Journeys beyond Kent

While the original Kent-engined Formula Ford continues to thrive, Ford itself first looked to replace it as long ago as 1993, when it introduced the 1.8-litre, 16-valve Zetec motor, which saw service in the main UK championship until 2005. Heavy, and with much of that weight high up, the

Zetec was unloved, though it proved very reliable.

Its replacement, the 1.6-litre Duratec (2006-2011), was a great improvement, providing slick-shod Formula Ford action that reminded many of the racing during the category’s golden years in the 1970s and ’80s.

The problem with having manufacturer backing is that a car maker will always have a new product to sell, which in 2012 led to the 1.6-litre, turbocharged Ecoboost mated to a Mygale chassis with sequential gearbox (although it was not originally intended to be a spec formula). That car even grew wings in 2013.

The chassis remained as the category evolved into MSA Formula in 2015, and then UK Formula 4 in 2016.

Meanwhile, in America, Honda introduced a replacement Formula Ford engine at the tail end of the 2000s, based on the unit from the Honda Fit (sold as the Jazz in the UK) and mapped to match the Kent engine. It is now raced in parts of the US alongside Kents, as Formula F, but, as James Beckett notes, ‘It’s actually now an old engine itself.’

Back in the UK, at the close of the 2021 season it was announced that the next iteration of British F4 would use a Tatuus chassis, complete with Halo, and also Abarth power. With that, Ford’s 54-year official involvement in entry-level British racing abruptly ended. For now, at least.