FF1600 JOINS TCR, TRACK TIME KEY
Teams back TCR UK move but want assurances over testing
BRSCC National Formula Ford 1600 securing the first support slot on the TCR UK package has been welcomed by teams, provided concerns about testing and timetabling are addressed.
With the rest of the TCR support bill still unclear, teams remain anxious to see if FF1600 will be the main support category or lower down the pecking order. Whether they retain their current amount of pre-race testing at series venues – seen as a key selling point – is another question competitors are keen to have answered.
Leading team owner Cliff Dempsey said the organising club BRSCC was “well aware” of FF1600 racers’ stance over the TCR relationship, but added: “Anything that raises the profile of what we’re doing is going to make it better. That and the Road To Indy Shootout have given us a lot more impetus. I’m getting calls [from potential drivers] which I didn’t expect.”
FF1600 Focus Group chairman Ian Wolfenden suggested the TCR slot would mean the Fford fraternity “just need to up our game a little bit” in terms of paddock presentation. The possibility of the top Pro class – for career-minded drivers in current machinery – becoming the focus of the main National series, with Clubman racers and older cars racing separately, has become a greater priority with the TCR slot secured. Wolfenden feels “another 10” regular Pro entries are needed for that “to be feasible”.
The series could still race at one meeting separate to TCR. Teams have requested that the potential meeting takes place at Kirkistown, leaving Anglesey to drop off the schedule.