Jump to content

Formula Ford

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 66.87.2.153 (talk) at 00:39, 22 March 2012 (→Chassis: disambiguation was fixed... tag should have been removed). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.


Formula Ford Duratec
File:Formule Ford Paul Meijer 2002.jpg
Formula Ford Zetec

Formula Ford is a single seater, open wheel class in motorsport which exists in some form in many countries around the world. It is an entry-level series to motor racing.

History

The origins of Formula Ford began in the early 1960s, where motor racing schools such as The Jim Russell school, and Motor Racing Stables featured single seat Formula Junior and Formula 3-like machines from world class constructors like Cooper and Lotus. Many aspiring formula 1 stars looked to these schools in the hope of learning the craft and also looking the part. However, although there was no shortage of aspiring drivers, these schools had much trouble avoiding bankruptcy. The 1 litre Formula 3 engines, the 1.1 litre Coventry Climax FJ and later the Ford Anglia 105E, cost around £3,000 at the time in addition to the Dunlop racing tires that cost £80 a set. Furthermore, these engines were incredibly fragile to boot, meaning these engines had a tendency to self destruct. All these factors contributed to a steep maintenance and upkeep cost of these schools. [1]

In 1963, Geoff Clarke; the owner of Motor Racing Stables, moved his racing school to the Brands Hatch circuit. This brought him in contact with John Webb; Managing Director of Developments at Brands Hatch. At about this time, two of the school’s Lotus Formula Junior chassis were fitted with a stock 1498cc Ford pushrod engine as featured in the recently introduced Cortina GT sedan. The 1500 Cortina, with its sensational reliability and horsepower output fairly close to “F3 proper” proved a resounding success in the school. The earliest experiments with radial tires bore fruit as well: the students of the day didn’t care that these weren’t the racing engines or racing tires, just that the cars were equal. [2]

At an informal meeting at the December 1966 racing car show day at Olympia, John Webb and Geoff Clarke were discussing the possibility of building a fleet of identical open wheel race cars based on the success of combining the Ford power plant and road wheels, radial tires, and Formula junior style chassis. Not only would they make ideal school cars, but would also provide a new entry level formula for a race series. They felt if they called it “Formula Ford” they could get backing from Ford itself. Webb was on the phone the next day to Ford competition manager Henry Taylor, who agreed to provide Clarke and MRS with 54 Cortina GT engines at £50 each (£15 below retail). Webb also approached the Royal Automobile Club’s competition director, to establish rules for this new class. Late in 1967, Ford announced the new Formula Ford class to the world. [3]

Rules: (reprinted from May ‘67 issue of R.A.C. Motor Sport Bulletin)[4]:
1. Type of Car – This formula is open to single seat cars with open coach work as defined by the F.I.A. for Formula 1, 2, and 3 and complying with R.A.C. Vehicle Regulations.
2. Engine and Ancillaries – Standard normal specification Cortina GT engine. All standard parts to be used with the exception of the air cleaner (which may be removed and substituted by a ‘trumpet’),
carburetor jets, spark plugs. Exhaust manifold, oil sump and pump (‘dry sump’ is allowed). Re-boring is permitted using production pistons to a limit of .015. The only modification is allowed if balancing and polishing but the compression ration must not exceed 9:5:1 (total combustion space to be not less than 44.2cc per cylinder). The dimensions of all moving parts must be within standard Ford production tolerances.
3. Electrical Equipment – Standard dynamo and starter to be retained in working order. Diameter of dynamo driver pulley free.
4. Cooling – Radiator, fan and water pump free.
5. Gearbox – Not more than four forward speeds and one reverse (which must be operable from the driving seat) but otherwise free.
6. Flywheel – Standard Cortina GT.
7. Clutch – Free including attachment to flywheel.
8. Drive – Rear-wheel drive only, final drive ration free, but torque biasing differential not allowed.
9. Steering Gear – Free.
10. Wheels – Only steel disc type with a maximum rim width of 5.5 in.
11. Brakes – Only Standard parts from any homologated Group II car(s) allowed, except for drums or discs or linings.
12. Fuel Pump – Free.
13. Chassis – Of tubular construction with no stress-bearing panels except bulkheads and undertray, but the curvature of the undertray must be limited to a maximum of 1in. tubes may be transport
liquids if required.
14. Body – Free within limits of 1.
15. Fuel Tanks – Free.
16. Suspension and Running Gear – Free except that all parts are steel except springs, hub adaptors, rear hub carriers and bearing bushes the materials which are free.
17. Shock absorbers – Free.
18. Tyres – Racing tyres are not allowed-otherwise free within standard production retail range as specified in Section 1 of R.A.C. Tyre Regulations.
19. Weight – Minimum weight of 400kgs (881.6lbs).
20. Cost – not to exceed £1,000 retail complete running order.
21. Eligibility – No driver who has competed in an International Formula 1 or Formula 2 race may participate.

Geoff Clarke then set about approaching existing race car constructors to build the first Formula Fords. Both Bruce McLaren and Jack Brabham turned down the idea; Colin Chapman however dusted off the then obsolete Lotus 31 Chassis and reinvented it as the Lotus 51. He agreed to provide the first of two 25 car batches at £850 per car. The only stipulation Chapman had was that a Renault gear box was used. This proved to be fundamental weak point in the drive train. Difficulty with the Renault transmission resulted in a failure to continue with the second batch of cars for MRS.

Jim Russell approached Colin Chapman to supply Formula Ford cars for his own school. Chapman insisted Russell match Clarke’s 50 car order; Russell would only commit to 10 cars so the deal fell through. Russell then approached Allan Taylor who built the Alexis car and a deal was struck to jointly produce the Russell-Alexis. This car had the Hewland racing gear box which made the car more expensive (£999), but was more reliable and allowed interchangeable ratios. [5]

The first standalone Formula Ford race took place at Brands Hatch on July 2nd, 1967. Of the 20 cars that competed, 10 were MRS Lotus 51’s, including the eventual winner, Ray Allan. The Russell-Alexis car demonstrated its superiority by winning its debut race in August 1967 and by 1968 54 Russell-Alexis had been sold. Based on this success Jim Russell opened 2 more racing schools in Britain, another in Canada, and another in the United States.

Chapman and his Lotus 51 did recover, replacing the troublesome Renault gear box with the Hewland unit, even claiming Jim Russell as a customer in 1968. 1968 also saw the debut of Meryln as a Formula Ford constructor, dominating sales for that year. Other new manufactures included Crossle, Dulon, Elden, Hawke, and Royale, together with existing constructors such as Brabham choosing to build a Formula Ford chassis.

As the production Ford Cortina engine evolved to a new 1600cc crossflow unit, so did the Formula Ford regulations. Increasing costs forced them to relax the £1,000 price ceiling on Formula Ford as blueprinting of the engine was now allowed. [6]

Belgium hosted the first race outside England, in 1967. Formula Ford racing quickly spread across Europe and North America, with the first official Formula Ford race in the United States on March 23rd, 1969. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, Formula Ford had established itself as a direct path to a seat on a Formula 1 car, the highest level in open wheel motorsport. Australian Tim Schenkin won over 2 dozen Formula Ford races in 1968, two years later he was driving a Formula 1 car for Frank Williams. Emerson Fittipaldi impressed during the 1970 Formula 1 Grand Prix Season after a short stint in Formula Ford. In 1970, he became the first Formula Ford graduate to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix. In 1972, he became the first Formula Ford graduate to win the Formula 1 World Championship.

Features of Formula Ford

Formula Ford is not a one-make championship. It allows freedom of chassis design, engine build and numerous technical items of specification on the car. This opens the door to many chassis manufacturers, large and small. Many other single-seater formulae impose fixed specifications. Only two other professional single seater racing formulae in the world offer the same freedom of chassis and engine build: Formula Three and Formula One.

The Formula today

Formula Ford racing exists in two main forms: National Series for aspiring 'career' drivers run around the world which have used the 1600 Duratec engine, (which replaced the heavier but not significantly more powerful Zetec engine in 2006), and for 2012 are beginning to adopt the new Ecoboost 1600 turbo engine; and a mainly amateur, club-racing series attracting serious enthusiasts using the now elderly 1600 Kent Engine with which the formula ran from the mid-1960s to mid-1990s. Whatever the engine of the Formula Ford car, it has long provided a relatively inexpensive way for drivers to race purpose-built racecars. There are many Formula Ford 1600 series for drivers of the older Kent-powered cars.

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. Top speeds in the National Class are easily as high as in the other Junior Formulae of BMW and Renault, but cornering speeds tend to be lower as Formula Ford cars lack the downforce-producing aerodynamic aids on the other cars; handling is therefore entirely down to mechanical grip, and the lack of wings ensures that cars following another are not aerodynamically disadvantaged, allowing some of the closest racing with plenty of overtaking. Series' rules may permit slick or treaded tires, generally supplied either by Dunlop or Avon. As the rules limit engine modifications, all cars are relatively equal racing results tend to be close. Formula Fords allow suspension, damping, gearing and braking bias changes, but not aerodynamic options such as winged cars.

Many famous race drivers have used the formula as a step up to international competitions. For example, Eddie Irvine and Jenson Button were both British Formula Ford champions; and Danica Patrick, the first female to win a major race in the IndyCar Series on a closed course, finished second in the British Formula Ford Festival early in her career. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Emerson Fittipaldi and Jody Scheckter were both competing in Grands Prix within a year or so of starting Formula Ford in Britain.

The 2012 Formula Ford Ecoboost car

2012 Formula Ford Ecoboost
2012 Formula Ford Ecoboost

A new Formula Ford car is expected to be introduced in 2012. Unlike its predecessor that has NA engines and manual gearboxes, the car will be utilising power from a turbocharged Ford EcoBoost engine and a sequential gearbox. The new car is expected to have 165PS, with identical engine calibration for every competitors' cars.

The car's chassis remains a steel spaceframe construction, with free chassis design open to all manufacturers. New to the car is its compliance with Formula Three safety standards, which involves mandatory crash structures, side-impact panels running the full height and length of the cockpit, an FIA-specified headrest and an extricable safety seat.

In addition to the safety enhancements, some mandatory elements of bodywork shape have also been introduced. These will define the shape, size and orientation of the sidepod air intakes and the roll-hoop cover. By mandating these the frontal areas will be equalised between different manufacturers, removing the potential for significant aerodynamic advantage, making driving ability and the skills of engineers and designers in car set-up the major factors.

Ford Championships around the world

Championships for Formula Fords are run in many countries around the world. The major one is the British Formula Ford Championship operated by RacingLine Ltd, but there are thriving series of note in Australia,[7] , Holland, Scandinavia, Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, Asia, and South Africa. Each run to essentially the same rules and regulations, with minor variations for local conditions.

In 2011 a Formula Ford Eurcup was introduced, inviting the best drivers from the Dutch, British and Scandinavian championships to race together at some prestigious circuits. The series visited Spa, Zandvoort, Brands Hatch Grand Prix and Zolder to form the four stand-alone rounds.

Formula Ford winner at the 2009 U.S. SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Chassis

Van Diemen RF01 Formula Ford Chassis

In order to reduce cost and allow smaller manufacturers to produce their own design of chassis without prohibitive tooling costs, chassis are steel space-frame, unlike the monocoques found in other types of single seater racing. The more popular marques as of 2011 were Van Diemen, Mygale and the Australian-built Spectrum, but smaller manufacturers such as Ray and Vector have had some success. In the United States in the early twentyfirst century Pipers also raced with strong results. Historical designers who have made a mark on the series have included: Titan, Lotus, Merlyn, Hawke, Citation, Swift, Euroswift, Elden, Reynard, Crosslé, Lola, Zink, Bowin, Royale, and Cooper Racing.

Engine

Formula Ford racing cars can be fitted with different engines. After some very early races with the 1500 cc Ford Cortina GT engine, the formula rapidly adopted the OHV 1600 cc Ford Kent engine, using production blocks with little special preparation. In 1993 Ford replaced its Kent block engine with the more modern and more powerful 1800 cc 16-valve Zetec. The advent of the Zetec created a new class of Formula Ford cars popular in some countries, although the increased weight of the engine was felt to adversely affect the handling of the cars[citation needed]. The formula originally mandated production gearboxes, wheels and tyres (and a maximum cost for the rolling chassis, although this was long since abandoned), but Formula Fords later used racing gearboxes and, in some championships, slick tyres.

For the 2006 season the Zetec engine was superseded by the 1600 cc, DOHC 16v Duratec engine. The Zetec was criticized by engineers and designers as less than ideal because of its bulk and weight. The move to Duratecs brought Formula Ford back to using 1.6 L capacity motors. Despite the capacity decrease, at up to 160PS the newer engines were more powerful than the Zetecs, and weigh 20 kilograms (44 lb) less, reducing overall weight and increasing performance significantly.

For 2012 the fourth engine generation is launched with the Ecoboost 1600 direct-injection turbo engine. By far the most technologically advanced engine in the history of the Formula, it uses controlled engine mapping to deliver around 165bhp for all cars. As a modern, high performance engine, the engine runs well within its manufacturing tolerances, which should ensure greater reliability and lower maintenance costs than any of its predecessors. It also means, for the first time in the history of the Formula, that all of the engine's internals will be standard production parts.

The Sports Car Club of America approved Honda's 1500cc Fit engine for use in Formula Ford, or Formula F as it must be called, in 2010.[21][22]

Administration

Ford Motorsport administers some of the national Formula Ford championships around the world, and continue to control the Technical Regulations for all cars globally. The older Kent-engined 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. However, in many countries, Formula BMW and Formula Renault Campus had superseded Formula Ford as the main entry level class in the mid-2000s; the demise of Formula BMW in Europe after only a few years of operation caused somewhat of a resurgence in support for the Ford grids. In the UK there are many club-level regional series aimed at the amateur enthusiast, as well as championships for older Fords. So popular is the Kent engine around the world that Ford Motorsport recently restarted a limited production of the increasingly hard to source engine blocks: for a major motor manufacturer to restart output of a 40 year old design just shows how well-established the formula still is.

For many years the highlight of the Formula Ford season was the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch, England. Entries of several hundred cars from all over the Formula Ford world were common into the 1990s, with racers competing in knockout heats to decide the grid for a grand final. Entries later declined, and later Festivals struggled to attract more than 40-50 cars, enough for two heats and a final dash. More "historic" FF1600 cars had been turning up for the supporting races than contemporary Zetecs, however in 2006 the Festival saw the Duratec engine for the first time thereby having a final for all 3 marques at one meeting for the first time. The Walter Hayes Trophy now recognises the continuing interest in 1600cc 'Kent' Formula Ford and attracted over 150 entries in 2006, including several drivers who more commonly compete in much more senior formulae.

Reynard Formula Ford 2000 at the Nürburgring in 1985

Formula Ford has given birth to several other categories of racing: Formula Ford 2000 evolved in the 1970s to use a Pinto engine and, although it used basically Formula Ford chassis, permitted use of slicks and wings; it was seen as a natural step up from the 1600cc formula and a stepping stone to categories such as Formula Three. Formula Ford 2000 engines and transmissions were married to sports-racing chassis to produce Sports 2000.

Older Formula Fords, with outboard shock absorbers, race in the United States as Club Formula Fords in SCCA and other club racing series.

Formula 100 was an unsuccessful attempt in the late 1960s to create a sportscar category related to Formula Ford but using a 1300 cc Ford engine; the cars were heavy and slow. The proposed Formula Turbo Ford, an attempt to update FF2000, of the mid-1980s was limited to one Reynard that ran a few demonstration laps.

Formula Ford remains popular in its 1600 cc form—the cars are widely raced, sprinted and hillclimbed. Formula Continental is also a popular choice in the USA and Canada. The class provides a venue for Formula Ford 2000 as well as the earlier Formula C (1100 cc pure racing engine) and Formula Super Vee (production-based VW engines) cars. Formula Continental cars employ aerodynamic effects (front and rear wings).

However, the inherent danger of motorsport shows has been underscored by a number of devastating crashes, most famously the crash of 19-year-old driver Lucas Dumbrell at the Oran Park Raceway in 2008. The incident occurred on the second lap of a 12-lap Formula Ford race which preceded the V8 Supercar championship race. The safety car had been deployed, causing the pack leaders to slow down as they rounded a dog-leg. However, seconds later, cars in the back half of the track were unaware of the yellow flag having being raised and had not slowed down, resulting in Dumbrell running over the back of a competitor and rolling his car.[23] Dumbrell suffered severe spinal injuries that left him a quadriplegic.[24]

References

  1. ^ Nickless, Steve. The Anatomy & Development of the Formula Ford Race Car. USA.
  2. ^ North, Simon (1987). Formula Ford a 20-Year Success Story. Kent, England: Brands Hatch Publications.
  3. ^ Hodges, David (1990). A-Z of Formula Racing Cars. Devon, England: Brands Bay View Books Ltd.
  4. ^ North, Simon (1987). Formula Ford a 20-Year Success Story. Kent, England: Brands Hatch Publications.
  5. ^ Greenway, Norman (1999). The Jim Russell Story. Middlesex, England: Transport Bookman Publications Ltd.
  6. ^ Bingham, Phillip (1984). Drive It! The Complete Book of Formula Ford. Somerset, England: Haynes Publishing Group.
  7. ^ "Young Guns to kick-off Formula Ford battle on the streets of Adelaide". OZ Racing. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
  8. ^ http://www.asianformulaford.com
  9. ^ http://www.formulaford.com.au
  10. ^ http://www.ff1600.org.au
  11. ^ http://www.britishformulaford.co.uk
  12. ^ http://www.offcseries.com
  13. ^ http://www.ffch.nl
  14. ^ http://www.f2000championshipseries.com
  15. ^ http://www.formulaford.fi
  16. ^ http://www.formulaford.org.nz/
  17. ^ http://www.fia-nez.eu/pdf/results/2007/RA_2007_NezChamp_Results_FF.pdf
  18. ^ http://www.pacificf2000.com
  19. ^ http://siteformulatour1600.com
  20. ^ http://www.formulaford.co.za
  21. ^ Rusz, Joe (February 2010). "Fit for a Ford? Yes". Road & Track. 61 (6). Hachette Filipacchi Media: 81.
  22. ^ "Board Approves Noteworthy Club Racing Changes" (Press release). Sports Car Club of America. October 19, 2009. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  23. ^ Gunther, Briar (2008-12-05). "Dumbrell Leaves Track!". jamiewhincup.com.au. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  24. ^ AAP. "Dumbrell returns home to Melbourne". CountryCars. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Formula_Ford&oldid=483277680"