OK so how many of the people above are actually racing drivers??? And how many of you have ever raced in FPA?
The whole concept of FPA was to reduce costs to the driver AND to offer a competitive race car for that price.
FPA was going to cost £85,000 in 2001. For that price, some Formula Ford teams could only offer you a number 2 drive in the team in an uncompetitive car. All the Formula Ford top drives are bought months in advance by drivers with large amounts of money to throw around. As Dr Palmer rightly points out, if a driver cannot get one of these top drives, then they go to an uncompetitive team and simply complain that it is the teams fault that they are doing so badly. Whereas in fact, it is more to do with the fact that the driver is no good.
I know all the cars are equal in FPA as I have driven several of them. I was easily able to change car with no problems. Whilst I admit at the time I was not the fastest driver, I could feel no difference in the car. Indeed after my huge crash at Snetterton, my car was completely rebuilt for the next race, and there were no obvious differences.
To say that FPA doesn't pull in the crowds to events unlike TOCA is complete rubbish. The FPA cars, when not headlining, support events like the ALMS, which had the second largest crowd for a motorsport event last year - the British GP being the biggest. As for media coverage there is a vast amount of difference between a back row FPA car and a back row Formula Ford/Renault car. The FPA will still feature these drivers on TV and in all printed press material. You don't get these sort of benefits from any other series except perhaps F1 where everyone still knows all about the Minardi drivers.
If it wasn't for FPA, I would not have driven at all last year. I drove in the Winter Series at a cost of £9,000 - when some rubbish Formula Ford teams were offering me drives in the FFord Winter Series for over £16,000!
Gideon
www.gideoncresswell.com