What is Formula Ford

LEGENDS DON'T NEED WINGS TO FLY!

At a press conference held at Kyalami during Formula One testing in February 1999, a journalist asked Alex Zanardi - driver for the Winfield Williams F1 team - what could be done to make Formula One more exciting. His answer was an adamant and immediate: "Take the wings off the cars." Formula One without wings, is in a nutshell, what the world's most successful racing formula - Formula Ford - is based on.

Formula Ford racing has been the mainstay of South African motorsport since being introduced in 1968. In that time, it has proven to be the breeding ground of talent for many of our most promising drivers who have gone on to find fame and fortune abroad. In the history of motor racing there have been countless attempts at establishing an inexpensive racing formula based on cars built around components of production cars, but none has been as successful as Formula Ford.

There is hardly a Formula One racing driver on the grid that did not first win in Formula Ford. In South Africa the 1600cc Kent class is ideal for beginner/novice drivers or people interested in having fun rather than being super-competitive. This is not to say that the Kent class is not competitive in fact quite the contrary. It is proved that Zetec is the class for more advanced drivers and is the natural progression from the Kent engine class, and the 1800cc Zetec class is growing.

Formula Fords prepare young drivers for the ultra-competitive world of Formula One, where the difference between winning and being out of the points is measured in hundreds of a second. The only difference is that what Formula One does in practice, Zetec Fords do under full racing conditions.

Formula Ford cars have the qualities and finesse of a thoroughbred single-seater; racing on Avon tyres, suspension similar to that of the Formula one cars and with the aerodynamics to go with it. Formula Ford is the only international circuit-racing category in RSA.

In the years that the Formula has existed, its simple, yet equalising rules and regulations (as per international regulations) have always ensured that the emphasis has been placed on driver talent rather than on mechanical skill.These diminutive but highly technical racing cars teach young guns the art of testing their skills, courage and intricacies of setting up yourself and your car to gain that vital 100th of a second.

It is here that you learn the race craft that has been seen in aces like Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine. You have simply got to maintain the disciplines of the greats if you want to have any hope of winning and setting your sights on Formula One. This has been seen in the Jenson Button's of the Formula One world, where the skills are learnt in this multi-chassis formula. To win Zetec Ford is no easy matter. The wingless, no traction control, narrow-tyred cars are extremely difficult to drive on the limit.

If you win in Zetec you can drive anything.

The Zetec Fords in South African Formula Ford are divided into two sections, open and challenger. The latter is for the slightly older cars, as we cannot discard these cars too soon in South Africa on cost considerations. There is no reason why a challenger car, particularly on a circuit like Zwartkops, could not "challenge" the open class brigade. By the end of this year there should be at least 20 cars competing. So watch this space. Watch our race's as well, as this formula does provide motor racing at its very best. Formula Ford … "Where Legends are Born"

4.WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ZETEC & KENT?

The main differences between the Zetec and Kent are the following: