HSCC launches bid to get largest gathering of champions to celebrate Formula Ford’s 50th

The biggest ever gathering of Formula Ford champions will cap the category’s 50th anniversary celebration during the Legends of Brands Hatch meeting next summer.

The HSCC has launched a bid to get as many former Formula Ford champions as possible to the Grand Prix Circuit meeting on July 1/2. Estimates suggest that more than 30 championships for Formula Ford 1600s have run and the gathering will also include winners of the knockout events like the Formula Ford Festival, the Walter Hayes Trophy and the Castle Combe Carnival.

“Our calculations suggest that as many as 500 drivers have won Formula Ford titles over 50 years and we’re keen to invite them,” said Grahame White of the HSCC. “When we include the annual knockout competitions, we’d love to get up to 200 Formula Ford stars to join in.”

The first Formula Ford race ran at the Kent track exactly half a century earlier on July 2, 1967 and the celebration of the category, topped by races for the HSCC’S Historic Formula Ford Championship, will be a key feature of the weekend. The inaugural race drew a 20-car field and was won by Ray Allen in a Lotus 51.

Any driver with a Formula Ford title under their belt is invited to contact the HSCC office on 021327 858400 or by e-mail to office@hscc.org.uk.

The HSCC is also marking the anniversary with a major display of cars from five decades at Autosport International.