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MEDIA RELEASE 27 April 1998
FORMULA FORD: THE ROAD TO V8 SUPERCARS AND OVERSEAS Formula Ford graduates will make up over a third of the V8 Supercar field at Winton this weekend. And others who cut their teeth in the Australian Formula Ford Championship, including Mark Webber, David Besnard and Marcos Ambrose, are beginning to make their presence felt in international motorsport, both in Europe and the United States. Last year's Australian Formula Ford Champion Garth Tander, who debuted at Phillip Island in a Valvoline Commodore, joined six other Australian Formula Ford Champions currently competing in the Shell Australian Touring Car Championship. These include current series leader Craig Lowndes, Jason Bright, Russell Ingall, Mark Larkham, Tomas Mezera and five time Bathurst winner, Larry Perkins. All up, 14 former Formula Ford drivers are expected to line up in the V8 Supercar races at Winton, with Jason Bargwanna, Darren Hossack, Darren Pate and Steve Ellery the most notable of those who contested the Australian Formula Ford title but were not victorious. Yet another recent Formula Ford champion Cameron McConville is dominating the Australian Super Touring Championship, while 1996 Australian Formula Ford Champion David Besnard is currently leading the FF2000 series in the United States after winning the opening two rounds. The latest Formula Ford champion to reach the elite level of motorsport in Australia, Garth Tander says that Formula Ford was definitely a turning point in his fledgling career. "I think that by stepping up to Formula Ford from karts, you're really saying that you want to be a serious racer," Garth Tander says. "Formula Ford is where drivers develop the basic skills that you need to learn if you're going to begin the path to Formula 1 or Indycars, or V8 Supercars for that matter. "Just as importantly, it's not hideously expensive, so you don't need to be a millionaire just to go racing. If you're good enough you can make it. "You only have to look at where the Formula Ford Champions of the past eight years are now. "And when you throw in some of the other competitors that didn't win the title but came close, like Mark Webber and Marcos Ambrose, it's easy to see the important place Formula Ford has in Australian motorsport," Tander says. Internationally, Formula Ford is also regarded as the important stepping stone for young drivers starting the road to Formula 1. More than half the competitors currently competing in Formula 1, particularly those at the front of the field, raced Formula Ford during the developmental part of their careers, including: Michael Schumacher, Jacques Villeneuve, Mika Hakkinen, David Coulthard, and Stewart Ford racers Rubens Barrichello and Jan Magnussen. The category has also played a pivotal role in the careers of many of the legends of international motorsport. Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, and Gilles Villeneuve are among the long list of successful drivers who launched their careers in Formula Ford. The next Australian Formula 1 World Champion could be currently competing in the Ford Motorsport/Slick 50 Australian Formula Ford Championship, according to Formula Ford Coordinator Margaret Hardy. "I've seen a lot of young drivers come through the ranks in Formula Ford and go on to successful motor racing careers, both in Australia and abroad, and I believe that this year's field has as much potential as any of them. "Obviously, not everyone who goes out and buys a Formula Ford is going to make it to the top, but Formula Ford is the place where the best young drivers can test themselves against one another, and I guess that's the reason why the racing is so close and exciting. "Certainly our track record is pretty good … most of the young drivers who have done well in Formula Ford in the past decade are now very successful racers in their own right," Margaret Hardy says. For Further Information: Gavin McGrath
http://www.themotorweb.com.au/FormulaFord |
