2004 BRSCC FF1600 Championship

[Steve Burns]

Dear Formula Ford Competitor,

You may well have heard or read about a proposed national FF1600 championship. In 2004 all 4 regional championships will run to a standard set of Sporting & Technical Regulations, which is not currently the case. There will be a single championship registration fee of £50 which will enable you to enter all BRSCC FF1600 championship races, a total of over 45 possible events.

Standard regulations and a centralised single registration system will allow you to concentrate on your local division (regional championship) or move around the country to participate at many different venues of your choice.

To be eligible for the national ‘King of the Kent’s’ championship, you will count your best 8 scores from across the regional divisions, with no more than 3 scores from any one division being counted. It will also be possible to score points in 3 or 4 stand-alone FF1600 races, which could include the Silverstone GP and Thruxton events, Castle Combe Carnival, and the King of the Kent’s event at the Formula Ford Festival on the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit.

A meeting was held recently between representatives of the BRSCC, Ford Motor Company, Avon Tyres, major team managers, Regional Co-ordinators and driver reps to discuss the proposals. It was agreed that the relevant FF1600 Technical Regulations for the age of the car issued by the Ford Motor Co. would be used, with no variations. This allows the vast majority of existing drivers to continue to participate competitively without needing to modify their cars. It also provides those wishing to build or convert new chassis a clear definition of the modifications required to comply with the FF1600 regulations.

It was also agreed that drivers competing in the 4 regional divisions would score points relevant to their overall finishing position in the races, dependent on the number of starters. These points will be awarded to all competitors irrespective of class and will determine the overall regional champions. It will also be possible to carry the points across to determine additional regional class winners and the ‘King of the Kent’s’ champion.

Several possible class structures relating to the various ages of cars were discussed and it was decided that the competitors should have the final say on the exact make-up. I would therefore ask you to consider the following 3 proposals and indicate your preferred choice by replying to me via e-mail, telephone or fax as detailed below before 31st October.

Option 1
Class A: Cars built from 1/1/96
Class B: Cars built from 1/1/90 to 31/12/95
Class C: Cars built from 1/1/87 to 31/12/89
Class D: Cars built from 1/1/82 to 31/12/86
Class E: Cars built before 1982

Option 2
Class A: Cars built from 1/1/96
Class B: Cars built from 1/1/90 to 31/12/95
Class C: Cars built from 1/1/82 to 31/12/89
Class D: Cars built from 1/1/74 to 31/12/81
Class E: Cars built before 1974

Option 3
Class A: Cars built from 1/1/90
Class B: Cars built from 1/1/87 to 31/12/89
Class C: Cars built from 1/1/82 to 31/12/86
Class D: Cars built from 1/1/74 to 31/12/81
Class E: Cars built before 1974

Detailed regulations should be available early in the new-year and will be sent to all 2003 registered FF1600 competitors. Your assistance is appreciated and if you have any additional questions then please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Steve Burns
BRSCC Formula Ford Co-ordinator

Email. steve@brscc.co.uk
Tel. 07701 004694
Fax. 01249 460149

[JR Ewing]

Originally posted by Steve Burns
A meeting was held recently between ... major team managers ... driver reps

Who were these leading lights and what qualifies them to judge/decide/contribute please?

[JustinDawkins]

I believe:

Ian Smith, Barry Ashman, John Adlam, Don Hardman, Peter Daly. not sure about the others.

[JR Ewing]

Presumably they qualify by being self-appointed then?

[dhart]

Ian Smith is the NW brscc champioship co ordinator
Barry Ashman is the midland co ordinator
John Adlam is a respected team owner
Don Hardman ditto
Peter Daly is the midland drivers rep and series sponsor
Mike waite is the NW drivers rep
Gavin wills is an experienced driver and team owner
ED Moore an experienced driver with commercial motorsport interests
The main RACMSA Scrut (whose name escapes me) and a rep of the ford motor co - hardly self appointed ,from all sides of the debate all respected and not one wearing a mask or claiming to be Lord Lucan - anyone missing?

[JR Ewing]

No, I have respect for them all but who decides who decides what happens - seems rather arbitary doesn't it?

[verglas]

I can't wait for the argy bargy about class structures to begin..............zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!

[DALY]

I was asked to attend because in April this year I asked to see the Chief Exec and Finance Directors of the BRSCC regarding the volume of whinging that was taking place to do with the newer chassis and the apparant changes in the levels of the playing field. The meeting was successful in my book because a decision was taken to set up a small working party to establish the "legality" of these new converted chassis. A simple set of rules were looked at and commented upon by the main FFord Scrutineer and a member of the MIA. This confirmed that the rules, (known as he Ford Motor company)were correctly applied to most of the cars in most of the championships.

A further meeting was then arranged to look into the way we (collective word for all who love their FFords 1600)could race in larger more competitive grids and possibly score points in all championships adding up to a BRSCC club champion. (the word National may cause offence to certain organisations)
This was an exciting meeting and involved the competition manager of the BRSCC, a competition co-ordinator and a potential sponsor. Some new ideas were then put into a draft provisional set of regulations. These caused an excellent response with most people querying them. As a result a meeting was called at the Festival to discuss the apparant rule changes put forward. It was then resolved that the technical rules should not be changed. (the Ford Motor Company regs) However the sporting regs by the BRSCC were discussed,the main two topics being driver minimum weight (car remains at 420KG)and the way the class structure should work. The weight issue was not to be changed until later consultation,possibly for 2005 season, the class structure was to be applied after competitors had the chance of voting on it.
The position to date is that the weight issue is continuing with petitioning of drivers, (affects about 5 drivers in the UK who may be under 75kg?) meanwhile Steve Burns is trying to get drivers to vote on a class structure that affects about 70% of the main grids.

I hope you agree that I was OK to attend, if I have offended anyone by attending, my apologies. I do not hide behind my PC screen to air my views, my concern is that FF1600 should be a formula that any competant person can invest in, enjoy, be competive and then sell on their car when finished. It is more than a mere fashion!

Peter Daly. BRSCC Member, Midlands Centre.

[diz]

Also present :-
Bob Bassett was the scrute, Pete Alexander from the SFFC, Alan Cornock and the bloke from Auriga engines [I think called Martin Spence], John Ward when his running the meeting duties were over, Grant Stewart popped in and out, I think the Ford bloke was John Griffiths [don't quote me on that], Roger from Avon Tyres, plus those mentioned earlier, although Barry Ashman had a prior engagement and Jim McGregor the SFFC co-ordinator was ill.

Oh, and Steve Burns was there.

The only notable absentee was veteran driver / pain in the arse, Chris Miller, whoever he is. Any idea who he is JR??????

[diz]

Originally posted by diz
The only notable absentee was veteran driver / pain in the arse, Chris Miller, whoever he is. Any idea who he is JR??????

I'VE PROBABLY BEEN STITCHED UP BY JUSTIN DAWKINS WITH THIS ONE, BUT NEVER MIND.

HOW ABOUT A NEW THREAD "DID CHRIS MILLER DRIVE A GOOD RACE, OR JUST TALK ONE?"

[Walshy]

I know of several people in that meeting that are doing a damn fine job at what they do, so lets leave them to it. For the record, I would choose Option 3.

[JR Ewing]

Originally posted by JR Ewing
No, I have respect for them all but who decides who decides what happens - seems rather arbitary doesn't it?

The explanations here below by DALY etc. seem quite clear and are pleasing. Why some people have taken offence at enquiring as to who makes the decisions and who decides who makes the decisions is beyond me. It seems quite reasonable, having seen some decisions made over the years, to ask who makes them and why.

[StephenRae]

The only reason to seperate cars into
classes is to make for competitive racing.
When the Pre 74 class was originally conceived
it was recognised that a few cars which fitted
the age criteria would be at a great advantage,
so they were excluded (Crossle 25f is one which
comes to mind)
Segregating the cars by age will always involve
compromises.
I have a Reynard 84FF and it would
be advantageous to me not to have Van Diemen
RF86s in the same class, given the chance we
could all make similar arguements.
Why not have a list of cars eligible for each
class, no more than three classes. Cars would be
allocated to a class subject to previous
performance.
I envisage the initial classification being the
result of some heated debate, and if there were
some sort of appeal system, which allowed for
errors to be rectified then there would be no
confusion.

[Andrew Kitson]

Welcome to the forum Stephen. It all sounds great to me - proper FF racing back on a nationwide basis. Before we know it, all 8 rounds could be 2 heats and a final! How FF should be.

[Richard Young]

A national FF1600 Championship is totally desirable. However it would be nice if we could (a) somehow deter various people from creating half a dozen similar-but-not-idential FF1600s from popping up all over the country, and (b) include a round in Northern Ireland where FF1600 flourishes. I speak as a native of course, but really, all this'national' stuff doesn't scan unless the whole nation is involved. Take the Irish out of the Brands top 10 and.....
Well, maybe that would look like a good solution to some...
I must be grumpy tonight !

[spearce]

Yes get some sleep, don't forget the clocks have gone back today !!! I agree there's a risk of 'fragmentation' if rules are not consistent, so good job all the changes have been blown out. Are the NI reg's the same as UK Richard ???
Why has FF1600 died at mondello ??

[diz]

Steve, I "think" the NI regs are the same as FoMoCo / Mainland and they run classes Post86, Pre87 and Pre82. No doubt Richard will confirm this.

Mondello may well be on it's way back. Derek M Daly seems keen to get it up and running again. He is talking about converting his own Zetec, there are plenty of Kents already in the south - they just need bringing out again - and he bought a 92 Swift whilst at Brands.

[Richard Young]

Yes,
NI regs are the FoMoCo ones. They've worked for the past umpteen years so . Our 'classes' are Pre-82, Pre-87 and Pre-90. We normally run two races per event. Pre-87 and Pre-82 run together as do 'modern'and Pre-90. With a competitive Pre-87 car you can have quite a busy afternoon....