Ray Race Cars is a British race car manufacturer. Previously Ray built

Formula 3 Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One driv ...

and

Formula Renault Formula Renault are classes of formula racing popular in Europe and elsewhere. Regarded as an entry-level series to motor racing, it was founded in 1971, and was a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before moving on to hig ...

cars. The company still produces

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...

cars.

History

Ray Race Cars was founded in 1971 by Bert Ray and his brother Frank and his son Gavin. Stephen South raced the Ray 73F entered by the factory team in various British championships winning four races. With the 74F South won eleven races in 1974. For 1975 South and Ray moved up into

with the Ray F375. The car was fitted with a

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

engine. The best result was a fifth place at

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...

in the 1975 British Formula Three season. Later in the season the team switched to the more competitive

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...

753 scoring a podium at Thruxton. The Ray F376 for 1976 was announced but never built. In 1987 Derek Higgins won the BARC Formula Ford Junior championship in the 86F. Higgins won races at Thruxton,

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...

Mallory Park Mallory Park is a motor racing circuit situated in the village of Kirkby Mallory, just off the A47, between Leicester and Hinckley, in central England. Originally used for grass-track until 1955, a new, basically oval hard-surfaced course ...

Oulton Park Oulton Park is a hard surfaced track used for motor racing, close to the village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is about from Winsford, from Chester city centre, from Northwich and from Warrington, with a nearby rail connection a ...

Snetterton Snetterton is a village and civil parish in Norfolk, England. The village is about east-northeast of Thetford and southwest of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of . The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded a parish population o ...

and

Cadwell Park Cadwell Park is a motor racing circuit in Lincolnshire, England, south of Louth, owned and operated by MotorSport Vision, a business associated with former racing driver Jonathan Palmer. Sited on former parkland across a steep-sided valley wit ...

. The following season Andy Charsley won two races in the championship. For 2003 the factory team signed

Alx Danielsson Alexander "Alx" Danielsson (born 1 April 1981) is a Swedish racing driver and the 2006 champion of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. He currently competes in the Swedish V8 Thundercar Series and as a fill-in driver on the Monster Jam circuit. Car ...

and Sukhjit Sandher. Danielsson won three races, all three at Brands Hatch. The Swede finished fourth in the championship standings. It took until 2006 before the constructor won another British Formula Ford race. Cliff Dempsey Racing signed

Peter Dempsey Peter Samuel Dempsey (born 31 March 1986) is an Irish racing driver from Ashbourne, County Meath. Dempsey began his pro career in Formula BMW UK in 2004, finishing 22nd. In 2005 he finished second in the Formula Ford Walter Hayes Trophy race a ...

who won the first four races of the championship. Dempsey also won the Walter Hayes Trophy in 2006 and 2007.

Nick Tandy Nick Tandy (born 5 November 1984) is a professional British racing driver currently racing for Corvette Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship in the 64 Corvette C8.R. His major victories include the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 2015 ...

joined the factory team winning three races. The following year Tandy joined family team

JTR JTR may refer to: * JTR (band), a Swedish boy band * JTR (song), by Dave Matthews Band * Joe Tandy Racing, a Formula Three team * Santorini (Thira) National Airport's IATA code in Greece {{disambig ...

winning six races in a Ray GRS07. Partnering with the

Team USA Scholarship The Team USA Scholarship is a scholarship program which allows young American racecar drivers to compete outside of the United States. Each year, a competition is used to select the best young racecar drivers in the United States, then they are en ...

and Cliff Dempsey Racing Ray Race Cars won the Walter Hayes Trophy again in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012. At the 2009 A1GP round at Brands Hatch Ray Race Cars unveiled the BR09SC

Sports 2000 Sports 2000 is a restricted-rules class of two-seat, mid-engined, open-cockpit, full-bodied sports-prototype racecar used largely in amateur road racing. Sometimes known as S2000 or S2, the class was developed by John Webb, then of the Brands Hatch ...

. In the 2010 Sports 2000

Duratec Duratec is a brand name of the Ford Motor Company used for the company's range of gasoline-powered four-cylinder, five-cylinder and six-cylinder passenger car engines. The original 1993 Duratec V6 engine was designed by Ford and Porsche. Ford ...

championship Damian Griffin raced the Ray car. His best finish was seventh at Rockingham. The car struggled to be competitive in following years.

Scott Malvern Scott Aaron Malvern (born 23 February 1989) is a British racing driver, currently competing in the British GT Championship who is best known for winning the 2011 British Formula Ford Championship, the 2012 Formula Renault BARC championship and ...

was the last driver winning races in the official British Formula Ford championship for Ray Race Cars. In 2010 Malvern won at Oulton Park and Silverstone. For 2011 Ray introduced the GR11. The

Lucas Oil School of Racing The Lucas Oil School of Racing is a racing school located in Port Richey, Florida that launched in December of 2015. In 2016, Lucas Oil School of Racing was chosen to host the finals for both the Team USA Scholarship and Mazda Road to Indy USF200 ...

adopted the car as the car to teach aspiring race drivers. The car was fitted with a 2-liter Elite Engines built engine. Continuing in the local Formula Ford championships James Raven won the

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 hel ...

in 2014. Alex Crosbie, driving a GR21, won the

New Zealand Formula Ford Championship The MTA New Zealand Formula Ford Championship has been held annually in New Zealand racing circuits. History Formula Ford emerged as a racing class in New Zealand. In 1972, the inaugural New Zealand Formula Ford championship won by David Oxto ...

in April 2022.Alex Crosbie wins national championship
Drive South, 5 May 2022, retrieved 26 May 2022

Racing cars

References

{{reflist British racecar constructors Formula Ford cars Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1973 1973 establishments in England British Formula Three teams