Formula Ford
Formula Ford is a single seater motor sport which exists in some form in most countries around the world. It was created by the Ford Motor Company in 1967 as an entry level series to motorsports, most of the drivers aspiring to one day reach Formula One. Young drivers frequently compete in Formula Ford after several years in karting, although often the sport is not much of a step up in terms of car power and potential speed, but it provides drivers with their first insights on how a racing car feels to drive and on how to properly set up a car.
A Formula Ford car is one of the more distinctive looking open-wheel race cars because of its lack of wings; the cars often look like lozenges with wheels. This lack of aerodynamic downforce is one of the reasons the series has persisted for so long in motor racing: although the top speeds are not great, the cars handle and stop extremely well, the lack of wings ensures that cars following another are not aerodynamically disadvantaged, and since the rules limit modifications all the cars are relatively equal. Close racing with much on-track action tends to be the result.
Formula Ford cars weigh less than 450 kg (1000 lb), so their engines, which typically develop about 150 hp, are capable of propelling them from 0-100 km/h in less than five seconds, reaching top speeds of nearly 220 km/h (140 mph.
Chassis are usually space-frame, rather than monocoque design, in order to reduce cost, and are produced by a huge number of manufacturers around the world. The more popular are arguably Van Diemen and Mygale, but smaller manufacturers such as Ray or Vector have had some success. Historical designers have included Swift, Lotus, Crosslé and Lola.
When the formula was introduced, the engine was the OHV 1600 cc Ford Kent engine, using production blocks with little special preparation. In 1994, with the Kent block going out of production, Ford replaced with the more modern and more powerful 1800 cc 16 valve Ford Zetec engine. Most Formula Ford series seal the block of the engine, preventing teams from working on the engines between races, thus ensuring an equality of power among all the teams. The engine is usually a stressed member of the chassis, as in larger and more advanced Formula cars.
Ford administers some of the national Formula Ford championships around the world, but older cars are very popular with club racers around the world, providing the ground for several organizations to run their own series, usually limiting the development. Many racing schools around the world offer driver training in Formula Ford cars.
Several drivers have become successful without time in Formula Ford, although many drivers with less financial backing frequently use the formula as a step up to international competitions. For example, Michael and Ralf Schumacher never competed in Formula Ford, but David Coulthard and Jenson Button were both British Formula Ford champions.