General News
06/Dec/2012
Focus test for FFord's top two
The top two finishers in next year’s Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship will win test drives in the Motorbase team’s latest NGTC-spec Ford Focus touring car.
Ford’s single-seater category will return as a supporting category to the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship for the first time in a decade in 2013.
The series will be for the category’s latest breed of winged single-seater using Ford’s 1.6-litre turbocharged Ecoboost 200 engines with the category remaining open to rival chassis manufacturers.
The first 15 drivers to sign up for the series will receive free championship registration, race entries and pre-season testing with the top two also being rewarded with a test in Motorbase’s stunning Focus BTCC machine.
Motorbase team boss David Bartrum said: "We are very pleased to be able to offer this opportunity. You have only to look at the list of champions from Formula Ford who have gone on to stellar successes in other forms of motor sport to understand what a superb training ground it is. I’m sure that the test will be a popular incentive for competitors.
Dunlop UK Motor Sport Manager Gary Wassell commented: “It will be very interesting for everyone, not least the drivers themselves, to see how well and how quickly two young single-seater racers can adapt to the very different environment of a BTCC car. Dunlop is very pleased to have been able to work together with Motorbase to offer this prize, which I am sure will be a very attractive one for prospective competitors.”
“Generations of young drivers have learned their craft in Formula Ford and have gone on to racing success not only in Formula 1 but also in IndyCars, sports cars and, of course, touring cars,” added Ford Racing Motor Sport Manager Mike Norton. “This prize drive is a great opportunity for next year’s champion and vice-champion to learn some vital track skills and to make their mark in a BTCC car.”
