Formula Fun

For something that shares its heart with a humble Ford Fiesta it certainly doesn't feel like a sedate little hatch. Sure, it's compact in size but the Spectrum 11d Formula Ford feels like a rocketship as we tear up Melbourne's Calder Park Raceway.

For those not familiar with Formula Ford it is the first stop for most aspiring racing drivers. The category has been around since 1967 and helped nurture and promote many of the sport's biggest names; including eight Formula One world champions. Locally the list of alumni includes Mark Webber, Larry Perkins, Russell Ingall, Craig Lowndes and Garth Tander.

For this author the chance to sample the latest Formula Ford racer featuring the recently introduced Ford Duratec four-cylinder engine, as well as the latest FPV GT road cars, is an opportunity too good to pass up. But for Ford V8 Supercar stars Mark Winterbottom and Steven Richards it's simply a chance to have some fun away from the pressures of competition.

Both drivers do have extra incentive to make the trip to the cold and wind swept Calder Park though. Since they have left the category, the ageing Kent 1600cc engine has been replaced by the more powerful Duratec 1600cc found in the current Ford Fiesta road car range. And there are other motivations too.

Winterbottom raced for Spectrum constructor's Borland Racing Developments, finishing runner-up in the 2002 National Championship to Jamie Whincup. The Calder test was a reunion with his former steed, the same Bosch Batteries-liveried Spectrum 010 he raced to three wins in what was his rookie season. The car has been restored to its former glory by the BRD team.

Richards has had a slightly longer break from the category than his V8 teammate. It had been almost 15 years since Richards stepped out of his FFord at the end of the 1994 Australian Grand Prix meeting in Adelaide. But despite his junior category career being over for a decade and a half Richards' record of 17 race wins remained until June this year.

Richards wastes little time when action gets underway. As soon as the cars are warmed up the 1994 series champion slides into one of this year's models and gets onto the track. Within a handful of laps he's back approaching the limit, just like he never left. He's joined by Winterbottom in his Kent-engined '02 Spectrum and the pair spends a dozen laps getting back in the groove of the category that gave them their start in the sport.

Once he's had some fun in his own car, Winterbottom pits and jumps aboard one of this year's models to sample the new engine. After a few more laps he's back in the pits and immediately comparing the experience with Richards. Being competitive individuals it doesn't take long before they are comparing lap times.

"It's different," Winterbottom says about the experience. "It's been seven years since I've driven that Spectrum and they're very different from a V8 Supercar. They brake, they turn, they accelerate -- whereas with a V8 it's just different. You're used to having 650-horsepower and trying to get the power down on the long straight; [dealing with] oversteer and understeer, locking brakes and having closed wheels. It's just massively different. It's definitely a bit harder to fit in now too."

But did the memories coming flooding back from 2002?

"Yeah, they did come flooding back," he admits. "I've got a sore hand from where I shifted gears and sore shoulders from where I just fit into the cockpit. All those little aches and pains I used to have, those muscles have been exposed again. But it was just good to get back in. We'd need a lot more time to get back on the [competitive] times again, that's for sure, we're a bit rusty in these cars compared to the V8s that's for sure."

Even though Richards has had such a long gap between driving the little open-wheelers, his analytical brain – honed by years of racing at the elite level – allows him to compare the new cars to his former model.

"The one thing I noticed driving around is that you do have to use a percentage of throttle, you don't just use 100 per cent," Richards explains. "Back in [Kent] 1600 days most of the time you were at 100 per cent throttle because it didn't develop enough torque to spin the inside wheel, whereas these cars will spin the inside wheel with the open diff. So yeah, I can see there would be some new challenges and a different technique in driving the new engine. I don't think they've actually got a lot more horsepower to what our engines had."

Once the Formula Ford business is out of the way the pair has the chance have some more fun in the latest offerings from FPR's sister operation, Ford Performance Vehicles. It doesn't take much to coax them behind the wheel of the FPV GTs and get back on the track. While Richards is busy chauffeuring Ford VIPs around Winterbottom entertains this author and our cameraman demonstrating the GT's ability to break traction. Winterbottom is able to hold the car in big, smoking drifts around Calder's long opening corner.

Unfortunately for FPV on the way back to the pits the two cars get a little too close for comfort. Whether it was just an unlucky accident or an example of the innate competitive streak found in V8 Supercar driver the pair actually bumped into each other! Aside from the frown on the track's safety officer's face and a little bit of painted swapped between the two cars, there was no damage done and it seems like and appropriate way for the day to end.

"He gave me a little tap in the back in the road car," Winterbottom laughs. "That must have been a square up from somewhere! No, we were just having a bit of fun.

"We both don't get to drive a car for fun normally, it's usually go out and there's the pressure from what we do. Whereas today is just about going out and having fun, even though with the Formula Ford we both came in and looked at our lap time to see who got who; there's still some competition there!

"Its fun but it's also good to appreciate the cars that are the stepping stone in Australian motorsport. Come and appreciate what the young guys are trying to achieve and re-live the past."

Richards shares a similar sentiment.

"It's always good fun," he says.

"The thing with taking people for a ride in a road car is the tyres walk around a bit, they are pretty spectacular to drive anyway compared to what our racecars are like. They're very precise and you can't afford to get them sideways because they are pretty difficult to catch. It's just another element to what we do. I just like driving cars, it wouldn't matter if it was a road car, a Formula Ford or a V8 Supercar -- I just like driving anything."

But Winterbottom and Richards were the only drivers having fun out on the track sampling the latest Formula Ford. This author was given the chance to drive the new Duratec powered Spectrum. While the other two were out on the track it was time for me to suit up and squeeze into Nathan Morcom's CAMS Rising Stars-backed Spectrum.

Even though the engine started life destined for a Fiesta it feels strong and aggressive right from the start. Although it has four-wheels, brakes, accelerator and gearbox similar to a road car, as soon as you get behind the wheel there is no comparison.

The Spectrum is a purebred racing car designed only to go as fast as possible. The seat is moulded specifically for the driver's body (unfortunately not my body!). The cabin is so cramped there is barely any room to move.

The gearshift isn't a leather wrapped knob like you find in a sporty road car, instead it is just a small aluminium stick. Even though it is tiny, there is still hardly any room for my hand to fit between the stick and the side of the cockpit as I try and get comfortable swapping between the gates of the four-speed unit. And even though I'm wearing specially designed racing shoes, the pedals are so close together it takes a moment to figure out just how I'm going to make the car go and stop.

But all those concerns are forgotten when my friendly BRD mechanic starts buckling up the six-point racing harness. The head protection padding is put in place and within moment the engine is fired up.

The Duratec pulls strongly and given the car's light weight the speed comes on rapidly. But because it's so light and runs on small, grooved tyres special care must be taken when getting the power down. There is no traction control or electronic stability program to be found on a Formula Ford, it is all about teaching young drivers the art of throttle and car control.

At speed the gears swap cogs easier than anticipated but because Morcom requires the car for the remainder of the season I take a bit of extra car to make sure I find the right gate.

The lack of weight is also a big benefit when you hit the brakes. The pedal requires a moderate amount of pressure but when they bite speed disappears faster than it comes on.

Getting through the corners is easy to thanks to the incredibly direct and responsive steering. In fact, every control on the car provides incredible feedback and rapid response. It allows the driver to feel more connected than any road car, even high-end exotica.

Above all else this explains why the category has enjoyed such success and longevity as a breeding ground for aspiring racing stars around the world.