Formula Ford Celebrates 50 Years of Wheel to Wheel Competition

Vintage Formula Fords line up at Willow Springs while celebrating the 50th Anniversay of the class.
Photo: Tom Stahler

Formula Ford Celebrates 50 Years of Wheel to Wheel Competition

By Tom Stahler

(Willow Springs International Raceway) On March 23, 1969, the racing scene in North America began a love affair with an open wheel series that world-wide, would produce big-time racing champions, great wheel to wheel competition, and a price tag that allowed passage of open-wheel, Formula-styled racing to the layman. It was Formula Ford. The entry-level version of Formula Junior — imported from Europe — would go on to become one of the most popular forms of club and pro racing in history. With provenance focusing on mechanical grip, some of today’s, and yesterday’s, famed open wheel drivers cut their teeth in this formula.

The green flag waves over an on rush of the FF class at Willow Springs. Photo: Tom Stahler

Fast forward to March 23, 2019: Celebrations of this significant anniversary will take place at many venues, with a plethora of cars and sanctioning bodies throughout the year. Fifty years to the day of that first American FF race, some 35 cars turned out for the Vintage Auto Racing Association’s (VARA) High Desert Challenge at Willow Springs International Raceway near Rosamond, California.

The early stages of the race featured an amazing dice for the lead. Photo: Tom Stahler

Like its Formula Ford class, the Vintage Auto Racing Association has been a longtime Southern California staple that has hosted numerous events — and even saw action by many who would go onto bigger things. Youngest-ever IndyCar winner Colton Herta had even done wheel time with the club in recent years. The High Desert Challenge, VARA’s annual pilgrimage to North America’s oldest purpose-built road racing circuit celebrated in style. The Trophy race featured an intense dice from pole-sitter Todd Gerstenberger and eventual winner Eric Inkrott.  Gerstenberger was involved in a near-miss at turn one that led to an off track excursion and a DNF. Todd Strong and Ray Stephens rounded out the podium for this momentous occasion.

The 40th Anniversary Celebration attracted more than 200 Formula Fords to Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI.
Photo: Tom Stahler 2009

Ten years ago, the 40th Anniversary celebration at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin became that season’s event to see the cars and have your car seen — more than 200 Formula Fords were there. The 50th anniversary celebration, September 11-15, again organized by VSCDA is expected to be even bigger, as more than 300 cars are expected to take the green flag during the event.

Sing with me: Out on the track today, I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Formula Ford. Photo: Tom Stahler

The concept of Formula Ford is older than fifty. It was fifty years ago that the first North American race was run. The single-seater itself is unique due to having no wings. Mechanical grip is key to this particular formula. To keep costs down, the chassis are steel space frame, as opposed to typical open wheel monocoques. Getting to that point was an interesting story.

One of the few AAR/Gurney Eagle FF. Photo: Tom Stahler

As far back as 1963, open wheel racing schools were gaining popularity in Europe. An Englishman, named Geoff Clarke owned a school called Motor Racing Stables, he based the school at Brands Hatch.  During this time he was running two Lotus Formula Junior cars with early radial tires and 1498cc Ford pushrod motors — the same being used in the Lotus Cortina GT. The Cortina GT was a popular Saloon/Sedan racer that was campaigned by the likes of Jimmy Clark and Tony Adamowicz, early in their careers. 

Todd Gerstenberger took pole for the feature, but spun in turn one while fighting for the lead. Photo: Tom Stahler

Race winner Eric Inkrott celebrates a very special victory. Photo: Tom Stahler

Clarke met John Webb, an executive at Brands Hatch during this time. Webb saw the growing popularity of the school with Clarke’s unusual Formula cars that ran on radial tires and excellent power to weight ratio — actually making them very close to Formula 3 cars of the day. By December of 1966, Webb and Clarke looked at the prospect of building a fleet of identical open wheel racers with the 1500cc power plant and road going wheels and tires. It would prove to be not only a great teaching vehicle, but may make for an excellent entry-level racing series.

The idea to call it “Formula Ford” had an agenda of getting the behemoth manufacturer to get behind the cars and series. The two then approached Ford’s Competition Director, Henry Taylor, who wholesaled more than 50 Cortina GT motors to the pair at a 30 percent discount. Webb then went to the Royal Automobile Club to propose and establish the series and rulebook. By the end of 1967, Ford Motor Company proudly announced the new series.

Photo: Tom Stahler

By the early 1970s, many chassis manufacturers were producing cars for competition. Over the years several marques including Titan, Lotus, Merlyn, Hawke, Citation, Swift, Euroswift, Elden, Reynard, Crosslé, Lola Zink, Bowin, Royale, and Cooper produced cars — as well as many independents who created “garage specials.” In the 2000s Van Dieman, Spectrum and Mygale became the leading edge chassis builders.

Like most small bore racing, the competition was wheel to wheel. Photo: Tom Stahler

Beginning in 1972 at the Snetterton Circuit, Formula Ford played prominent to up-and-coming stars with the iconic Formula Ford Festival — the first won by Ian Taylor. In 1976 the race moved to its permanent home at Brands Hatch. This British fall classic has produced winners (and a few runners up) who have gone on to stellar careers in motorsport. Fourteen winners of the race have gone onto Formula One drives, while a rather famous second place, scored in 2000, after carving through the field, launched the vocation of a young lady from Rockford, Illinois named Danica Patrick.

The AAR/Gurney Eagle at speed. Photo: Tom Stahler

Set up as a knockout of several heats, advancing the top finishers to a final championship race, the Formula Ford Festival has been one of the most intensely competitive events in all of motorsport. Hundreds of competitors come from all over the world to display “the Right Stuff” to a global motorsports industry and audience. For the participants, it is undoubtedly the place to shine, as top teams look for top performers to pilot the steeds in their stables.

Like all things, Formula Ford has not been immune to change. Despite all Formula Fords keeping the original steel space frame construction, new safety rules have defined the shape of the chassis. FIA mandated crash structures, side-impact panels running the full height and length of the cockpit, headrest and an extricable safety seat. Most of the Formula Fords running at the celebratory vintage events won’t have those particular features — but still several “aero” cars will compete.

"Newer" Aero cars ran well in the feature. Photo: Tom Stahler

The power plants have too developed with the times. So much so, the class is now only Formula Ford in spirit. In Europe several different engines evolved from those original “Kent” Cortina GT motors into Ford Zetech and Duratech power plants. The EcoBoost engine was introduced to the series in 2012 with a sequential gearbox. In 2010, rules allowed Honda to step into the game with its L15A7 motor — commonly used in the street-going Honda Fit. They developed an install kit specifically to work in the Swift DB-1 chassis. This led the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) to rename the class “Formula F.”

The checker falls on the 50th Celebration at Willow Springs. Photo: Tom Stahler

The Formula Ford’s 50th Anniversary is certainly worth celebrating for motorsports fans across America. The competition, the greats and the ingenuity that has graced this class for five decades more than noteworthy. A great idea, that continues to have legs into the next century is undoubtedly worthy of praise. Happy Birthday Formula Ford. You have endeared our hearts.