Formula Ford 1967-2002?

[Invincible]

With Westley Barber just winning winning and winning and many many more teams defecting to the slicks and wings of Formula Renault.

Is this the end of Formula Ford

[AndyF]

No, I don't think so just yet. A move to join the Junior and Senior series together could well save them.

[TimD]

A move to reduce costs, and dramatically, seems to be the only real solution to me. Formula Ford has lost its way so badly when compared to the original premise. It was supposed to be a series in which a working enthusiast could learn single-seater racing in a cost-effective way, and there were enough control-spec parts and competitive off-the-shelf bits to allow the most impecunious hopeful to have a crack at it.

The cars were relatively cheap to buy, cheap to repair, and simple to set up. On top of that, they were truly spectacular. Time was when Formula Ford would be the highlight of a meeting, 70 drivers taking part in qualification races to choose a grid of thirty finalists. These days, the expensive, works-backed, wide-tracked cars are making Formula Ford processional, and none too cheap. The only excitement seems to be the collisions, and now these are quick enough to be really rather dangerous.

Johnny Herbert and Nigel Mansell poured everything they had into their Formula Fords in order to get noticed. I doubt if they would have been given a second look if they'd been up against todays works Duckhams team.

[AndyF]

Well said Tim. There are also too many viable and cheaper alternatives to the series. Such as the Junior Series, Zip Formula, and various club series like Monoposto and Formula Honda, which are all there to attract the beginners.

[Invincible]

Well maybe I was a bit too harsh to say that Formula Ford is nearing the end.

But now with Senior and Junior to merge next year maybe ints one step closer to improvement.

[Little Mo]

Tim D, I hear what you are saying but behind all the successful teams is just an awful lot of hard work, ok now days you need money to do the hard work but life is getting more expensive, look at house prices for example how much would a house cost in 1960/1970 compared to now 2002 it is all relative, F.F costs around 130,000 to Renaults 165,000 in fords you get 18 races to Renaults 12 com on doesn't that show a little bit of value ??
Ford will be strong next year if both Juniors and seniors merge, they did it with f3 and now that looks like a great grid !
Long live F.Ford

[TimD]

Interesting analogy with the house-prices there.

Nigel Mansell raised the budget for a successful season's racing by re-mortgaging his house, if I remember rightly.

I don't think you could do that nowadays and raise the sort of cash it takes to take on the Duckhams Van Diemens, and that's not good in my book. I'm not going to compare Formula Ford with Formula Renault, because the two were created for very different reasons. Renaults were never supposed to be a bargain-basement championship, and it alarms me that your quoted figures only make a Formula Ford season 15% or so less expensive than a fully winged-up series.

I am only speaking as a long-term enthusiast, who has watched Formula Ford grids getting smaller and smaller over the years.

And I find that a pity.

[JR Ewing]

Why do people think that adding a front and rear wing make cars more expensive to buy and run?
It would only cost more if you keep knocking them off surely???

[Andrew Kitson]

I too am sorry to see the depleted grids in FF this year. For me, it has never been the same since they switched to slicks and on to the Zetec engines. The kent engined FF1600s of the 70s/80s were real 'edge of the seat' races. Who can forget the bomb-burst of half a dozen FFs into the old woodcote on Silverstone club circuit on the last lap? The golden rule was never lead into Becketts on the last lap - the rest will just tow past on the straight. Incredible to think of that now - no run off at all, just a bit of chicken wire catch fence before the unforgiving wooden sleepers.
With the threat of the new BMW junior series and possible F.Renault Monza junior series, FF Zetec may be up against it in the next couple of years.
The rot started to set in in the late 80s as other manufacturers ( Vauxhall and Renault) wanted a piece of the action with their own series. Truth is - none as yet have been as good or entertaining as the original FF or FF2000 in producing GOOD drivers to go on to F3 ( with one or two exceptions).
I guess too that modern karting is so professional thet the kids learn most of the racecraft they need in this discipline, they can then go straight to slicks and wings and be successful like Kimi/ Lewis Hamilton etc.
FF will survive in one form or other, but maybe the festival will become a low key club event with many more old Kent engined cars than Zetecs. I hope I am wrong. I believe it is a vital Formula for drivers to learn their trade.

[AndyF]

According to Motorsport News the Duckhams works team won't be competing next year.

[GM Man]

Originally posted by TimD
... and it alarms me that your quoted figures only make a Formula Ford season 15% or so less expensive than a fully winged-up series.

I'm sorry, but enough of this "wings and slicks" bs. Do you really think FF would be more expensive if you slap a pair of wings on them??

[GM Man]

Oh..a question to whoever knows the answer:

What are the running costs of a F-Renault compared to a F-Ford? Betcha there equal...

[Mackmot]

The basic budget is equal.

Formula Renault all the development has been done but the cars are simply more expensive.

Formula Ford each year we have to buy a new car and spend around £20k developing it.

Formula Renault in the end though cost a hell of a lot more because they are designed to break and when they do break they cost loads more, at first we were impressed because the wishbones were loads cheaper but after a while you can see why.


I personally still love formula ford loads more than anything with wings. The best rull I have heard been discussed is simply not allowing manufacturers to bring out new cars each year so we do not have to spend so much developing the cars.

[sgrok]

Formula Ford is merely going through a rough patch. Everything goes up and down in popularity, and costs are relative to what you get for your money. I still maintain that FR is a mickey mouse series compared to the pedigree of FF or F3, and FF might stay subdued for a few years until a decent PR company grabs it and makes it sexy and slick. And gets a series sponsor.

And if VD works is out of the game for next year, so much the better. It's partly the domination of VD that has killed off interest in FF. Example - FR has seen three different teams in three years run away with it, and even Carlin doesn't hold court completely in F3.

How incredibly dull is it for paying fans to watch the same four cars trailing round at the front of FF every race. The most recent was the best yet - if only Craig Murray could have finished that race - so much more interesting than the bland smugness of the VD team on yet another podium...yawn.

[top-off]

hey Sgrok Why dont you make yourself known to the Van Diemen team at The next race I bet they will knock your smug head off, I no I would if I ever met you as you just talk **** all the time and were all sick of YOU...

[Francesca]

top-off - This is a friendly forum and we'd all like it to stay that way.