The Scottish Formula Ford Championship is a single seater

open-wheel An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...

motorsport competition in

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. Championship events have been held since 1968, and there is a long pedigree involving 1600cc

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engined cars. By the mid-80s the FF1600 category was regarded as a mainstay of Scottish motor-racing. Despite variations in the format of the race meetings over the years, the Formula Ford class has remained popular among drivers. Several drivers have progressed to professional racing careers after gaining experience at this entry level. Over the years, races have been held at Ingliston Motor Racing Circuit, near

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

and the

Knockhill Racing Circuit Knockhill Racing Circuit is a motor racing circuit in Fife, Scotland. It opened in September 1974 and is Scotland's national motorsport centre. The circuit is located in the countryside about north of Dunfermline. It is the only FIA approved ...

in Fife. The events are organised by the Scottish Motor Racing Club as part of meetings where the programme features a range of categories. In the early 1980s the races were watched by crowds that were 6000 strong. In 2013 the races have crowds of around 3,000 spectators recorded.

History

Since the championship was established in the 1960s, many competitors have had their performance at these events noticed, and gone on to race in higher level competitions, including

Formula one Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

. The championship has allowed competitors to be tested at faster speeds than karting, with vehicles able to reach a top-speed of 140 mph, compared to the kart’s 80 mph. Events were initially held at the Ingliston Motor Racing Circuit but this track ceased to be used for regular motor sport events in 1992. Popular chassis for these events have included those manufactured by Crosslé and

Van Diemen Van Diemen International, Ltd. was a British race car manufacturer based in Snetterton, Norfolk, United Kingdom. The company had a reputation for high-volume production runs of its cars, the most well-known of which is its series of Formula Fo ...

. In 1985 the championship saw the debut of Scotland’s first home-built racing car, the “Rotor”. The Rotor-Motive team continued to compete in the championship and were Scotland's only full-time professional racing manufacturer.

Championship format

In 2014 there are two classes - one for current cars and another for older '

Classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

' cars built before 31 December 1989. There is also a Newcomers Cup which is open to drivers in their first or second year of open wheel competition. In 2014 there were 15 rounds of racing. In one of the final rounds of the championship, competitors are also racing for the David Leslie Trophy named in memory of Scottish

BTCC The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as ...

driver. The Angel Burgueño Trophy is awarded to the driver who completes the fastest lap. Action from the races has been screened by Sky and Virgin Media channel

Motors TV Motorsport.tv was a pan-European digital television channel dedicated to motorsport. It ceased broadcasting in late September 2018 to concentrate on web-streaming only. Launched in 2000 as Motors TV, it broadcast an extensive range of nationa ...

Champions

In 1969

Tom Walkinshaw Thomas Dobbie Thomson Walkinshaw (14 August 1946 – 12 December 2010) was a British racing car driver from Scotland and the founder of the racing team Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR). He was also involved in professional rugby union, as owner of ...

won the championship in a Hawke DL2. then moved on to race in Formula 3. After winning a few Scottish motocross titles, Stewart Roden then won the Scottish Formula Ford Championship five times. This led to him being offered a place in

Eddie Jordan Edmund Patrick Jordan, OBE (born 30 March 1948), also known as EJ, is an Irish businessman, television personality and former motorsport team owner. Born in Dublin, Jordan worked first at the Bank of Ireland. He won the Irish Kart Championship ...

's F3 team in 1988, although he only drove once before being left unable to continue as he had run out of money. In 2011, Ken Thirlwall, was the first person to win every race of the season, also winning the championship in only his 2nd Formula Ford season. In 2014, Ciaran Haggerty became Scotland’s youngest ever Formula Ford champion. Haggerty had enjoyed the support of the retired racing driver Dario Franchitti. List of Champions:

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.smrc.co.uk/championships/formula-ford-1600-championship/ Auto racing series in the United Kingdom Motorsport in Scotland