[h=2]50th anniversary of first Formula Ford race set for Brands Hatch[/h] Friday, 30 June 2017


By RACER staff / Image by LAT archive

The worldwide celebration of the 50th anniversary of Formula Ford racing continues this weekend – this time at the place where it all began at Britain's Brands Hatch circuit.

The combination of low-cost, lightweight tubular chassis powered by a 1600cc Ford Cortina GT engine made an immediate impact both with constructors and drivers upon he formula's launch in July of 1967. Formula Ford quickly became the first steppingstone in the early careers of many prospective Formula 1 drivers, and world champions such as James Hunt, Emerson Fittipaldi, Jody Scheckter, Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill and Jenson Button all learned their craft in the super-competitive FF arena.
Vintage Racer Group VRG and the Royale Formula Ford Challenge Series staged a Stateside commemoration of the 50th anniversary for FF during its Jefferson 500 weekend at Summit Point Raceway last month, and now Brands Hatch commemorates the actual anniversary of the first FF race on July 2, 1967 (pictured above) – during its Legends of Brands Hatch Superprix meeting. There will be four races Saturday and Sunday for historic Formula Ford cars, including Lotus, Hawke, Cooper, Brabham and plenty of other manufacturers. while famous FF racers of the past expected to be on hand include Geoff Lees, Kenny Acheson, Gerrit van Kouwen and Ray Allen – the winner of that very first race in '67.


Another celebration of the the category's golden anniversary follows later in the month with the Silverstone Classic (July 28-30). To mark this prominent 50th anniversary, the packed programme at the world’s biggest classic motor racing festival will include two special showdowns for Historic Formula Fords, marking the first time the entry-level single-seaters have featured on the Classic bill since 2013.