HISTORY
THE BEGINNING
Formula Ford began in England in 1967 as a cost-effective and reliable training formula for the pupils at the Brands Hatch-based Motor Racing Stables. But it very quickly outgrew these origins to become one of the best-known and most instantly recognised racing categories worldwide.
THE AUSTRALIAN CONNECTION
The category made its Australian debut in 1969 at Melbourne's Sandown Raceway and has continued to grow and develop ever since, with support and encouragement from Ford Australia and a number of key company partners over the years.
WHERE LEGENDS ARE BORN
Internationally
The majority of Formula One stars, both past and present, began their top-level careers in Formula Ford.
F1 World Champions, including: Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Jacques Villeneuve, Damon Hill and Mikka Hakkinen all first came to attention during their junior years in Formula Ford.
“Mr. Le Mans’ - Tom Kristensen - also began in Formula Ford. He would go on to be considered as the greatest driver ever to have raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with nine victories.
Australia's Formula One stars, Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo began thier top-level careers in Australian Formula Ford, as did Indy 500 and Indycar champion Will Power, who is a former Queensland State Formula Ford champion.
NASCAR and Supercars champion Marcos Ambrose began his career in Formula Ford. The Ambrose family have a rich history in this formula as Marcos' father Ross Ambrose, along with Ralph Firman Sr, co-founded Formula Ford chassis builder Van Diemen.
Porsche factory driver and Le Mans class winner Matt Campbell began his career in Queensland Formula Ford too, before moving to Europe.
In Australia
The national competition of the Formula Ford Association continues to be any Australian drivers' first choice for open-wheel racing.
It is an annual national competition, one of the oldest, having started in 1970.
Right from the start, the 'Cowangie Kid' from farmland in rural Victoria snapped up the second series win. His name was Larry Perkins and he would venture on to Europe and Formula 1 and ultimately become a hero of Australian Touring Car racing.
From that second series, until 1992, the overall winner received an air ticket to England, Formula Ford's birthplace and a stepping-stone to a plethora of European junior open-wheel racing competition.
Many national Australian Formula Ford champions have gone on to achieve great success in professional motorsport.
In a remarkable ‘who’s who’ of Australian motorsport, former National Australian Formula Ford champions that have successfully joined the ranks of the premier Supercars championship include: the now legendary Craig Lowndes, Jamie Whincup, Chaz Mostert, Cam Waters, Will Davison, David Reynolds, Cameron Hill, Thomas Randle, Anton De Pasquale and Jack Le Brocq.
The above does not even scratch the surface of the story of success emanating from Formula Ford, with Bathurst 1000 winners, international careers and journeys beyond the driver's seat for our champions left unsaid.
FROM F1 WORLD CHAMPIONS TO BATHURTS LEGENDS FORMULA FORD HAS PRODUCED THEM ALL
THE U.K. CONNECTION LIVES ON
The links to the UK have been maintained, with engine and chassis regulations being brought into line with those published by the RAC.
Like in Australia, the UK uses both the original Kent 1600cc engine and the newer Duratec 1600cc engine.
Each engine competes in separate categories throughout contemporary racing in Australia in both our State and National Championships.
THE BATTLE OF THE CHASSIS
The most successful chassis in Australian competition has been the UK-built Van Diemen, winning every Australian Championship between 1987 and 1997.
This record was broken in 1998 when the Championship was won by Adam Macrow in the Australian-designed and built, Spectrum 06, the first victory for an Australian chassis since 1986.
Since the introduction of the Duratec engine in 2006, Australian Championship spoils have been shared between the Spectrum and Mygale chassis.