Formula Ford Festival

Formula Ford Festival

Brands Hatch: the current host of the Festival
Category	Single seaters (Formula Ford)
Country	United Kingdom
Inaugural season	1972
Classes	Duratec Zetec Kent
Engine suppliers	Ford Duratec engine Ford Zetec engine Ford Kent engine
Drivers' champion	Niall Murray
Constructors' champion	Van Diemen RF99
Official website	Formula Ford Festival

The Formula Ford Festival is an annual meeting of Ford powered single seat racing cars which is held at the end of the British racing season, at the Brands Hatch motor racing circuit in the county of Kent, in Southern England. The events are held over the course of a weekend and although various classes of past and present Formula Fords are present, the high point for many is the championship in which young but skilled drivers from Ford competitions in Europe and beyond race against one another. Often it is a rare chance to compare the skills of drivers who take part in different Ford competitions across the world. Many winners of the festival have gone on to enjoy professional careers in various branches of motorsport - including fourteen who have raced in Formula One.

The event is administered by the British Racing and Sports Car Club.

History

Inception

The inaugural season in 1972 took place at Snetterton, where the festival was held until 1975. It then moved to Brands Hatch where it has stayed to date.

The Kent years

The Kent engine was the lead engine in early Formula Ford, and so from the first festival in 1972 until the Zetec was introduced in 1993.

The Zetec years

The Zetec engine was the leading engine from 1993 until the Duratec took over in 2006.

The Duratec engine

The 1600 c.c. Duratec engine is currently used in the leading races although the Zetec and Kent engines are still used in junior and classic classes of racing.

Loss of prominence

For many years the festival was the highlight of the Formula Ford season. Entries of several hundred cars from all over the Formula Ford world were common into the 1990s, with racers competing in knockout heats to decide the grid for a grand final. Entries have been declining and recent Festivals have struggled to attract more than 40-50 cars, enough for two heats and a final. Support races from other classes e.g. Caterham, Club F3 and Historic Sports 2000 have also been included in the program. This is because although the event still has the atmosphere of past years its position as a rite of passage for young drivers has largely been usurped by other junior formulae and karting.

More "historic" FF1600 cars have been turning up for the supporting races than contemporary Zetecs, however in 2006 the Festival saw the Duratec engine for the first time thereby having a final for all 3 marques at one meeting for the first time. The Walter Hayes Trophy now recognises the continuing interest in 1600cc 'Kent' Formula Ford and attracted over 150 entries in 2006, including several drivers more commonly seen in much more senior formulae.

Winners

Below is a list of overall festival winners.^[1] Since 1993, a secondary festival was run in alongside for older specification cars running the Ford Kent engine. Since 2009, a third event has also been held for cars using the Ford Zetec engine.

* denotes later raced in Formula One

Year	Circuit	Overall Festival Winner			Kent Festival		Zetec Festival
		Driver	Chassis	Engine	Driver	Chassis	Driver	Chassis
1972	Snetterton	Ian Taylor	Dulon LD9	Ford Kent engine	Not Held		Not Held
1973		Donald Macleod	Van Diemen FA73
1974		Richard Morgan	Crossle 25F
1975		Geoff Lees *	Royale RP21
1976	Brands Hatch	Derek Daly *	Hawke DL17
1977		Chico Serra *	Van Diemen RF77
1978		Michael Roe	Van Diemen RF78
1979		Donald Macleod	Sark 1
1980		Roberto Moreno *	Van Diemen RF80
1981		Tommy Byrne *	Van Diemen RF81
1982		Julian Bailey *	Lola T660E
1983		Andrew Gilbert-Scott	Reynard 83F
1984		Gerrit van Kouwen	Lola T644E
1985		Johnny Herbert *	Quest FF85
1986		Roland Ratzenberger *	Van Diemen RF86
1987		Eddie Irvine *	Van Diemen RF87
1988		Vincenzo Sospiri *	Van Diemen RF88
1989		Niko Palhares	Van Diemen RF89
1990		Dave Coyne	Swift FB90
1991		Marc Goossens	Van Diemen RF91
1992		Jan Magnussen *	Van Diemen RF92
1993		Russell Ingall	Van Diemen RF93	Ford Zetec engine	Andrew MacAuley	Reynard 92FF
1994		Jason Watt	Vector TF94		Gavin Wills	Swift SC92F
1995		Kevin McGarrity	Van Diemen RF95		Topi Serjala	Swift SC95F
1996		Mark Webber *	Van Diemen RF96		Mark Marchant	Jamun M96
1997		Jacky van der Ende	Van Diemen RF97		Not Held
1998		Jenson Button *	Mygale SJ98
1999		Ricardo van der Ende	Van Diemen RF99
2000		Anthony Davidson *	Mygale SJ00
2001		Alan van der Merwe	Mygale SJ01
2002		Jan Heylen	Van Diemen RF02		Dave Fricker	Reynard 89FF
2003		Joey Foster	Van Diemen RF03		Matthew Gilmore	Van Diemen RF92
2004		Dan Clarke	Van Diemen RF04		Joey Foster	Reynard 89FF
2005		Duncan Tappy	Mygale SJ04		Gavin Wills	Van Diemen RF00
2006		Richard Tannahill	Van Diemen RF06	Ford Duratec engine	Noel Dunne	Van Diemen RF92
2007		Nick Tandy	Ray GRS07		Keith Dempsey	Ray GRS07
2008		Wayne Boyd	Mygale SJ08		Josef Newgarden	Ray GRS08
2009		Chrissy Palmer	Mygale SJ09		Rory Butcher	Van Diemen RF90	Neil Tofts	Mygale SJ04
2010		Dennis Lind	Van Diemen LA08		Neville Smyth	Ray GRS09	Julian Hoskins	Vector TF93
2011		Scott Malvern	Mygale SJ10		Ivor McCullough	Van Diemen RF00	Neil Tofts	Mygale SJ04
2012		Antti Buri	Mygale SJ11		Ivor McCullough	Van Diemen RF00	Xavier Michel	Van Diemen
Year	Circuit	Overall Festival Winner			Duratec Festival		Zetec Festival
		Driver	Chassis	Engine	Driver	Chassis	Driver	Chassis
2013	Brands Hatch	Niall Murray	Van Diemen RF99	Ford Kent engine	Bart van Os	Mygale SJ10	Julian Hoskins	Vector TF93
Year	Circuit	Overall Festival Winner			Duratec-Zetec Festival
		Driver	Chassis	Engine	Driver		Chassis
2014	Brands Hatch	James Raven	Ray GR13/14	Ford Kent engine	Thomas Craincourt		Mygale Duratec
Year	Circuit	Overall Festival Winner			Pre-1990 Winner		Pre-1982 Winner
		Driver	Chassis	Engine	Driver	Chassis	Driver	Chassis
2015	Brands Hatch	Wayne Boyd	Van Diemen MS13K	Ford Kent engine	Matthew Cowley	Reynard FF88	Stuart Kestenbaum	Van Diemen RF79
2016		Niall Murray	Van Diemen RF99		Job van Uitert	Van Diemen RF89

See also

• Formula Ford
• Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit
• Brands Hatch

References

External links

• BRSCC Homepage
• Facebook Group to get 50,000 fans to the Festival

Sources

• BRSCC Calendar
• Motor Sport Vision (Owners of Brands Hatch)
• Johnny Herbert
• Club Formula Ford
• Historics