Australian Formula Ford Championship

Category	Open Wheel Racing Formula Ford
Country	Australia
Inaugural season	1970
Engine suppliers	1.6 litreFord Duratec
Tyre suppliers	Yokohama
Drivers' champion	Eddie Beswick
Official website	formulaford.com.au
Current season

TheAustralian Formula Ford Championship is an Australian motor racing competition for drivers ofFormula Ford racing cars, held annually since 1970. From 1970 until 1992 it was a national series and from 1993 until 2013 the series was sanctioned by theConfederation of Australian Motor Sport as the Australian Formula Ford Championship.^[1] From 2014^[2] to 2018^[3] it reverted to national series status. The Australian Formula Ford Championship name was then applied to the series by the Formula Ford Association from 2019.^[4]

Australian Formula Ford is renowned for producing future champions in other categories with manyV8 Supercar drivers and Australian international open-wheeler drivers having had a background in the category.

The Formula Ford category was established in Great Britain in 1967 and two years later Australia's first Formula Ford race was staged at theSandown circuit inVictoria.^[5] 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.^[6]After having powered Australian Formula Fords since the introduction of the category, the1600cc Ford "Kent" engine was replaced by the third-generationFord Fiesta unit for the 2006 Australian Championship.^[7] The "Kent" powered cars continued to be raced in various State championships under the "Formula Ford 1600" category name.^[8]

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 winnerLarry Perkins went on to race in theFormula One World Championship and other winnersRussell Ingall,Craig Lowndes,Garth Tander andJamie Whincup have each gone on to claimV8 Supercar titles. Other graduates of Australian Formula Ford includeBrad Jones,Marcos Ambrose,Tomas Mezera,Jason Bright,Steven Richards,David Besnard,Will andAlex Davison, and nine-timeFormula One race winnerMark 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 fromElfin Sports Cars,Bowin Cars, Mawer andBirrana. 1987 to 1997 was dominated by the British marqueVan Diemen, winning eleven straight titles. The streak was broken in 1998 by Australian marque Spectrum, built byBorland Racing Developments. Van Diemen faded in the mid-2000s and Australian grids are now almost exclusively filled with Spectrums and French madeMygales.

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 teamBorland Racing Developments also compete in the Victorian Formula Ford championship.

In August 2013 theConfederation of Australian Motor Sport announced that the Australian Formula Ford Championship would be discontinued at the end of 2013.^[9] The Formula Ford Association subsequently announced that approval had been obtained from CAMS to organize a national series for 2014.^[10] It was contested over six rounds and was officially known as the Australian Formula Ford Series.^[11] "Kent" powered cars were re-introduced for the 2014 series.^[12]

During the 2016 season, the championship ran one event at a race meeting sanctioned by the Australian Auto Sport Alliance. [AASA]

In 2017, the Queensland round was run at a "RACERS' sanctioned race meeting.

For 2018 four of the seven rounds will be run at CAMS sanctioned race meetings, two at the AASA sanctioned "AMRS" series, and one at Queensland Raceway again.

The winner of the Australian Formula Ford Series was awarded a "golden ticket" to the INDYCARRoad to Indy Shootout, provided the driver is age-eligible per INDYCAR regulations. If the winner is ineligible (as was the case in 2016 because of age), the driver highest in points eligible for the award will claim the prize. The 2018 Australian Formula Ford winner won the Shootout, and was awarded a 2019 USF2000 ride fully funded by the promoters.

Now the winner is awarded a test in a current gen DJR supercar.

Formula Ford has also proved to be a very popular category for state level series and championships, including competitions held inNew South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia andSouth Australia. In the majority these championships continue to utilise the first-generationFord 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 additional cars to the national series.

• Australian Formula Ford Championship
• Auto racing series in Australia
• 1970 establishments in Australia
• Sports leagues established in 1970

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