Formula Ford
The formula Ford is a level class Formula racing. Many national and international championships are held according to their regulations.
Common story
In 1967, Formula Ford was launched by the automobile manufacturer Ford as a brand cup to promote young talent. The British racing school owner Geoff Clarke is considered to be the inventor. The main difference to the previously only brand formula series Formula V was the front suspension, which instead of crank arms consisted of wishbones especially for racing use.
The first race in Germany took place around 1971. For the time being, only members of the American army were admitted. The races were held at army airports as part of the American Express Cup. All vehicles were uniformly Lotus Mk 61. Formula Ford had official championship status from 1980 to 2000.
From 1973 the series was also open to German ID card and license drivers. The first Formula Ford director was Mike Argetsinger, later Volker Carius from Wiesbaden took over the management. From 1980, an additional championship for holders of an international driver's license was held in parallel and with the rating of the ONS , the predecessor organization of the DMSB .
In 1983 the national championship was discontinued and the Ford 2000 formula, which had been successful in England for years, was introduced. In 2000, Ford Germany decided to stop supporting the German offshoot of this junior racing series in favor of the Ford Puma Cup . Races and championships are still held under the direction of private associations, as there is still an extensive contingent of vehicles. Since 2000 by Renault to the Formula Renault a similar Championship conducted. From 2000 to 2009 there was the Classic Formula Ford Competition . When this was no longer operated after 2009, Formula Ford Racing was created in 2010 , which has since offered drivers in Europe the opportunity to continue to do motorsport at a high level with their classic vehicles.
After the relevance of the Formula Ford category has decreased, fewer national championships have also been held. However, championships are currently taking place in Australia and Great Britain, among others.
General
The participants had the choice between several chassis manufacturers, almost all of them English brands, and the drivers could concentrate entirely on learning how to set the chassis without any aerodynamic aids such as front or rear wings .
The Ford engines of the Kent series (later Zetec ) were compulsory and, prepared according to strict regulations, were offered by several engine tuners. The uniform tires and gears were further cornerstones of a cost-effective overall package.
As a result, participation was relatively cheap compared to other racing series, because the elimination of the aerodynamic aids made complex test drives superfluous. This was also an advantage in the event of a crash, because without the wing mechanism, the triangular or wishbones of the suspensions or vehicle noses were destroyed in the worst case.
The tuning options were limited to changing the gear ratio by changing the gears, increasing or reducing the tire pressure, adjusting the stabilizers at the front and rear, replacing the springs on the front or rear axles or changing the camber of the chassis.
This coordination work requires little time and a set-up can be created in a few rounds (without using a lot of tires). Separate coordination drives with repeated journeys and route rental were unusual in the days of Formula Ford because of the costs. Professional racing teams usually had voting values ready for the more well-known slopes, on temporary racing tracks empirical values were sufficient with the relatively simple constructions.
For many years, Formula Ford was considered a talent factory in Formula 1 . Formula 1 world champions such as Emerson Fittipaldi , Nigel Mansell , Ayrton Senna , Michael Schumacher and Mika Häkkinen were discovered through this category.
Drivers who were victorious in the Formula Ford 1600, often started in the next higher racing series such as Formula Ford 2000, Formula Opel or Formula 3 . At the time, these were the starting points for Formula 3000 and Formula 1 .
Manufacturer
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Engines
The original Kent engine came from the Ford Cortina or Ford Escort 1600GT and had a displacement of 1599 cm³ (bore × stroke 81 × 77.62 mm). With a Weber 32/36 DGV carburettor with air funnel, it developed 77 kW (105 hp) at 6000 rpm in 1977 and 78 kW (107 hp) from 1979. In the 1990s, the engines used produced 85 kW (115 PS).
The 1.8 liter Zetec engine was used from 1993 and replaced the Kent engine that had been in use since 1966.
From the 2013 season a 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine with 147 kW (200 hp) will be used.
A class of its own with aerodynamic aids and slicks was the Formula Ford 2000, whose 2-liter engine developed around 100 kW (135 hp).
Champion of the German Formula Ford
- 1973: Tibor Meray (D, Elden 1)
- 1974 (Miller Brewery as sponsor): Bill Dawson (USA, Elden), 15 German starters
- 1975 Wolfgang Locher (D, van Diemen), prize money 16,200 DM
- 1976 Tibor Meray (D, ??)
From 1980 the championship was continued for holders of a national German license and the ONS championship was introduced for holders of an international license. From 1983 the national series dropped out.
| year | driver | chassis |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 |
 Gero Zamagna
|
PRS |
| 1980 * |
 Stefan Bellof
|
PRS |
| 1981 |
Stefan Bellof
|
PRS |
| 1981 * |
 Mario-Alberto Bauér
|
Royale |
| 1982 |
Volker Weidler
|
Van Diemen |
| 1982 * |
Uwe Schäfer
|
Van Diemen |
| 1983 |
Harald Becker
|
Lola |
| 1984 |
Uwe Schäfer
|
Van Diemen |
| 1985 |
Stefan Neuberger
|
Lola |
| 1986 |
Michael Bartels
|
Van Diemen |
| 1987 |
Ellen Lohr
|
Van Diemen |
| 1988 |
Meik Wagner
|
Van Diemen |
| 1989 |
Michael Krumm
|
Reynard |
| 1990 |
Ralf Druckermüller
|
Van Diemen |
| 1991 |
 Christian Fischer
|
Van Diemen |
| 1992 |
Alexander Wurz
|
Van Diemen |
| 1993 ** |
Patrick Simon
|
Van Diemen |
| 1994 ** |
Nick Heidfeld
|
Van Diemen |
* Special rating for holders of a national license ** Special rating for FF1600 within the FF1800 championship
Formula Ford 1800
| year | driver | chassis |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 |
Klaus Graf
|
Van Diemen |
| 1994 |
Mario Hilgert
|
Eifel country |
| 1995 |
Nick Heidfeld
|
Van Diemen |
| 1995 *** |
Pierre Kaffer
|
Swift |
| 1996 |
 Tomáš Enge
|
Van Diemen |
| 1997 |
 Matteo Boscolo
|
Van Diemen |
| 1998 |
Walter Lechner Jr.
|
Mygale |
| 1999 |
Jörg Hardt
|
Mygale |
| 2000 |
Marc Benz
|
Van Diemen |
*** National championship
Formula Ford 2000
| year | driver | chassis |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 |
 Alfonso Toledano
|
PRS / Reynard |
| 1984 |
Manuel Reuter
|
Reynard |
| 1985 |
 Victor Rosso
|
Reynard |
| 1986 |
 Dave Coyne
|
Swift |
| 1987 |
Ralf Kelleners
|
Reynard |
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j HRA-Online: Vehicles. From: hra-online.de, August 16, 2010, accessed June 21, 2013 .
- ^ Formula Ford Association | Australia. Retrieved March 5, 2020 .
- ↑ Elliot Wood: British F4 reveals 2020 prize scheme for Formula Ford 1600 racers. In: Formula Scout. January 13, 2020, accessed March 5, 2020 (American English).
- ↑ Formula Ford EcoBoost 200 ( memento from October 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) on britishformulaford.co.uk (English).