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Some just made Formula Fords, whilst others like Lola were involved in numerous formulae right up to and including World Championship Sportscars, Indy cars, Formula 5000 and Formula 1.

parts plus read the book 'Of Land, Sea And Sky'. Unfortunately he returned to Brazil for family reasons prior to the Formula Ford Festival. Everyone raced with the Kent engine in those decades and although the Zetec engine and latterly the Duratec have taken over the formula is a shadow of its former self. The variety of manufacturers added to spectator interest and you really could see new stars in the making.. By this time the more sophisticated formulae were using alloy monocoques which were expensive, fragile in the event of an accident and often unrepairable at least economically.

The steel space frame of a Formula Ford was still light, but very strong, relatively cheap to manufacture and it could be cut, welded, even straightened in the event of a 'shunt'. www.oflandseaandsky.com

In 1972 the inaugural, end of season Formula Ford Festival was held at Snetterton in Norfolk, it would move to Brands Hatch from 1975 and it evolved into a World Cup event for Formula Ford drivers around the world. All Van Diemens' model numbers reflected the year of the particular model.

Winners of the festival include Johnny Herbert, Eddie Irvine and more recently Mark Webber, although some fourteen winners have gone on to reach Formula 1 and many who came close to winning the Festival such as David Coulthard went on to the pinnacle of the sport. Formula Ford has been pivotal in the development of modern motorsport and has brought enjoyment to millions. Joining Lotus were Merlyn, Royale, Van Diemen, Reynard, Swift, Elden, Hawke, Lola, Ray, Titan, Tiga and more. It still runs today and even in the nineteen nineties was attracting hundreds of entries from around the globe, with supporting races for other Ford formulae and historic Formula Fords.

Motorsport has always been intensely competitive and so, with all these manufacturers competing to sell their chassis the development was rapid and mirrored developments in more senior formulas