The Australian Formula Ford Championship is an Australian motor racing competition for drivers of

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single-seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world have historically been an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...

racing cars, held annually since 1970. From 1970 until 1992 it was a national series and from 1993 until 2013 the series was sanctioned by the

Confederation of Australian Motor Sport Motorsport Australia, formerly the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS), is the nationally recognised governing and sanctioning body for four-wheeled motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and relate ...

as the Australian Formula Ford Championship. From 2014 to 2018 it reverted to national series status. The Australian Formula Ford Championship name was then applied to the series by the Formula Ford Association from 2019. Australian Formula Ford is renowned for producing future champions in other categories with many

V8 Supercar The Supercars Championship, also known as the Repco Supercars Championship under sponsorship and historically as V8 Supercars, is a touring car racing category in Australia and New Zealand, running as an International Series under Fédération I ...

drivers and Australian international open-wheeler drivers having had a background in the category.

History

The Formula Ford category was established in Great Britain in 1967 and two years later Australia's first Formula Ford race was staged at the

Sandown Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, England. The neighbouring resort of Shanklin and the settlement of Lake, Isle of Wight, Lake are sited just to the south of t ...

circuit in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. A national series was contested in Australia for the first time in 1970 and then annually through to 1992. In the following year the series was granted national title status by CAMS and officially became the Australian Formula Ford Championship. After having powered Australian Formula Fords since the introduction of the category, the 1600cc Ford "Kent" engine was replaced by the third-generation Ford Fiesta unit for the 2006 Australian Championship. The "Kent" powered cars continued to be raced in various State championships under the "Formula Ford 1600" category name. The series has served as a stepping stone for many Australian racing drivers who have gone on to greater things in motor racing both in Australia and overseas. Notably, 1971 winner

Larry Perkins Larry Clifton Perkins (born 18 March 1950) is a former racing driver and V8 Supercar team owner from Australia. Biography Early years Growing up on a farm in Cowangie in the Mallee region of Victoria, Larry, the son of racing driver Edd ...

went on to race in the

Formula One World Championship Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one of the wor ...

and other winners

Russell Ingall Russell Peter Ingall (born 24 February 1964 in London, England) is a former full-time Australian V8 Supercar driver. He won his V8 Supercars title in 2005, and finished second in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2004. Ingall has also won the Bathurst 100 ...

Craig Lowndes Craig Andrew Lowndes (born 21 June 1974) is an Australian racing car driver in the Supercars Championship, Repco Supercars Championship racing for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He is also a TV commentator. Lowndes is a three-time V8 Superca ...

Garth Tander Garth Dirk Tander (born 31 March 1977) is a multiple-championship winning Australian motor racing driver competing in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship's Enduro Cup, co-driving for Grove Racing. He was the 2007 series champion for th ...

and

Jamie Whincup Jamie David Whincup (born 6 February 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver competing in the Supercars Championship. He currently is team principal for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He has driven the No. 88 Holden Commodore (ZB), Ho ...

have each gone on to claim

titles. Other graduates of Australian Formula Ford include Brad Jones,

Marcos Ambrose Marcos Ross Ambrose (born 1 September 1976) is an Australian former racing driver and current Garry Rogers Motorsport competition director. He won the Australian V8 Supercar series' championship in 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series, 2003 and ...

Tomas Mezera Tomas Mezera (born 5 November 1958 in Czechoslovakia) is a naturalised Australian racing driver. Mezera won the 1988 Bathurst 1000, and for many years was a member of the Holden Racing Team as both a driver and team manager. Mezera's sporting ...

Jason Bright Jason Paul Bright (born 7 March 1973) is a retired Australian racing driver who competed in the Supercars Championship, Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. He drove the No. 56 Ford Falcon (FG X), Ford FG X Falcon for Britek Motorsport, a ...

Steven Richards Steven James Richards (born 11 July 1972) is a New Zealand-Australian racing driver, currently competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship. Richards, the son of seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards (race driver), Jim Ri ...

David Besnard David John Besnard (born 21 January 1977 in Sydney, Australia) is a retired professional racing driver. Career history Starting in karts in 1991, he quickly proceeded into Formula Ford in 1995. After initial success, he had a major accident at ...

Will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

and

Alex Davison Alexander Davison (born 3 November 1979) is a Auto racing, racing driver from Australia. He was the 2004 Australian Carrera Cup Championship, 2004 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia champion. Junior career Starting in karts at a young age, he prog ...

, and nine-time

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

race winner Mark Webber finished third in the F1 World championship on three occasions. Formula Ford has also proven a popular proving ground for Australian racing car manufacturers. In its early years the series was dominated by Australian designs from

Elfin Sports Cars Elfin Sports Cars Pty Ltd (formerly known as Elfin Sports Cars) is an Australian car manufacturer company that was founded by Garrie Cooper. It has been an Australian manufacturer of sports cars and motor racing cars since 1959. Elfin Sports C ...

, Bowin Cars, Mawer and Birrana. 1987 to 1997 was dominated by the British marque

Van Diemen Van Diemen International, Ltd. was a British race car manufacturer based in Snetterton, Norfolk, United Kingdom. The company had a reputation for high-volume production runs of its cars, the most well-known of which is its series of Formula For ...

, winning eleven straight titles. The streak was broken in 1998 by Australian marque Spectrum, built by

Borland Racing Developments Borland Racing Developments is an Australian championship winning manufacturer of open-wheel racing cars, principally in the junior categories of Formula Ford and Formula Vee. Borland Racing Developments was formed in 1984 to prepare and engi ...

. Van Diemen faded in the mid-2000s and Australian grids are now almost exclusively filled with Spectrums and French made

Mygale Mygale Racing Car Constructor (Mygale SARL) was a French racing car manufacturer that specialised in the production of Open wheel car, single seater chassis for use in formula racing. It is most notable for its Formula Ford chassis. Mygale also ...

s. Once mainly the domain of competitor self-run teams, the modern series is dominated by professional racing teams.

Sonic Motor Racing Services Sonic Motor Racing Services is an Australian racing team that is competes in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship, Porsche Sprint Challenge, the Australian Formula Ford Championship, and the Victorian Formula Ford Championship. The ...

and Synergy Motorsport both field multi-car teams, while some of those and Spectrum works team

also compete in the Victorian Formula Ford championship.

Australian Formula Ford Series

In August 2013 the

announced that the Australian Formula Ford Championship would be discontinued at the end of 2013. The Formula Ford Association subsequently announced that approval had been obtained from CAMS to organize a national series for 2014. It was contested over six rounds and was officially known as the Australian Formula Ford Series. "Kent" powered cars were re-introduced for the 2014 series.''Formula Future Locked'', The Racing Magazine, Number 11, Australian Motor Racing Pty Ltd, page 6 During the 2016 season, the championship ran one event at a race meeting sanctioned by the Australian Auto Sport Alliance.

ASA Asa may refer to: People and fictional characters * Asa (given name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters so named * Asa people, an ethnic group based in Tanzania * Aṣa, Nigerian-French singer, songwriter, and reco ...

In 2017, the Queensland round was run at a "RACERS' sanctioned race meeting. For 2018 four of the seven rounds will be run at CAMS sanctioned race meetings, two at the AASA sanctioned "AMRS" series, and one at Queensland Raceway again. The winner of the Australian Formula Ford Series was awarded a "golden ticket" to the INDYCAR

Road to Indy The USF Pro Championships Presented by Continental Tire, formerly known as the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, is a racecar driver development program, providing a scholarship-funded path to reach the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500. ...

Shootout, provided the driver is age-eligible per INDYCAR regulations. If the winner is ineligible (as was the case in 2016 because of age), the driver highest in points eligible for the award will claim the prize. The 2018 Australian Formula Ford winner won the Shootout, and was awarded a 2019 USF2000 ride fully funded by the promoters. Now the winner is awarded a test in a current gen DJR supercar.

State championships

Formula Ford has also proved to be a very popular category for state level series and championships, including competitions held in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. In the majority these championships continue to utilise the first-generation

Ford Kent engine The Ford Kent is an internal combustion engine from Ford of Europe. Originally developed in 1959 for the Ford Anglia, it is an straight-4, in-line four-cylinder Overhead valve engine, overhead valve (OHV) pushrod engine with a cast-iron cylinder h ...

. State level series have served as a stepping stone for kart racers looking for a cheap entry level into circuit racing before moving into the national series. State series often provided additional cars to the national series.

Series winners and Australian Champions

National Series

Australian Formula Ford Championship

History

Australian Formula Ford Series

State championships

Series winners and Australian Champions

National Series

Australian Formula Ford Championship

Australian Formula Ford Series

Australian Formula Ford Championship

References

External links