Formula Ford - History

History

The origins of Formula Ford began in the early 1960s, where motor racing schools such as The Jim Russell school, and Motor Racing Stables featured single seat Formula Junior and Formula 3-like machines from world class constructors like Cooper and Lotus. Many aspiring formula 1 stars looked to these schools in the hope of learning the craft and also looking the part. However, although there was no shortage of aspiring drivers, these schools had much trouble avoiding bankruptcy. The 1 litre Formula 3 engines, the 1.1 litre Coventry Climax FJ and later the Ford Anglia 105E, cost around £3,000 at the time in addition to the Dunlop racing tires that cost £80 a set. Furthermore, these engines were incredibly fragile to boot, meaning these engines had a tendency to self-destruct. All these factors contributed to a steep maintenance and upkeep cost of these schools.

In 1963, Geoff Clarke; the owner of Motor Racing Stables, moved his racing school to the Brands Hatch circuit.This brought him in contact with John Webb; Managing Director of Developments at Brands Hatch. At about this time, two of the school’s Lotus Formula Junior chassis were fitted with a stock 1498cc Ford pushrod engine as featured in the recently introduced Cortina GT sedan. The 1500 Cortina, with its sensational reliability and horsepower output fairly close to “F3 proper” proved a resounding success in the school. The earliest experiments with radial tires bore fruit as well: the students of the day didn’t care that these weren’t the racing engines or racing tires, just that the cars were equal.

At an informal meeting at the December 1966 racing car show day at Olympia, John Webb and Geoff Clarke were discussing the possibility of building a fleet of identical open wheel race cars based on the success of combining the Ford power plant and road wheels, radial tires, and Formula junior style chassis. Not only would they make ideal school cars, but would also provide a new entry level formula for a race series. They felt if they called it “Formula Ford” they could get backing from Ford itself. Webb was on the phone the next day to Ford competition manager Henry Taylor, who agreed to provide Clarke and MRS with 54 Cortina GT engines at £50 each (£15 below retail). Webb also approached the Royal Automobile Club’s competition director, to establish rules for this new class. Late in 1967, Ford announced the new Formula Ford class to the world.

Rules: (reprinted from May ‘67 issue of R.A.C. Motor Sport Bulletin):

1. Type of Car – This formula is open to single seat cars with open coach work as defined by the F.I.A. for Formula 1, 2, and 3 and complying with R.A.C. Vehicle Regulations.

2. Engine and Ancillaries – Standard normal specification Cortina GT engine. All standard parts to be used with the exception of the air cleaner (which may be removed and substituted by a ‘trumpet’),

carburetor jets, spark plugs. Exhaust manifold, oil sump and pump (‘dry sump’ is allowed). Re-boring is permitted using production pistons to a limit of .015. The only modification is allowed if balancing and polishing but the compression ratio must not exceed 9:5:1 (total combustion space to be not less than 44.2cc per cylinder). The dimensions of all moving parts must be within standard Ford production tolerances.

3. Electrical Equipment – Standard dynamo and starter to be retained in working order. Diameter of dynamo driver pulley free.

4. Cooling – Radiator, fan and water pump free.

5. Gearbox – Not more than four forward speeds and one reverse (which must be operable from the driving seat) but otherwise free.

6. Flywheel – Standard Cortina GT.

7. Clutch – Free including attachment to flywheel.

8. Drive – Rear-wheel drive only, final drive ratio free, but torque biasing differential not allowed.

9. Steering Gear – Free.

10. Wheels – Only steel disc type with a maximum rim width of 5.5 in.

11. Brakes – Only Standard parts from any homologated Group II car(s) allowed, except for drums or discs or linings.

12. Fuel Pump – Free.

13. Chassis – Of tubular construction with no stress-bearing panels except bulkheads and undertray, but the curvature of the undertray must be limited to a maximum of 1in. tubes may be transport

liquids if required.

14. Body – Free within limits of 1.

15. Fuel Tanks – Free.

16. Suspension and Running Gear – Free except that all parts are steel except springs, hub adaptors, rear hub carriers and bearing bushes the materials which are free.

17. Shock absorbers – Free.

18. Tyres – Racing tyres are not allowed-otherwise free within standard production retail range as specified in Section 1 of R.A.C. Tyre Regulations.

19. Weight – Minimum weight of 400kgs (881.6lbs).

20. Cost – not to exceed £1,000 retail complete running order.

21. Eligibility – No driver who has competed in an International Formula 1 or Formula 2 race may participate.

Geoff Clarke then set about approaching existing race car constructors to build the first Formula Fords. Both Bruce McLaren and Jack Brabham turned down the idea; Colin Chapman however dusted off the then obsolete Lotus 31 Chassis and reinvented it as the Lotus 51. He agreed to provide the first of two 25 car batches at £850 per car. The only stipulation Chapman had was that a Renault gear box was used. This proved to be fundamental weak point in the drive train. Difficulty with the Renault transmission resulted in a failure to continue with the second batch of cars for MRS.

Jim Russell approached Colin Chapman to supply Formula Ford cars for his own school. Chapman insisted Russell match Clarke’s 50 car order; Russell would only commit to 10 cars so the deal fell through. Russell then approached Allan Taylor who built the Alexis car and a deal was struck to jointly produce the Russell-Alexis. This car had the Hewland racing gear box which made the car more expensive (£999), but was more reliable and allowed interchangeable ratios.

The first standalone Formula Ford race took place at Brands Hatch on July 2, 1967. Of the 20 cars that competed, 10 were MRS Lotus 51’s, including the eventual winner, Ray Allan. The Russell-Alexis car demonstrated its superiority by winning its debut race in August 1967 and by 1968 54 Russell-Alexis had been sold. Based on this success Jim Russell opened 2 more racing schools in Britain, another in Canada, and another in the United States.

Chapman and his Lotus 51 did recover, replacing the troublesome Renault gear box with the Hewland unit, even claiming Jim Russell as a customer in 1968. 1968 also saw the debut of Meryln as a Formula Ford constructor, dominating sales for that year. Other new manufactures included Crossle, Dulon, Elden, Hawke, and Royale, together with existing constructors such as Brabham choosing to build a Formula Ford chassis.

As the production Ford Cortina engine evolved to a new 1600cc crossflow unit, so did the Formula Ford regulations. Increasing costs forced them to relax the £1,000 price ceiling on Formula Ford as blueprinting of the engine was now allowed.

Belgium hosted the first race outside England, in 1967. Formula Ford racing quickly spread across Europe and North America, with the first official Formula Ford race in the United States on March 23, 1969. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, Formula Ford had established itself as a direct path to a seat on a Formula 1 car, the highest level in open wheel motorsport. Australian Tim Schenken won over 2 dozen Formula Ford races in 1968, two years later he was driving a Formula 1 car for Frank Williams. Emerson Fittipaldi impressed during the 1970 Formula 1 Grand Prix Season after a short stint in Formula Ford. In 1970, he became the first Formula Ford graduate to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix. In 1972, he became the first Formula Ford graduate to win the Formula 1 World Championship.