The Modus Developments Company was a building company that formed a racing team in 1973. Based in Norfolk, the team - set up by Teddy Savory - began by running Tony Brise in F Atlantic. After Jo Marquart joined from GRD, the team designed and built a car of their own. Their first car was the F3 M1 produced in early 1974. Later, they built F2, F5000, F Atlantic, Super Renault, and Super Vee. The company continued to build and race until November 1976, when the team was closed down. After their demise, the manufacturing rights were sold to Roger Andreason.The Modus M1 F3 had a conventional monocoque with a wishbone suspension setup. Power was initially from Ford twin-cam engines before switching to Toyota Novamotor powerplants. The Modus M1 cars were quick; Danny Sullivan took the car's first victory at Thruxton (and Sullivan's first F3 win). Tony Brise scored second place at Monaco.
In 1976, very few changes were made to the Modus f3 car. In an effort to keep pace with the competition, the car's lower rear suspension was converted from wishbones to twin parallel links near the middle of the season. The Modus F3 racer's only major win during the season was at Silverstone in the hands of Brett Riley. At the close of the season, the company closed down.
By Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2012
For 1975, the M1 was given a narrow track suspension, and the bodywork was slightly updated. The company's best F3 year was in 1975, when the works cars were driven by Eddie Cheever and Sullivan. Cheever won the 5th and 6th F3 races he started for Modus, and Sullivan also had a few victories. Cheever had four wins (two at Silverstone and two at Hockenheim) and Sullivan had three victories at Silverstone, Cadwell, and Oulton. Freddy Kottulinsky, driving a BMW-powered example, won at the Nurburgring.
By Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2012
