ROB LADBROOK DEPUTY EDITOR

Motorsport is beautifully diverse, with something for everybody to enjoy, but speak to anybody in any paddock, and chances are FF1600 rates pretty high on their enjoyment list.

To begin the celebration of the category’s 50th anniversary season, the Historic Sports Car Club held a gathering of star names at its stand during the Autosport Show.

My highlight though was a chat with Ray Allen, the man who won the first ever Fford race at Brands Hatch back in 1967. “Back then I was just a soldier who got the chance to try a racing car, and I never imagined how big Formula Ford would get,” he said.

“I’d done a few F3 races but never had the money, and when Fford came along it was cheap, with ready to race cars for £1000. But it taught you to drive properly, slide a car and control it. I’ve always loved driving sideways, and probably should have been a rally driver, but I loved Fford. It was motor racing for the masses, not just for the silver spoon lot, and that’s why drivers and fans loved it.”

Exactly.