NATIONAL FF1600 TEAMS CONSIDER BGT MOVE
After the disappointment of TCR UK, series is evaluating its future
National Formula Ford 1600 team bosses and the British Racing and Sports Car Club have discussed the possibility of moving the championship onto the British GT support bill.
The BRSCC-RUN series has appeared at TCR UK meetings since 2018 but, with that series struggling for numbers, FF1600 teams are considering other packages for the future.
A number of meetings have taken place to discuss the possibility of joining the British GT support bill, which is run by SRO, either full-time or potentially at a one-off meeting.
“Personally I think it would be a good move forward,” said Oldfield Motorsport team manager James Oldfield.
“This championship has been growing from 2010 when really it was just a mix of Midland and Northern [championships] but every year it’s improved bit by bit.
“It requires commitment, at the moment you can pay round by round if you want but with the package with
SRO the championship needs to commit as a group.”
Cost is understood to be the largest stumbling block, with a ‘serious financial commitment’ needed to join the British GT support bill.
Dominic Ostrowski, competitions director at the BRSCC, confirmed joining for a single round would be a more realistic option.
“As I made it plain to the team managers about a month or so ago, if they go on the GT package it’s a serious financial commitment, you’ve got to commit to the track and commercial costs,” he said. “We can’t commit to that without knowing the teams are going to support it.
“That’s [joining for a single event] a possibility as well but the continuing success of the SRO package means that tracktime comes at a premium.”
A spokesperson from SRO said: “There are no plans to add any more championships as the GT support package is full at the moment for next year.”