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16-10-2008, 07:03 PM
Racing greats at Phillip Island for Formula Ford 40th
Racing greats from Formula One, V8 Supercars and the Carrera Cup will be at the 2009 Phillip Island Classic Historic race meeting from March 13-15 to open the 40th anniversary celebrations of Formula Ford racing in Australia.
Formula Ford began in the UK in 1967, with the first championship in 1968 won by Australia’s Tim Schenken.
The first Australian Formula Ford race was held at Melbourne’s Sandown Raceway in 1969 and was won by Richard Knight in an Elfin 600, a precursor to his victory the following year in the inaugural Australian Formula Ford series.
Since then, eight World Formula One champions have risen through Formula Ford, including Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna, Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, Jody Scheckter, Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve and Mika Hakkinen, while Mark Webber is also a Formula Ford graduate.
In Australia, the V8 Supercar series is rich with Formula Ford champions, including Larry Perkins (1971 champion), Tomas Mezera (1985), Mark Larkham (1989), Russell Ingall (1990), Craig Lowndes (1993), Steven Richards (1994), Jason Bright (1995), David Besnard (1996), Garth Tander (1997), Greg Ritter (1999), Will Davison (2001) and Jamie Whincup (2002). And 2007 Australian Carrera Cup Champion David Reynolds took the Formula Ford title in 2004.
Formula Ford stars from these and other series are being invited to the Phillip Island meeting, where a parade, a mass autograph signing session and an historic group photograph will be amongst the category’s celebrations.
As well as local Formula Ford cars, containers of vehicles are also expected from the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
However Formula Fords won’t be the only cars in the spotlight at the March 13-15 meeting.
The 50th anniversary of the Mini and the Elfin car and the 100th anniversary of Morgan are also being celebrated at the 2009 Phillip Island Classic, which again has major sponsorship from Shannons and the VACC, with major displays of each marque featured of the meeting.
The meeting also celebrates the 20th anniversary of racing at the circuit conducted by the Victorian Historic Racing Register, under whose guidance the Phillip Island Classic has grown to become the largest historic race meeting of its type in the Southern Hemisphere, with more than 500 touring, sports and racing cars spanning seven decades taking part in 2009.
More details can be found by visiting www.vhrr.com (http://www.vhrr.com/) For media enquiries and publication quality images: Michael Browning /0418 324 328
Damian Petrie pics
Racing greats from Formula One, V8 Supercars and the Carrera Cup will be at the 2009 Phillip Island Classic Historic race meeting from March 13-15 to open the 40th anniversary celebrations of Formula Ford racing in Australia.
Formula Ford began in the UK in 1967, with the first championship in 1968 won by Australia’s Tim Schenken.
The first Australian Formula Ford race was held at Melbourne’s Sandown Raceway in 1969 and was won by Richard Knight in an Elfin 600, a precursor to his victory the following year in the inaugural Australian Formula Ford series.
Since then, eight World Formula One champions have risen through Formula Ford, including Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna, Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, Jody Scheckter, Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve and Mika Hakkinen, while Mark Webber is also a Formula Ford graduate.
In Australia, the V8 Supercar series is rich with Formula Ford champions, including Larry Perkins (1971 champion), Tomas Mezera (1985), Mark Larkham (1989), Russell Ingall (1990), Craig Lowndes (1993), Steven Richards (1994), Jason Bright (1995), David Besnard (1996), Garth Tander (1997), Greg Ritter (1999), Will Davison (2001) and Jamie Whincup (2002). And 2007 Australian Carrera Cup Champion David Reynolds took the Formula Ford title in 2004.
Formula Ford stars from these and other series are being invited to the Phillip Island meeting, where a parade, a mass autograph signing session and an historic group photograph will be amongst the category’s celebrations.
As well as local Formula Ford cars, containers of vehicles are also expected from the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
However Formula Fords won’t be the only cars in the spotlight at the March 13-15 meeting.
The 50th anniversary of the Mini and the Elfin car and the 100th anniversary of Morgan are also being celebrated at the 2009 Phillip Island Classic, which again has major sponsorship from Shannons and the VACC, with major displays of each marque featured of the meeting.
The meeting also celebrates the 20th anniversary of racing at the circuit conducted by the Victorian Historic Racing Register, under whose guidance the Phillip Island Classic has grown to become the largest historic race meeting of its type in the Southern Hemisphere, with more than 500 touring, sports and racing cars spanning seven decades taking part in 2009.
More details can be found by visiting www.vhrr.com (http://www.vhrr.com/) For media enquiries and publication quality images: Michael Browning /0418 324 328
Damian Petrie pics