MOTORSPORT: Ford power for Formula 4
120kW 1.6-litre Ford EcoBoost engine for Australia’s new wings-and-slicks open-wheeler category starting mid-2015Ford is pulling out of V8 Supercar racing within a year but it will power Australia’s new wings-and-slicks open-wheeler category, Formula 4, that is to start in mid-2015.
The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) has arranged a supply from Ford Europe of the Blue Oval’s 1.6-litre EcoBoost engine tuned to deliver 160hp (120kW) — the maximum allowed for F4 by the world governing Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).
The same engine already is used in F4 in Britain and Spain.
F4 is being introduced in Australia as the main category for young drivers with open-wheeler racing aspirations — especially internationally — in place of the Australian Formula Ford Championship which ceased in 2013.
Formula Ford, without aerodynamic wings and slick tyres, has continued as a non-championship series in eastern Australia.
CAMS has ordered 20 carbon-fibre monocoque F4 chassis from French manufacturer Mygale.
The cars are expected to arrive early in the new year and will be leased to competitors by CAMS.
Hankook has been named the official tyre supplier and Penrite the oil partner for the F4 Championship that will run at V8 Supercar Championship events from mid-2015.
The CAMS general manager of motorsport development, Cameron McConville, a long-time V8 Supercar driver after winning the Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series in 1992 (the year before that category became an official national championship), called the F4 engine announcement “a nice Christmas present” for intending F4 competitors.
“While it has taken some time to finalise it was all about finding the right fit,” McConville said.
“I am positive that we have selected a tried and proven product, which I feel is critical as we embark on this new open-wheel development category which has been aligned by the FIA in the pathway from karting to Formula 1.”
2015 Australian Formula 4 Championship calendar:
- July 10-12: Reid Park, Townsville
- July 31-August 2: Queensland Raceway, Ipswich
- August 21-23: Sydney Motorsport Park
- September 11- 13: Sandown Raceway, Melbourne
- October 23-25: Surfers Paradise
- November 20-22: Phillip Island
- December 4-6: Sydney Olympic Park
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