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 and 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.
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