QUALITY GRID ASSEMBLING FOR FORMULA FORD
Interest in the new EcoBoost Formula Ford is gathering pace. Photo: www.jakobebrey.com
With 15 drivers signed already and more on the verge of joining up, Formula Ford’s new era looks set to boast a grid brimming with both quantity and quality when the championship gets underway at Brands Hatch over the weekend of 30/31 March.
Organisers of the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain are delighted by the initial take-up of grid slots and even more pleased with the continuing interest shown by young stars keen to race on the BTCC bill in the UK’s fastest and most exciting junior single-seater, the new EcoBoost Formula Ford.
Gerard Quinn, senior manager for Ford Racing in Europe, said: “Having this many drivers signed is a great starting point for the new aero version Formula Ford and all the signs are that that number is going to grow by the time the start of the season comes around at the end of March.
“We are busy talking to more new teams and drivers and we are very pleased to be so well advanced with our plans. The driver and team line up is already impressive, and we are looking forward with excitement to joining the BTCC race support package, and with it the live TV coverage and unrivalled spectator interest, for the first of our 30-race programme starting Brands Hatch in just under a couple of months.”
The first 15 drivers to sign include several returning Formula Ford heroes and a number of circuit-racing novices, stars from the world of karting, and international race talent.
Championship manager Sam Roach, of RacingLine, added: “Some of the drivers have requested anonymity at this time while they finalise the details of their coming Formula Ford programmes, but 11 of them can be announced. And it’s an inspiring line-up of talent already.”
The list of firm championship registrants includes:
James ABBOTT
GBR / age 19. After three seasons in Radical sports cars and some F3 Cup outings, James plans his first full season of single-seater racing with a new Sinter Formula Ford EcoBoost chassis and brings with him the works Radical team
George BLUNDELL
GBR / age 20. Enjoyed an impressive maiden season of racing in 2012, claiming third in the Duratec division of Formula Ford GB with Enigma Motorsport and the Top Rookie title
Dan CAMMISH
GBR / age 23. Dan, the Formula Ford Scholarship Champion of 2009 and third-place overall finisher in 2010, plans a return to the series in which he made his racing name as a comeback from a serious Formula Renault crash last season. Dan is returning to his old team and reigning champions JTR – the squad plans to field three Mygale chassis
Cavan CORCORAN
GBR / age 19. The 2011 Formula Ford Scholarship Champion returns with his own family team, CC Motorsport, which boasts experienced personnel and plans to run a Mygale chassis
Jack DEX
GBR / age 20. Multiple kart title winner Dex plans a championship campaign with SWB Motorsport and the new Sinter chassis following success with the team in the BARC Formula Renault club series
Ross GUNN
GBR / age 16. The youngest to sign up so far, Gunn will make his circuit-racing debut with Formula Ford following championship wins in the 2011 Minimax kart series and Junior Rotax in 2012. Team plans as yet unannounced
Camren KAMINSKY
USA / age 19. Former karter Kaminsky heads for Europe following success in the Pacific F2000 Series in the States; he claimed second overall in the championship in 2012 with five podium finishes. He will race one of the JTR team’s Mygales
Fred MARTIN-DYE
GBR / age 24. A prolific kart race winner as a youngster, Fred made his circuit-racing debut in Formula Ford in 2012 and made the podium in only his second race. Team plans as yet unannounced
Juan Angel ROSSO
ARG / age 19. Hoping to follow in the wheeltracks of his countryman Eric Lichtenstein, who won 11 times in one of Jamun’s Mygale EcoBoost chassis last year. Rosso comes to Europe after a season-and-a-half of success in Formula Renault Plus in Argentina, in which he scored two race wins in 2012
Harrison SCOTT
GBR / age 16. The Essex-based kart star will make his car-racing debut in Formula Ford with top single-seater squad Falcon Motorsport. Falcon is planning a three-car team using the Mygale chassis
Luke WILLIAMS
GBR / age 21. Luke first raced a Formula Ford in 2009 and was Scholarship class runner-up in 2010. He scored his maiden race victory last year with the Jamun Racing team
Formula Ford this year returns to Britain’s premier motorsport package to race alongside the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. The three-year deal will see Formula Ford EcoBoost 200 become the sole regular single-seater support championship for the BTCC, with three races at each of the 10 TOCA-organised events, with the benefit of live TV coverage.
Inspired partly by the success of Formula Ford 2000 in the 1980s, the technical revisions to the new Formula Ford engine and chassis incorporate feedback from drivers, teams and manufacturers. The 1.6-litre turbocharged EcoBoost power unit has been tuned to develop in excess of 200PS and is mated to a Formula 3 specification six-speed sequential gearbox, with front and rear aerodynamic wings added to the chassis to provide young drivers with the most technically advanced junior single-seater racing car in the world, and an unrivalled learning experience.
Seat time remains a cornerstone of the Formula Ford ethos. A 30-race championship is believed to offer the highest number of races of any junior single-seater formula, giving all drivers the maximum competitive time behind the wheel, and exceptional value for money.
Formula Ford enjoys the distinction of MSA championship status, and the governing body of British motorsport is to continue to show its support in 2013 with its specially developed driver training programme.
For more information visit www.britishformulaford.co.uk
