wins |
This series ran over 14 races using a 20-15-12 points system. Nicholson only got two wins and two second places but the points system narrowly favoured his consistent top-six finishing over the two wins, three seconds and four retirements of Crawford, the three wins and four non-starts of Brise or the three wins and poor attendance record of Jones. Richard Scott also won two races at the start of the season in his Scott F2.
Points table provided by Michael Ferner.
Two non-championship races were won by Morgan and Steve Choularton (March 73B).