The Scottish Formula Ford season has been cancelled for 2020, following the announcement of a revised calendar format by the Scottish Motor Racing Club.
The SMRC had released a calendar update last month, which had halves the season from six rounds to three one-day event to save on track hire and accommodation for officials and marshals.
That new format meant that race action would begin two hours later than normal, with track action finishing at 6pm (4:30pm in October to account for fewer daylight hours).
SMRC organisers therefore took the decision to prioritise the four championships with larger entries, meaning that the lowest two would be dropped from the itinerary.
The club had received five entries for FF1600, resulting in the first time the championship has not run since 2006.
The Knockhill-based series had already suffered a set-back due to the coronavirus pandemic when its away trip to Croft scheduled for the first weekend in June was cancelled outright, while the first and third rounds were rescheduled.
A SMRC statement announcing the cancellation read: “The track time that we have agreed with Knockhill (for race meetings on Saturday 12th September, Saturday 10th October & Saturday 31st October) is sufficient for us to run four categories.
“In order to get as many people back out racing as possible and having reviewed the numbers above, the committee has taken the decision to amalgamate the MINI and ‘Hot Hatch’ grids (this will involve two split grids, specific details of which will be released shortly), to create an additional space for another championship.
“Formula Ford and Supersports sadly did not receive enough support to enable us to schedule events for them and unfortunately these numbers have dictated the cancelation of these two championships for 2020.”
The SMRC did add that the loss of Scottish FF1600 was not indicative of the long-term future of the single seater category, stating that the revised calendar was a “temporary solution” during “clearly unprecedented times”.