Revisiting the international Formula Ford action of 2024

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The end-of-year classics once again attracted big names, but the national and regional series in Formula Ford in its various forms also had strong grids in 2024. Here’s what happened across the world

United Kingdom

Home of the two biggest events for the category, the Formula Ford Festival and Walter Hayes Trophy, the UK had plenty of FFord action in 2024 and the main home of it for contemporary machinery was the United FFord championship. Morgan Quinn added yet another title to Team Dolan’s tally, beating PWR1 Racing’s Jason Pribyl by 37 points. Pribyl had started the season on top with victory at Silverstone, and he won again at Lydden Hill while Quinn was victorious at Donington Park and Castle Combe. Read the reports on all of the race action here, and check out the multi-nation 2025 calendar here.

Over in Northern Irish FF1600 there was another Dolan champion, as Jason Smyth romped to the crown. He scored over one-and-a-half times as many points as Team DDR’s four-time champion David McCullough in second place. Pipping Quinn to third in the standings was Stephen O’Connor, then at the Martin Donnelly Trophy meeting just 0.421 seconds split winner Smyth, team-mate Jordan Kelly and McCullough in the thrilling main race.

It took almost a decade for TM Racing’s Felix Fisher to become Castle Combe FF1600 champion, but after finally getting the job done in 2022 he has now won three titles in a row. His brother Josh, who drives for Wayne Poole Racing, contested the opening round and won both races to take an early points lead but did not appear again and so it became a four-way fight between Felix, B-M Racing’s Rory Smith, WPR’s Alex Walker and Swift Cooper’s Luke Cooper for title honours.

Once Fisher’s 52 points of dropped scores was taken into account, he became champion by just three points over Smith, who was championship runner-up on victory countback over Walker, while Cooper was only a further 11 points behind.

You can click the hyperlinked text to read about all of the drama at the 2024 FFord Festival and Walter Hayes Trophy. The result of the former is still provisional, with the national court set to hear an appeal that could change who wins.

United States

The SCCA National Runoffs at Road America in October featured races for Formula Continental (which uses FF2000 cars) and Formula F (where 1600cc engines from Ford and Honda are used). Michael Varacins was the FContinental winner, leading home Robert Allaer by 2.661s, and Tazio Stefanelli pipped Sebastian Mateo Naranjo by 0.111s in FF. First to meet the chequered flag was former Team USA scholar and four-time Runoffs winner Jonathan Kotyk, but post-race he got a penalty that dropped him down to eighth place.

The national F1600 Championship Series lacks the second ‘F’ because of its use of Honda rather than Ford engines, and ran over seven rounds in 2024. Team Pelfrey’s Naranjo swept to the title in one of the newest cars on the grid (albeit it already being a decade old), and Timothy Steele was runner-up. Naranjo was unbeaten in the season-opening round at Road Atlanta and the Pittsburgh triple-header, while Steele only won once in the 19-race campaign at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

USF2000 podium-finisher Thomas Schrage won all three races at Mid-Ohio, then Iron Rock Motorsports’ second-year driver Cooper Shipman took a win before Naranjo was twice victorious at Lime Rock. He brought his win tally up to eight with single successes at Road America and NJMP, and the other two races at Road America went to USF2000 racer Ayrton Houk.

His fellow 2023 Team USA scholar Jack Sullivan won race one of the Summit Point finale, with race two going to Shipman.

Canada

Britain West Motorsport’s Connor Clubine won Ontario’s Toyo Tires F1600 series in 2024 and both of the F1600 support races at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres.

In the opening Toyo Tires round at Mosport, Antonio Costantino took pole by almost half a second but lost the lead to Clubine three laps into race one. He later regained it for one lap before Clubine kept ahead through the race’s second half.

Clubine led Costantinto lights-to-flag in race two, but it was far more exciting in race three as they traded first place eight times and even Henderson Knox (Henderson Racing) got ahead of both briefly early on. Ultimately, Clubine won again.

At Shannonville Motorsport Park the dominant streak of Clubine began, as he comfortably took pole and won all three races with fastest lap. On the return to Mosport he had a smaller advantage in qualifying, but romped to race one victory by 13.146s. Knox beat Costantino to second by 0.135s after passing him on the final lap. Race two went to Clubine, and Costantino won race three.

Although Clubine dominated qualifying for round four at Mosport, Costantino passed him with four laps to go of race one and held on to win by a miniscule 0.006s. Knox set the fastest lap and was only a second behind the top two. It took four laps for Clubine to go from fourth to the lead in race two, then he sprinted off to win by 16.477s as less than a second covered second to sixth place. Clubine’s victory tally hit double figures in race three.

In qualifying at Calabogie Motorsports Park there was just 0.086s between Clubine and Costantino, and the gap between them was only six times larger in race one. Just 0.227s split them in race two, then Knox was Clubine’s closest race three rival.

Costantino convincingly took a second pole in the Mosport finale, and in race one there was a different leader on six successive laps before Clubine got his car ahead and kept it there. However he only won by 0.398s. The battle with Costantino went on even longer in race two, with nine laps of lead changes then a period of Clubine behind until he nipped past his rival in a photo finish by 0.085s. The pair fought through the first five laps of race three, then Clubine yet again administered last-lap heartbreak as he snuck past for his 16th win by 0.234s.

Although Clubine became champion by 111 points, it was Constantino who won the Team Canada Scholarship and a seat in the FFord Festival, along with GB4 podium-finisher Callum Baxter.

The races at GP3R were part of the F1600 Canada series, which kicked off at Mosport and had rounds at Quebec’s Mont-Tremblant circuit either side of the grand prix races also in the province. Round one shared grids with Toyo Tires F1600, and there was only four points-scoring drivers from the rival series. Murdoch Racing’s Duncan Murdoch got the points for victory by finishing 16th, 13th and 12th in the three races.

Category veteran Didier Schraenen won all three races on the first trip to Mont-Tremblant, and Bertrand Godin, Schraenen and Murdoch filled the three spots immediately behind Clubine in race one. It was the same order for the top three points scorers in race two, although Godin was 12.419s off Clubine and Murdoch was almost a minute behind the winner in seventh.

Olivier Dulac won all three races of the Mont-Tremblant finale, beating Michael Di Paolo and Martin Janson in race one, Di Paolo and Murdoch in race two then those two in reversed positions in race three.

Australia

The national series visited seven different circuits, starting off at the iconic and fearsome Mount Panorama circuit. Jack Bussey led Cody Maynes-Rutty and Eddie Beswick in qualifying, then in the five-lap race one (with each lap taking over 141s to complete due to the circuit length) Alatek Racing’s Harrison Sellars came through to win ahead of Maynes-Rutty and Beswick.

Race two was shorter, and Maynes-Rutty was victorious by 0.3847s over Beswick. CHE Racing’s Daniel Frougas was third.

A full race distance was achieved in the third encounter, although two of the seven laps were behind the safety car. Beswick won by 0.184s over Kobi Williams, and Maynes-Rutty was only 0.433s behind as a second covered the top five.

Two points split the top three after round two at Winton Motor Raceway, with Maynes-Rutty in the lead, Sellars second and Beswick third.

Bussey again set the qualifying pace, by just 0.0184s over Zak Lobko, and 13 drivers were within a second of pole. In race one the first place spot on the grid was successfully converted into victory by Bussey, as Sellars and Kobi Williams completed the podium. Lobko comfortably won race two, ahead of Sellara and Liam Loiacono.

Sydney Motorsport Park hosted round three, which was also a New South Wales FFord event. Williams pipped Lobko to pole by 0.0839s, with Maynes-Rutty 0.1985s off the top and again a top 14 contained within a second on pace.

In race one Williams held off Beswick by 0.3261s, and reigning Queensland FFord champion Loiacono got another podium as Maynes-Rutty struggled to 13th.

He bounced back to finish third in race two, 0.8386s behind the winner Beswick who this time got the better of Williams by a tiny 0.0413s. Lobko also only beat Bussey to fourth by 0.147s. The weekend concluded with another Williams win, closing in on points leader Beswick who finished third behind Maynes-Rutty.

At Morgan Park Raceway the gaps between the top 14 in qualifying were very small again, and Loiacono edged Bussey to top spot by 0.09s. Lobko was a further 0.018s behind, with Beswick and Maynes-Rutty also within 0.2s of pole.

Loiacono pulled away to win race one by 3.487s, escaping the fighting behind. On the penultimate lap Bussey set a new lap record, but fell 0.042s short of beating Beswick to second. There was close action behind winner Loicacono in race two as well, and he lowered the lap record again. Beswick was second, Bussey pipped Lachlan Evenett to third and seven drivers beat the previous day’s new laptime benchmark.

The pace was slower in race three, as Loiaconi completed the triple to leave the circuit third in the standings.

A Supercars Championship support slot at Symmons Plains Raceway was next up, and Williams denied Bussey pole by 0.0652s on the sub-minute lap. He could only convert that into a third place in race one, behind Bussey and Loiacono, and Beswick squeezed past Bussey to win race two as Williams rounded out the podium again.

There was drama in race three as both Loiacono and Williams retired, a third of the race ran behind the safety car, Beswick finished a distant 12th and Bussey led home Joe Fawcett for victory to overtake Loiaconi in the title fight.

The field combined with the Victorian FFord championship a week later at Sandown, and Sellars was the benchmark man after taking pole by 0.1323s over Beswick. He held on to win race one by 0.1318s, as Bussey set a new lap record down in 10th place, then had a marginally larger winning margin race two before beating Maynes-Rutty by a tiny 0.0524s in race three as a second covered the top six.

Beswick, in fifth, now had one hand on the title and headed to the Phillip Island finale – another Victorian FFord round – with no need to push hard. While he spent a weekend in the midfield, Loiacono claimed another pole and the wins went to Williams and Bussey, who ended the year as Beswick’s closest rivals in the points.

Williams led home Loiacono in race one, denied Maynes-Rutty by 0.0705s in a photo finish to race two, and Bussey took the final race to pip Beswick to the Victorian FFord title by two points. Richard Davison was champion of the state’s Kent class for a second successive year.

Beswick and John Pereira were NSW FFord’s Duratec and Kent class champions, and Tom Chapman comfortably took the Western Australian FFord title. In November the Australian FF1600 Nationals took place at Morgan Park, and the heats were Queensland FFord’s final races. Tim Hamilton and Loiacono had already been won the state’s Kent and Duratec titles.

Brock Brewer brilliantly drove his reprofiled Van Diemen RF93 chassis (in a funky livery) to pole by a sizeable 0.412s in qualifying, with Loiacono and Chapman in second and third. A second covered the top seven, and 2019 Australian FF1600 champion Tim Hamilton was a lonely eighth. The top two diced hard in a very hot heat one, which had an early safety car period, with Brewer “driving the car off the limits” to hold off Loiacono by 0.082s. Chapman was third, feeling like he was languishing against the top two and finishing just ahead of Todd Vince and Marc Redman who were split by 0.056s.

Chapman made tweaks to his car for heat two but again finished third, five seconds behind Vince who navigated his way past a spinner and an oil spill en route to victory in a Van Diemen RF94. Loiacono was second, and Brewer was isolated in fourth.

The next day it was Loiacono who was victorious in heat three, putting him on pole for the main race. He escaped the battle for second, which had four contenders. Chapman came home in second, ahead of Brewer, Vince and Redman.

The 15-lap race Australian FF1600 Nationals final started in chaotic fashion, with red flags waving on the opening lap after Brewer, AJ Gealy and Loiacono collided before turn one and retired. Chapman led the field on a safety car restart, then his main rival went off too and he romped away to win by 10s. Redman was second, and category rookie Matt Dicinoski was a very distant third as his poor launch actually helped him avoid the start chaos.

New Zealand

Blake Knowles won the national title in 2024, which Formula Scout reported on, and there was also championships for New Zealand’s two islands. In South Island FFord, there was a five-round schedule with three rounds taking place in 2023 and two last year. Ruapuna hosted round one, and Sebastian Manson took pole by just 0.089s over William Neale.

They were also close in race one, as Manson won by 0.198s. Dylan Petch was three seconds back, leading home Knowles.

Neale had pole for race two, but Manson passed him on lap one to win again and Knowles overtook him too on the last lap to be second. Race three featured more drama at the front, with Manson and Neale trading the lead twice in the early laps before Neale got engaged in battle with Knowles. Neale then plummeted down the order and later retired, and Knowles was chasing Petch for second before he retired too. Petch got within 0.114s of winner Manson by race-end, and Caleb Byers was also within a second of victory.

Neale had an opportunity for redemption in the Wigram Cup, but Manson passed him on lap one and pulled away for his fourth win of the weekend. Petch beat Neale to second in a photo finish.

Manson’s winning form continued at Timaru, taking pole and leading lights-to-flag in races one and two but his combined winning margin over Neal coming to less than a second. He retired at the start of race three, which Neale won by just 0.033s over Petch as both passed Knowles on the final lap. The photo finish included the top five, who were split by 0.385s.

Small gaps were present again at Teretonga, as Manson claimed a third pole by 0.008s. Byers was second, and Izaak Fletcher was 0.157s off pole in third. That converted into 0.193s and 0.783s gaps in race one, although Fletcher then lost his podium to a 10s penalty for jumping the start. Manson raised his game in race two, setting a new lap record en route to a 6.407s win. Races three and four were similar, as Manson brought his victory tally up to 10 and Byers finished second twice.

The returns to Timaru and Ruapuna doubled up as New Zealand FFord’s first two rounds, and Manson won three races out of four at the former then at the latter they shared the wins again but collided. That had little impact on SI FFord’s title fight, with Manson crowned by 126 points. Byers was runner-up, 24 points ahead of Petch, and Fletcher was fourth.

North Island FF1600 also had a 2023-24 schedule, and the action began at Hampton Downs. Zach Blincoe was fastest in qualifying, but Dylan Grant was imperious in race one and also won race two. Blincoe finished a very distant fifth in race three as Grant won again by 9.418s over Blake Dowdall.

Round two was at Taupo, and Manson pipped Grant to pole. Race one comfortably went Manson’s way, with Neale and Knowles filling the podium. It was the same order but even bigger gaps in race two, and that trend continued in race three.

A week later in December they were at Manfeild, and Grant still led the points. Knowles topped qualifying this time, narrowly beating Blincoe. They collided while disputing the race one lead and Blincoe retired, with Grant coming through from fifth to win. Race two was decided by 0.098s in Blincoe’s favour ahead of Knowles and Mason Potter as Grant retired, then rain hit the next day and Blincoe won again in a slippery race three. He was chased all the way by Grant, with Dowdall further back in third. Knowles passed the battling Blincoe and Neale to win race four, as fourth for Grant just kept him atop the standings.

There was a long break before round four at Hampton Downs in late March 2024, and Blincoe dominated a wet qualifying but left the circuit with only one podium. In race one Fletcher made his way into the lead before retiring, then Dowdall held off Blincoe by a miniscule 0.034s. Grant was 0.666s behind in third, and there was a big gap to Potter in fourth.

Potter held the lead longest in race two, but Manson was able to charge up from 10th to deny him victory by 0.12s. Dowdall made a last-lap pass to take third from Grant. Manson and Potter duelled again in race three until the former broke the tow and built a gap up front. Eighth place for Grant meant third-place finisher Dowdall took the championship lead by a point.

The next rounds at Manfeild and Taupo doubled up as the second half of NZ FFord’s season, with Manson and Potter taking two wins apiece at Manfeild. That put Potter in the NI FFord lead by five points over Grant, with Dowdall a further 30 behind.

Manson, aiming for the national title, took pole for the finale. Wet weather hit for race one, and Manson led home Grant. Neale and Knowles were further back in third and fourth, and Potter was seventh after he had a penalty removed. The sun was out for the title-deciding day, and Knowles claimed race two. Manson was second, surviving contact with Neale who bounced back to win the finale by 0.178s after another squabble with Manson. Knowles was third, and Grant was crowned NI FFord champion for a second successive season in fourth.