Australian Formula Ford Championship

Australian Formula Ford Championship
Category	Open Wheel Racing Formula Ford
Country	Australia
Inaugural season	1970
Drivers	28
Teams	10
Constructors	Mygale Spectrum
Engine suppliers	1.6 litre Ford Duratec
Tyre suppliers	Avon Tyres
Drivers' champion	Thomas Randle
Official website	formulaford.com.au
Current season

The Australian Formula Ford Series is an Australian motor racing competition for drivers of Formula Ford racing cars, held annually since 1970. From 1970 until 1992, and again from 2014, it has been a national series. From 1993 until 2013, the series was CAMS sanctioned and called the Australian Formula Ford Championship.

Australian Formula Ford is renowned for producing future champions in other categories with many V8 Supercar drivers and Australian international open-wheeler drivers having had a background in the category.

History

The Formula Ford category was established in Great Britain in 1967 and two years later Australia’s first Formula Ford race was staged at the Sandown circuit in Victoria.^[1] A national series was contested in Australia for the first time in 1970 and then annually through to 1992. In the following year the series was granted national title status by CAMS and officially became the Australian Formula Ford Championship.^[2] After having powered Australian Formula Fords since the introduction of the category, the 1600cc Ford “Kent” engine was replaced by the third-generation Ford Fiesta unit for the 2006 Australian Championship.^[3] The "Kent" powered cars continued to be raced in various State championships under the "Formula Ford 1600" category name.^[4]

The series has served as a stepping stone for many Australian racing drivers who have gone on to greater things in motor racing both in Australia and overseas. Notably, 1971 winner Larry Perkins went on to race in the Formula One World Championship and other winners Russell Ingall, Craig Lowndes, Garth Tander and Jamie Whincup have each gone on to claim V8 Supercar titles. Other graduates of Australian Formula Ford include Brad Jones, Marcos Ambrose, Tomas Mezera, Jason Bright, Steven Richards, David Besnard, Will and Alex Davison, and nine-time Formula One race winner Mark Webber finished third in the F1 World championship on three occasions.

Formula Ford has also proven a popular proving ground for Australian racing car manufacturers. In its early years the series was dominated by Australian designs from Elfin Sports Cars, Bowin Cars, Mawer and Birrana. 1987 to 1997 was dominated by the British marque Van Diemen, winning eleven straight titles. The streak was broken in 1998 by Australian marque Spectrum, built by Borland Racing Developments. Van Diemen faded in the mid-2000s and Australian grids are now almost exclusively filled with Spectrums and French made Mygales.

Once mainly the domain of competitor self-run teams, the modern series is dominated by professional racing teams. Sonic Motor Racing Services and Synergy Motorsport both field multi-car teams, while some of those and Spectrum works team Borland Racing Developments also compete in the Victorian Formula Ford championship.

Australian Formula Ford Series

In August 2013 the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport announced that the Australian Formula Ford Championship would be discontinued at the end of 2013.^[5] The Formula Ford Association subsequently announced that approval had been obtained from CAMS to organize a national series for 2014.^[6] It was contested over six rounds and was officially known as the Australian Formula Ford Series.^[7] “Kent” powered cars were re-introduced for the 2014 series.^[8]

State Championships

Formula Ford has also proved to be a very popular category for state level series and championships, including competitions held in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia. In the majority these championships continue to utilise the first-generation Ford Kent engine. State level series have served as a stepping stone for kart racers looking for a cheap entry level into circuit racing before moving into the national series. State series often provided addition cars to the national series.

Series winners and Australian Champions

National Series

John Leffler won the 1973 TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series driving a Bowin P4a and a Bowin P6F (pictured)

The Reynard FF83 with which Tomas Mezera won the 1985 Motorcraft Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series

Season	Series name	Series winner^[9]	Car
1970	Formula Ford National Series	Richard Knight	Elfin 600 FF
1971	TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	Larry Perkins	Elfin 600 FF
1972	TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	Bob Skelton	Bowin P4A
1973	TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	John Leffler	Bowin P4a & Bowin P6F
1974	TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	Terry Perkins	Elfin 620B
1975	TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	Paul Bernasconi	Mawer
1976	TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	Richard Carter	Birrana F73
1977	TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	John Smith	Bowin P4A
1978	TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	John Wright	Bowin P4A
1979	TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	Russell Norden	Mawer 004
1980	TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	Stephen Brook	Lola T440
1981	TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	Phillip Revell	Lola T440
1982	TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	Jeff Summers	Elfin 620B
1983	Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	Bruce Connolly	Galloway
1984	Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	Ron Barnacle	Royale RP31
1985	Motorcraft Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	Tomas Mezera	Reynard FF83 ^[10]
1986	Motorcraft Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	Warwick Rooklyn	Elwyn 003
1987	Motorcraft Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	Peter Verheyen	Van Diemen RF86
1988	Motorcraft Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	David Roberts	Van Diemen RF86
1989	Motorcraft Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	Mark Larkham	Van Diemen RF89
1990	Motorcraft Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	Russell Ingall	Van Diemen RF90
1991	Motorcraft Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	Troy Dunstan	Van Diemen RF91
1992	Motorcraft Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series	Cameron McConville	Van Diemen RF92