Photos: Ida Wood
Formula Scout has gone through the entry list to find out who’s likely to shine this weekend, and some of the stories behind the drivers and teams taking part at what is forecast to be a wet Silverstone
Almost two weeks on from an eventful Formula Ford Festival, the second end-of-year classic event takes place one again on Silverstone’s National layout with well over 100 cars in attendance.
Max Esterson returns to try and defend his 2021 crown, but there are several other previous winners and some fast youngsters in the field looking to challenge him. During testing, there were drivers from four different teams who looked to be the benchmarks in the driest conditions, while in the wetter weather there was some names in pre-’92 machinery that really stood out and spoke of their confidence going into the weekend.
Here is a full rundown of every driver and car competing…
Ammonite Motorsport
#1 Max Esterson USA Ray GR18
2022: 7th in GB3 WHT: 1st 2021
The defending Walter Hayes Trophy winner added another showpiece FF16000 trophy to the cabinet by winning last month’s shortened FFord Festival final. The highly-successful Esports star took a race win of his step up to slicks-and wings in GB3 this year, and although his form tailed off in the last rounds, his Festival triumph has put his name back on the map.
#20 William Ferguson USA Ray GR17
2022: 2nd in Toyo Tires F1600
Ferguson has more experience in slicks-and-wings, but for 2022 he took up stick-shift and heel-and-toe in a F1600 car after two years of success in F4 Western on home soil.
He was just short of winning the 2022 Toyo Tires F1600 title, but on the plus side he won the Team USA Scholarship and was competitive in a Castle Combe FF1600 cameo to prepare for the Festival. The American recovered from an incident in his semi-final to finish 15th in the final at the Festival.
#21 Elliott Budzinski USA Ray GR18
2022: 24th in F1600 Championship Series
Budzinski made his car racing debut in the SCCA June Sprints at Road America this June and won the Formula F class by finishing third overall. He followed that up with fifth overall in race two.
After that he made an appearance in F1600 Championship Series the next month at Autobahn Country Club and had a remarkable weekend in which he won his first race and finished second in the next two.
He has continued to improve, and did well in his Combe outing with his fellow Team USA scholars, but missed out on the final at the Festival.
#22 Thomas Schrage USA Ray GR18
2022: F1600CS champion
Of the three Team USA youngsters, Schrage may be the most likely to fight for WHT glory. He is American champion of F1600 (the often Honda-powered equivalent to FF1600), and has sometimes been utterly dominant in the series.
He beat the title contenders to take pole at Combe last month, then fought incredibly hard with them to end the day with a second and a third and a lot of turned heads in the paddock. He impressed at the Festival, finishing fourth in the red-flagged final despite a couple of incidents.
#32 Shawn Rashid USA Ray GR18
2022: 5th in National FF1600, LCR in FFF
Rashid has developed massively as a driver this year, having done a full National campaign with Ammonite after making formative car racing steps in 2021.
He started the season as a midfielder, but by the end was fighting for wins and claimed his first success at Brands. His United FFord form has been less strong, but he’s still improving all the time.
Team Dolan
#16 Chris Middlehurst ENGLAND Van Diemen LA10
2022: 6th in FFF WHT: 4th in 2021, 5th in 2014, ’17 & ’18
The 2021 National FF1600 champion made his first racing appearance of the year at last month’s Festival in a rebuilt Van Diemen LA10 after most of the original car was destroyed in a Team Dolan factory fire. He has yet to win one of the end-of-year showpiece events, but he’s a driver who always seems to be near the sharp end come the final, so if things go his way he could easily walk away with the Trophy.
#16 Gabe Tesch USA Van Diemen LA10
2022: 13th in BRSCC National FF1600, currently 24th in United FFord
American teenager Tesch has had a remarkable story leading him to racing, having had a grade three cancerous brain tumour removed when he was aged 11. He underwent a 48-day radiation treatment cycle, followed by 48 weeks of aggressive chemotherapy that left him tube-fed for some time and contributed to early onset kidney failure
The physical recovery from that took a further year, at which point he began karting. By 2019 he was competing on a national level, and a year later was runner-up in the Californian ROK Championship on 100cc Senior karts.
A fruitful 2021 included his first single-seater mileage with the Lucas Oil School of Racing, and this year he came across to England to race in National FF1600.
#16 Adrien Laissac FRANCE Van Diemen LA10
2022: 4th in Pau GP Historique FFord, 7th in French GP Historique FF1600 race one
The experienced Frenchman hasn’t raced in Britain since pre-pandemic, and returns after a few historic outings in his home country this year. He has looked competitive there, so could spring a surprise in modern machine this weekend. However it is his first time ever racing at Silverstone. He’s in the car that Jordan Kelly drove at the Festival.
#555 Andre Lafond USA Van Diemen BD22
2022: 6th in National FF1600
Lafond has spent the last two years racing in the National FF1600 championship with Ammonite, taking his first win in the final race of this season. He makes the switch to Dolan for his Walter Hayes debut this weekend. He takes the place of Niall Murray in Dolan’s line-up, as the Irishman is committed to a touring car endurance race this weekend.
#86 Nathan Yu CANADA Van Diemen BS
2022: 2nd in Canadian F1200
The recently turned 17-year-old progressed through karting before making his single-seater debut in Canada in Formula Vee. The category is called F1200 over there, and he came second in this year’s national championship. WHT testing was his first time in a FF1600 car.
B-M Racing
#17 Tom McArthur ENGLAND Medina Sport BH20
2022: 2nd FFestival Historic final, 3rd in Classic FFord WHT: 10th in 2018
The 2019 Northern FF1600 champion is back in modern machinery at B-M, having bounced back from a scary crash at last month’s FFord Festival to finisher runner-up the Historic Final for Simon Hadfield Motorsport in a Van Diemen RF86, and also won the Last Chance Race to make the main Final.
#45 Rory Smith ENGLAND/AUSTRALIA Medina Sport JL18
2022: 10th in BRSCC National FF1600, currently 6th in United FFord, 16th FFF WHT: 11th in 2018
Smith only did three of the seven BRSCC National FF1600 rounds this year, explaining his championship position, but in those he never finished lower than sixth.
The 2020 FFord Festival winner stuggled to 16th in the final of this year’s edition, but will be hoping to end the year with a much stronger performance this weekened
#16 Sam Gornall ENGLAND Van Diemen RF06
Gornall recently turned 16, so this is his first ever weekend in car racing. The chassis he is driving hasn’t been raced since 2013 in FF1600, as it previously had a Duratec engine in it, so there’s been a lot of fine-tuning for both during testing.
#555 Drew Cameron ENGLAND Van Diemen RF99
2022: FFF semi-finalist
Cameron was a karter in the early 1990s, then in the 2000s embarked on a sportscar career before spending the past five years in FF2000.
He made his FF1600 debut in a Champion of Brands race in September but only lasted three corners before rolling his car. Undeterred, he was back at last month’s Festival, making it as far as the Last Chance Race.
His father’s best friend designed the Vector TF94 that swept the FFord scene in 1994, and Cameron spent most of his FFord career being run by FF1600 stalwart Colin Gigner, who started off with Gerrit van Kouwen in 1984 and then later ran Vectors before moving into FF2000, until he sadly died earlier this year.
#164 Megan Gilkes CANADA Medina Sport BH22
2022: 6th in GB4, 12th in Toyo Tires F1600, 15th in National FF1600 WHT: 11th 2021
The W Series race-winner has had a busy year on and off the track, switching from Kevin Mills Racing to B-M Racing for her second season in National FF1600.
But Gilkes then switched focus to the new GB4 series, and won two races in the Formula 4 championship to come sixth in the standings. She also picked up a win and two podiums from a single appearance in Canada’s Ontario-based Toyo Tires F1600 series, and has a placement with the Aston Martin Formula 1 team as a trackside support engineer until the end of the season.
She continues in the newest Medina that she raced at the Festival, where an an incident-filled weekend hampered her chances. Qualifying on pole for in the heats at last year’s WHT shows the pace is there on the Silverstone National layout.
#116 Neil McArthur ENGLAND Van Diemen RF08
2022: no racing WHT: 2012 finalist
#115 Dave McArthur ENGLAND Medina BH19
2022: no racing WHT: 13th in 2015
McArthur heads down south for another attack on the WHT and will hope for another run to the final if he avoids trouble.
Engima Motorsport
#24 Joseph Ahrens ENGLAND Van Diemen RF80
2022: 5th in Classic FFord WHT: 2021 semi-finalist
Ahrens is in a throwback Van Diemen livery for his second appearance at the WHT.
#78 James Clarke ENGLAND Van Diemen RF90
2022: One event in Clubmans Sports Prototype championship WHT: 29th in 2018
Has waited all year to go racing, and now does two weekends one after the other as he follows up a Clubmans outing with a FF1600 return.
#4 Richard Tarling ENGLAND Royale RP26
2022: 4th in Classic FFord WHT: 22nd in 2014
Tarling and Deeks are SDC Builders/Enigma entries, and although he’s in an old car the expected rain could help Tarling progress through the contest as well as star in the races for the older machinery.
#505 Steve Deeks ENGLAND Crossle 5T
2022: 32nd in Classic FFord
Simon Hadfield Motorsport
#25 Michael Moyers ENGLAND Medina Mk2 (2022)
2022: No racing WHT: 2017 & ’18 winner
Having originally decided last year’s Walter Hayes was his last, the two-time winner has been persuaded back by Simon Hadfield’s son James in a new hybrid Medina that they have been developing together. He was aiming to move into Historic FF1600 this year, although those plans didn’t quite materialise. Although he will start as an underdog, having switched from a Kevin Mills Racing Spectrum for his return, you certainly can’t write him off from winning a third crown.
#37 Ben Stone ENGLAND Titan Mk4
2022: 7th in Praga Cup Amateur standings WHT: finalist 2021
#36 Benn Tilley ENGLAND Lotus 51
2022: 14th in Historic F2 WHT: semi-finalist 2021
After moving into Historic F2 for the first time this year, Tilley is back in FF1600 and within the Hadfield garage will be running an old Lotus with his dad.
#38 Mark Armstrong IRELAND Merlyn Mo20
2022: no racing WHT: 20th in 2018
#39 James Sweetnam ENGLAND Hawke DL2B
2022: 7th in Radical Challenge Championship
#83 Adrian Reynard ENGLAND Reynard 73FF
‘My other car is a Reynard’, it says in the cockpit of Reynard’s FF1600 racer he will be in this weekend. The famous car designer and motorsport team boss is being run within the Simon Hadfield Motorsport garage, but we can technically consider this a factory Reynard entry. Tom McArtur shook down the car earlier this year, and it’s one that Reynard designed when he was in his early 20s and an apprentice at British Leyland.
Graham Brunton Racing
#26 Kevin Foster CANADA Ray GR15
2022: 11th in FFF
Team Canada Scholar Foster has raced in karts until now, winning a shootout to join F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Lemarie’s Racing School this year and then a scholarship to race in French F4 next season. The 18-year-old had his first taste of single-seaters in 2021 at a US F4 test and finished 11th in the final of last month’s FFord Festival.
#66 Jake Cowden CANADA Ray GR16
2022: Toyo Tires F1600 champion, 2nd in FTour 1600
Cowden is also part of the Team Canada Scholarship and a product of karting, and won the Toyo Tires F1600 title as a sophomore in 2022. He also did Quebec’s championship, and wowed with his performances on the Formula 1 support bill in Montreal and also at Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres. A collision with Gilkes in the heats put him on the backfoot at the Festival, making it as far as the Last Chance Race.
#9 Logan Hannah SCOTLAND Ray
2022: 10th in GB4 WHT: finalist 2020 & 2021
A late deal sees the David Leslie Trophy winner make an FF1600 return with the team that she finished 10th with in the inaugural season of GB4 this season, the highlight being a reversed-grid race win at Donington. She will be in a different Ray machine to one raced at last year’s Walter Hayes. This weekend is set to be her last in single-seaters as she eyes a switch to either one-make Porsche or GT racing next year, and took part in a Porsche GB taster day on Thursday.
Don Hardman Racing
#2 Rick Morris ENGLAND Firman RFR22
2022: 2nd Classic FFord WHT: 24th in 2018
The FF1600 veteran, who raced against Moreno and Ayrton Senna in the early 80s, is back once again – but not in the Royale RP29 that he regularly competes with in the Classic FF1600 series. Instead, he partners two previous Walter Hayes winners in the latest Firman, which is capable of powering him to the final.
#277 Joey Foster ENGLAND Firman RFR22
2022: NC in National FF1600, currently 20th in United FFord WHT: 2003, ’04 & ’05 winner
The three-time winner has not raced as much this year, and has been doing driver coaching with Kush Maini in FIA F3. His only National FF1600 appearance came at last month’s final round at Donington, but has once again been helping to develop the Firman chassis. He was in form at last month’s FFord Festival, winning his heat and finishing runner-up in the Final, showing he has lost none of his edge.
#94 Ollie White ENGLAND Firman
2022: 10th in Porsche Carrera Cup GB WHT: 1st in 2020
The 2020 winner is another late entry, though his chances of another victory look unlikely as he will only take part on Sunday, having to qualify through the progression race. The 2019 Heritage FF1600 switches from Souley Motorsport for his FF1600 return, having spent this year racing on the TOCA-support package in Porsche Carrera Cup GB.
Kevin Mills Racing
#27 Alex Vos SOUTH AFRICA Spectrum
2022: NC in National FF1600
This year KMR has been working on a programme to bring more South African drivers to the UK to race, and Vos was one of the names that got to compete in the National FF1600 championship with the team. He returns for the WHT.
#40 Andrew Rackstraw SOUTH AFRICA Spectrum
2022: 6th in SA Global Touring Cars
Rackstraw absolutely dominated South African F1600 last year, but has primarily spent 2022 in touring car racing in his home country. He also got FF1600 mileage though by camoeing in the UK’s national series.
#72 Andrew Schofield SOUTH AFRICA Reynard 89FF
2022: No racing WHT: 2021 semi-finalist
The instigator of the programme bringing his countryman to race in the UK, Schofield has plentiful experience over the years at home and abroad in FF1600 cars.
#89 Josh Le Roux SOUTH AFRICA Spectrum
2022: NC in National FF1600
Le Roux impressed as a rookie in SA F1600 last year, hounding the dominant Rackstraw as much as he could and getting the better of him in the season finale. It earned him the chance to race in the UK.
#92 Michael Eastwell ENGLAND Spectrum 011C
2022: FFF finalist WHT: 6th in 2019
Eastwell was a FF1600 regular a few years ago with KMR, performing strongly at Combe, advancing to the National championship and then becoming a frontrunner wherever he went.
He is a five-time Champion of Brands, with only Ollie White holding more wins, a Northern FF1600 race-winner and was runner-up to the dominant Murray in the 2018 National season. Eastwell won more in 2019, then relocated to Australia to become an award-winning photographer. Now he’s back, and he did the National FF1600 finale to get back into things. He produced a stirring to drive to win his semi-final at last month’s FFord Festival but a collision put him out in the final.
#121 Tom Mills ENGLAND Spectrum
2022: 4th in GB4 WHT: 19th in 2021
The son of the team’s eponymous owner shone in his first car-racing season last year, finishing fourth in the National FF1600 championship. He was a front-runner in last year’s WHT, only for a collision in the semi-finals to incur him a grid penalty that left him starting down the order in the final. After appearing in this year’s National FF1600 season-opener, the 17-year-old moved into slicks-and-wings in GB4, winning two races after a late upturn in form.
#181 Julian Van der Watt SOUTH AFRICA Mygale SJ01
2022: 5th in SA GTC WHT: 11th in 2019
He was SA F1600 champion in 2017, came seventh in USF2000 in 2018, then returned home the year after and was F1600 runner-up. Van der Watt is rapid, and could be a dark horse this weekend.
#182 Robert Wolk SOUTH AFRICA Mygale SJ01
2022: SA GTC champion
A graduate of SA FFord in the early 2000s, Wolk became national champion in 2008 and was already a familiar face in touring cars by then. He’s been combining single-seaters and tin-tops ever since, including title success in Formula Volkswagen too, and more recently has been the driver to beat in SA’s Global Touring Cars series.
Souley Motorsport
#3 Richard Davison AUSTRALIA Van Diemen RF89
2022: Victorian FF1600 champion WHT: 2021 semi-finalist
Son of Australian Grand Prix winner Lex and father of Australian Supercars stars Alex and Will Davison, Richard won the 1980 Australian F2 title and is a regular at the classic FF1600 events down under and at the WHT.
#53 Will Lowing AUSTRALIA Ray GR07
2022: 4th in NSW FF1600, Last Chance Race in FFF
Lowing led the New South Wales FF1600 championship, but missed the final round to travel across the world to race in the Festival and WHT. That meant he lost out on the title,
#117 Peter Lucas ENGLAND Van Diemen RF89
2022: FFF semi-finalist WHT: 2021 semi-finalist
#131 Garath Buckingham WALES Van Diemen RF88
2022: 4th in Super Classic B FF1600 WHT: Last Chance Race in 2021
#141 Neil Richardson AUSTRALIA
2022: Progression Race in FFF
#145 Bruce Connolly AUSTRALIA Van Diemen RF89
2022: Progression Race in FFF
#153 Tim Blanchard AUSTRALIA Ray GR08
2022: 14th in Australian FFord
Blanchard was British FFord runner-up in 2008, and had Scott Malvern as his mechanic, then went back to Australia to establish a career in Supercars, running his own team and finishing ninth in last year’s Barthurst 1000.
#243 Kieran Attwood ENGLAND Ray GR07
2022: 3rd in Castle Combe FF1600 WHT: 24th in 2021
TM Racing
#28 Tom Hawkins ENGLAND Ray GR10
2022: 4th in CCRC FF1600, NC in National FF1600, currently 27th in United FFord WHT: 23rd in 2018
The cars at TM Racing say Sprinbridge Motorsport on the side of them, and it is this successful alliance that has grown the team into one of the best in CCRC FF1600.
#91 Bob Hawkins ENGLAND Ray GR08
2022: 26th in CCRC FF1600 WHT: Last Chance Race in ’21
The 65-year-old father of Tom used to be a regular at Brands and Combe, but an ankle-breaking accident at Graham Hill Bend soon ended his regular Champion of Brands appearances. He returned to action in 2020 after a break of 33 years, has been getting faster ever since and did CCRC and United FFord this year.
#226 Felix Fisher ENGLAND Ray GR05
2022: CCRC FF1600 champion WHT: 3rd in 2009
After years of trying, Fisher finally took a first Castle Combe FF1600 title this year after another close battle with Luke Cooper. He has previous form at the Walter Hayes too, so don’t rule out him scoring a good result in the final.
Nigel Grant Motorsport
#63 Ted Pearson ENGLAND Van Diemen RF88
2022: 20th in Historic FFord
#65 Damian Samuel-Camps ENGLAND Merlyn Mk20
2022: 18th in Historic FFord
#143 Tom Bradshaw ENGLAND Van Diemen RF91
2022: FIA Historic F3 European Cup
#43 Callum Grant ENGLAND Van Diemen RF08
2022: 6th in Historic FFord WHT: 15th in 2018
Oldfield Motorsport
#73 Lucas Romanek ENGLAND Van Diemen RF91
2022: 3rd in National FF1600, currently 4th in United FFord, 8th in FFF, 14th in GB4 WHT: 6th in 2021
Romanek remained with Oldfield for his second season in FFord this year and scored three wins mid-season en-route to third in the National FF1600 standings. As one of the three highest-placed teenagers he recently took part in a shooutout at Snetterton in a GB4 car and also raced in GB4 at Silverstone, taking victory in the reversed-grid race. Finishing sixth in the final at last year’s Walter Hayes and eighth at last month’s Festival, he will be aiming to be leading contender.
#88 Nigel Thompson ENGLAND Van Diemen JL13
2022: no racing WHT: 27th in 2011
#96 Brandon McCaughan IRELAND Van Diemen JL13
2022: 4th in Northern Irish FF1600, 5th in FFF, 8th in National FF1600 WHT: 25th in 2021
The 18-year-old started his career racing Fords in junior rallycross before moving into FF1600 in Northern Ireland last year. He finished eighth overall in National FF1600 this year following a switch to Oldfield and, as third highest teenager, also took part in the GB4 prize shootout. He recently had a strong run to fifth in the final of the Festival, so will be aiming for a similar this weekend.
Swift Cooper
#69 Alan Slater ENGLAND Nike Mk4
2022: 17th in CCRC FF1600, FFF Progression Race
#71 Sam Street ENGLAND Swift SC92
2022: 9th in CCRC FF1600 WHT: 2021 semi-finalist
The Aston Martin F1 aerodynamics design engineer can only rely on mechanical grip this weekend in a wingless car, but by entering as one of Alan Cooper’s drivers he’ll have ample technical support and maybe a shot at making the final.
#61 Luke Cooper ENGLAND Swift SC92
2022: 2nd CCRC F1600 WHT: 6th in 2028
The plucky underdog has always been very fast, but also very unlucky, with mechanical woes and incidents holding him back at many of the end-of-year showpiece events over the years. Despite suffering with a lack of power, the two-time Castle Combe FF1600 champion fought hard for a third crown in 2022, but had to settle for runner-up spot. After spending the Festival coaching Team Brazil scholar Wallace Martins, he is back in the car this weekend hoping to score a good result.
#34 Paul Mason ENGLAND Swift SC92
2022: 9th in CCRC FF1600
Classic Team Merlyn
#76 Grahame Gibson ENGLAND Merlyn Mk20A
#77 Daniel Mackintosh ENGLAND Merlyn Mk20A
Riadro Motorsport
#33 Richard Higgins ENGLAND Van Diemen RF91
WHT: LCR in 2016
#111 Adam Higgins ENGLAND Van Diemen JL15
2022: 12th in CCRC FF1600 WHT: 20th in 2011
There were supposed to be three Riadro entries, but Bob Higgins suffered a hefty crash during pre-event testing that wrecked his car and left him unable to compete on Saturday.
Wayne Poole Racing
#80 James Colborn ENGLAND Van Diemen RF07
2022: 13th in CCRC FF1600 WHT: 2021 semi-finalist
#81 Josh Fisher ENGLAND Van Diemen RF99
2022: 11th in CCRC FF1600 WHT: 2nd in 2008, ’16 & ’17
#82 Ben Mitchell ENGLAND Van Diemen JL16
2022: 5th in CCRC FF1600 WHT: 3rd in 2021
#83 Sam Mitchell ENGLAND Merlyn Mk20
2022: 29th in CCRC FF1600 WHT: LCR in 2023
Team Fox Racing
#154 Lewis Fox ENGLAND Ray GR14
WHT: 17th 2021
#169 Joe Watts ENGLAND Van Diemen RF92
WHT: finalist in 2021
Team DDR
#118 David McCullough ENGLAND Van Diemen RF00
2022: NI FF1600 champion, MDT winner WHT: 9th in 2021
With three Northern Irish FF1600 titles to his name and a car that has tweaked just to his liking over the years, McCullough certainly knows how to drive a FFord but he is yet to have a headline result in Britain yet. He came close at last month’s Festival, but was crashed out in the final while near the front of the field. Could this weekend be the one?
#119 Ivan McCullough ENGLAND Van Diemen RF00
2022: 5th in NI FF1600, 2nd in MDT WHT: 2nd in 2010
Ivor works hand-in-hand with David to get the most out of their Van Diemens, and has shown in the past he can be absolutely rapid around Brands. Either of them could be fighting for a top 10 spot this weekend and to put the spotlight on their home series.
John’s Racing Team
#150 James Penrose ENGLAND Ray GR19
2022: 20th in FFF
The 2021 New Zealand FFord and South Island FFord champion is on the grid thanks to the ‘Driver to Europe’ scheme, and is in the car previously raced by Jamie Thorburn with the Scottish team. Penrose is aiming to race in the Toyota Racing Series in a few months’ time, and a strong WHT result could help his sponsor search.
#30 Mike Epps ENGLAND Ray GR18
2022: no racing
Epps is also in an ex-Thorburn car, the one Jamie drove in 2018, and is usually driver coaching with School of Send. But he also has considerable racing pedigree of his own, having previously raced in the British Touring Car Championship and USF2000.
Sema Racing
#29 Alex Ames ENGLAND Van Diemen RF90
WHT: 5th in 2005
Son of the 1989 British Sprint champion and has been in FF1600 for nearly two decades, Ames knows how to do well in these cars and can be a Janet Cesar Trophy victory contender in the pre-’93 class.
He has a vintage Camel livery on his Van Diemen, which was driven by Belgium’s Marc Delpierre in period.
#106 Andrew Ames ENGLAND Van Diemen RF88
2022: no racing WHT: 14th in 2006
This car has not been raced since 2013, while Ames has not been at the WHT since 2009. He did the event alongside his brother in 2006. His Van Diemen is also in a Canon livery, as it appeared when Amity Racing ran Kozo Orita in 1988.
GT Motorsport
#12 Mike Gardner ENGLAND Crossle 32F
2022: 21st in Classic FFord WHT: 10th in 2006
#42 Craig Currie ENGLAND Crossle 32F
2022: Sidecar racing
Currie comes from sidecar racing, having competed in some of the biggest international competitions and even entering the Isle of Man TT.
Neil Fowler Motorsport
#139 Cameron Jackson ENGLAND Van Diemen RF90
2022: 11th in Classic FFord, 32nd in Historic FFord, NC in National FF1600 Clubman class WHT: 2017 finalist
Decked in a Walter Lechner Racing School livery with Mercedes details too, Jackson has one of the most recognisable cars on track this weekend. He topped Autosport’s National Driver Rankings in 2021 with his form in older FF1600 cars, and has proven capable in sportscars too.
#46 Jeremy Caine ENGLAND Lola T200
WHT: Progression Race in 2020
It’s Caine’s first outing of the year in the Lola, but he has plentiful FFord experience, particularly in FF2000
#211 Neil Fowler ENGLAND March 709
WHT: 2001 winner
The team boss hops back into the cockpit to relive history, having won the inaugural edition of the WHT in 2001.
BT Engineering
#18 Ben Tinkler ENGLAND Van Diemen RF80
2022: 14th in Classic FFord WHT: 22nd in 2017
AF Racing
#5 Adam Fathers ENGLAND Ray GR16
2022: Currently 11th in United FFord, CoB FF1600
North Motorsport
#60 Luke Rushton ENGLAND Swift SC93
2022: EnduroKa
Rushton makes his FF1600 racing debut this weekend, having competed in EnduroKa this year. He has also raced a Radical SR3 and a Spire GT3 on occasion.
Midland Classic Restorations
#130 Dominic Mooney ENGLAND Jamun T2
The team’s managing director gets mileage in many of the types of car he helps prepare for competition, and FF1600 is no different.
Tucker Motorsport
#222 Paul Tucker ENGLAND Swift SC92
2022: 4th in SC A FF1600 WHT: 2021 semi-finalist
Hi-Tech Motorsport
#49 Miles Griffiths ENGLAND Ray GR13
2022: Monaco GP Historique WHT: 19th in 2019
Porter Motorsport
#50 Dave Porter ENGLAND Van Diemen RF92
2022: Currently 9th in United FFord WHT: 19th in 2020
Privateers
#8 Nigel Dolan Van Diemen JL12
2022: WHT: semi-finalist 2021
#84 Gaius Ghinn Reynard 88FF
2022: WHT: semi-finalist 2021
#47 Ian Fernihough Titan Mk6
WHT: LCR in 2021
#114 George Ditechfield Elden Mk8
2022: 40th in Historic FFord WHT: Progression Race in 2021
#148 Tim Fitzgerald Van Diemen RF89
#41 Bob Scanlon IRELAND Crossle 45F
Scanlon has been racing Crossles since 1978, in FF1600, FF2000 and even sportscars. Last year he raced a Crossle in historic competitions in France, and he once did the WHT in a more modern Ray.
#177 Peter Hannam Nike Mk6
#11 Ben Miloudi Van Diemen RF01
#14 Neil Hunt Mondiale M92S
#23 Derek Palmer Jr Swift SC92
2022: LCR in FFF WHT: semi-finalist 2021
#54 Doug Crosbie Van Diemen RF89
#31 Robert Wainwright Mondiale M90S
#55 Luke McShane Crossle 45F
#74 Rudolf Ernst Titan Mk6 ’71
#123 John Hayes-Harlow Van Diemen RF80
#15 Matthew Wrigley Merlyn Mk11a-20
2022: 2nd in Historic F2, 8th in Historic FFord WHT: semi-finalist 2021
#44 Iain Rowley Alexis 18B
#57 Ian Campbell Ray GR08
#93 Jake Shortland Lola 440
#67 George McDonald Reynard 89FF