MEMBERS UPDATE, JANUARY 2018
2018 in now underway and we have some interesting info for our growing Formula Ford community.
We are set for a huge year of racing across the country. South Australian racers have been blessed by the arrival of a brand new world class motorsport facility, The Bend Motorsport Park. Both the S.A. State Championship and the National Championship will visit this 7.7 state-of-the-art circuit during the year and we expect large grids at these meetings.
The S.A. State Championship features 5 rounds, NSW 5, Vic State 5, WA 7 and all QLD rounds are about to be finalised. See below for all of the confirmed events, dates and the cars eligible.
The 2017 Australian Formula Ford Series was won by South Aussie sensation Max Vidau. For winning our National Series, Max was awarded a ticket to fly too the United States to represent Australia in the Mazda Road To Indy scholarship shootout. Although Max fell shy of earning himself a fully funded drive in USF2000 for 2018, we expect him to step up this year to a Porsche category in Australia. Good luck Max!
This year's National Championship will be intense as it usually is in the Duratec field. At this stage, we are expecting grids slightly larger than 2017, with a range of fresh new faces.
A 3-round National Kent Championship will be held at Queensland Raceway, Sandown and Sydney Motorsport Park in conjunction with the 7-round Australian Formula Ford Championship. As always, Kent-powered cars (within the regulations) are welcomed at every National round.
The "Historic" category has thrived in recent years. We have seen an increase in participation levels and the racing has been a true representation of what Formula Ford is all about. This year History cars will be running on a slightly harder compound Avon ACB9 tyre, in order to increase longevity. This will be the only tyre allowed as of July 1st, 2018. Make sure you check out the calendar attached for all of the Historic events across Australia.
Various rule changes have been applied as of January 1st, 2018 for all competitors to keep an eye on. These technical changes were implemented with a goal to not only reduce running costs, but also ensure that components can be readily sourced moving forward. See below an outline of the changes.
Our 2017 State committee meetings have all been held and for the coming year your FFA State Reps are as follows:
VIC. Luke Ellery, Phil Marrinon, Alt: John Ellery.
NSW. Tim Beale, Daniel Holihan, Alt: Jeff Senior.
QLD. Brett Francis, Paul Milevskiy, Alt: Tim Hamilton.
SA. Matt Roesler, Alt: Hayden Jarret.
WA. Andrew Goldie, Alt: John Van Leeuwen.
If you want any info get in touch with your State rep today.
See you all trackside,
The Formula Ford Association Committee
Technical rule changes commencing from 1/1/2018 are:
All Formula Ford (Duratec) cars must now only use the new flywheel clutch assembly.
Formula Ford 1600 cars:
Alternative replacement blocks to the original 711M 6015BA block is permissible as listed below: Block number AX 831C6015R34 Ford Racing “711” part No. M-6010-16K
(b) The distributor is defined as the component which triggers the LT current and distributes the HT ignition current. Distributors are free provided that they retain the original drive and location, the low-tension ignition circuit is triggered from within the distributor body and the high-tension ignition circuit is distributed from the distributor unit.
(h) Cylinder Head - at least the two rear exposed cylinder head retaining bolts must be drilled.
Plans for our 50th anniversary in 2019:
We are looking at options to compete at Bathurst at the 12hour meeting, more details when they are known.
Possible display at the Australian Grand prix.
Calendars for 2018:
Australian Formula Ford Championship
March 9-11 Winton Motor Raceway (AMRS)
April 20-22 Queensland Raceway (QLD State)*
May 25-27 Wakefield Park Raceway (NSW State)
July 20-22 Sandown Raceway (VIC State)*
August 24-26 The Bend Motorsport Park (Supercars)
September 28-30 Phillip Island GP Circuit (VIC State)
October 26-28 Sydney Motorsport Park (AMRS)*
*Denotes Formula Ford 1600 Championship rounds.
All rounds are open to both Formula Ford and Formula Ford 1600 cars.
Historic Racing (race meetings only)
March 9-11 Phillip Island GP Circuit
April 7-8 Wakefield Park Raceway
May 5-6 Morgan Park Raceway
May 26-27 Winton Motor Raceway Short Track, FA and FB only
June 14-15 Morgan Park Raceway
August 4-5 Winton Motor Raceway
September 22-23 Wakefield Park Raceway
November 10-11 Sandown Raceway
December 1-2 Sydney Motorsport Park
Victorian State Championship
March 3-4 Sandown Raceway
May 5-6 Phillip Island GP Circuit
June 16-17 Winton Motor Raceway
July 21-22 Sandown Raceway
September 29-30 Phillip Island GP Circuit
NSW State Championship
March 17-18 Sydney Motorsport Park
May 26-27 Wakefield Park Raceway
June 30 - 1 July Sydney Motorsport Park
September 8-9 Wakefield Park Raceway
November 17-18 Sydney Motorsport Park
SA Championship
February 17 Mallala Motor Sport Park twilight
June 9-10 The Bend Motorsport Park
August 4-5 Mallala Motorsport Park
October 20-21 The Bend Motorsport Park
November 17 Mallala Motor Sport Park twilight
Western Australia State Championship
April 15 Barbagallo Raceway
May 19-20 Collie Motorplex
June 17 Barbagallo Raceway
July 29 Barbagallo Raceway
August 19 Barbagallo Raceway
September 15 Barbagallo Raceway
October 20 Barbagallo Raceway
Queensland State Championship
April 20-22 Queensland Raceway
Further meetings to be confirmed.
