Formula Ford Definition & History
Formula Ford Defined
Formula Ford is a single seater class in motor sport which exists in some form in many countries around the world. It is an entry-level series to motor racing, with many drivers aspiring to one day reach Formula One. Young drivers often begin their competitive careers in Formula Ford, or after a few years in karting. Formula Ford provides drivers with their first insights into how a racing car feels to drive and how to properly set up a car to be competitive.
A Formula Ford car is one of the more distinctive-looking open-wheel race cars because it does not have wings to create aerodynamic downforce, which is one of the reasons the series has persisted for so long in motor racing. Top speeds are relatively high, handling is excellent, and the lack of wings ensures that cars following another are not aerodynamically disadvantaged. As the rules limit modifications, all cars are basically equal and close racing results.
Formula Ford cars weigh less than 450 kg (1000 lb), so their engines, which typically develop about 115 hp, are capable of propelling them from 0-100 km/h in less than five seconds, reaching top speeds of 225 km/h (140 mph).
Chassis are steel space-frame in order to reduce cost. The more popular marques are Swift, Reynard, Crosslé, Van Diemen, and Mygale, but smaller manufacturers such as Ray or Vector have had some success. Historical designers have included Lotus and Lola.
All Formula Ford racecars use the same engine. In 1994, Ford replaced its Kent block engine with the more modern and more powerful 1800 cc 16-valve Ford Zetec engine. The advent of the Zetec created a new class of Formula Ford cars popular in some countries.
Ford administers some of the national Formula Ford championships around the world, but older cars are very popular with club racers, providing the ground for several organizations to run their own series. Many racing schools offer driver training in Formula Ford cars. In the USA Formula Ford has declined as a class due to an outdated engine.
Several famous race drivers have used the formula as a step up to international competitions. For example, Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher both used Formula Fords as a stepping stone to Formula One Motor racing.
Formula Ford History
Towards the end of 1966 Geoffrey Clarke, M.D of the Motor Racing Stables racing school, fed up with students blowing up expensive Formula 3 engines took a 1500cc Ford Cortina GT engine (some sources say it was a BMC engine) and bolted it in to a Lotus 31 F3 chassis and was impressed by the results. His hybrid was discussed during a meeting with Motor Circuit Development’s John Web and Ford’s Henry Taylor at the 1966 Olympia Racing Car Show. The specification for a new low-cost racing series was agreed and Ford allowed their name to be used for the formula.
The specification was basic, to keep down the costs, a spaceframe chassis, standard Cortina J rims and 5½" tyres, and Cortina GT 1600cc ‘Kent’ engine and gearbox. Originally there was a cost limit for the chassis but this was quietly dropped later. The first cars had Lotus 31 chassis but Lotus soon produced the Lotus 51 chassis specifically for the series. One of BMRC’s correspondents in the USA is in the process of restoring one of the original Lotus 51 chassis. By the end of 1967 a total of 12 firms were offering chassis for FF.
The first Formula Ford race was at Brands Hatch on the 2nd July 1967. It was a effectively a match race between Motor Racing Stables and the Jim Russell Racing Driver School. 17 cars were on the grid. MRS star pupil, Ray Allen, won the race followed by Malcolm Payne (a Norfolk duck farmer) and Belgian Claude Bourgoignie (who became the European FF champion 3 years later).
By 1975 there were so many FF cars in circulation that drivers were being turned away from meetings. To ease this problem Formula Ford 2000 was introduced. These cars used 2 litre single overhead cam Ford Pinto engines with slicks and wings. For reasons which are unclear, this new formula was not as successful though the cars still race in the Pre '83 FF2000 Championship.
Formula Ford 1600 continued successfully and is still going strong today. The format got a little tired however and was not attracting the young drivers who have been enticed by the more modern single make formulae that have sprouted up in the wake of FF. Some changes have been made to redress the balance: in 1994 the new Ford Zetec 1800 engine was introduced to replace the ageing ‘Kent’ 1600cc unit and in 1995 slick tyres were introduced. Wings are still not allowed.
