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With many young Irish racing drivers developing their racing career in the UK National Formula Ford 1600 championship, there is some great news that will assist with their racing profile. Niall Murray has had enormous success in past years in with James Roe, Jordan Dempsey, Jake Byrne and Keith Donegan just to name a few racing FF1600’s in the UK.  Next season will see the national championship status elevated.

The British Racing & Sports Car Club (BRSCC) has confirmed that the Britcover National Formula Ford 1600 Championship with Avon Tyres has been selected as the first official support series for the 2018 TCR UK Championship.This year, the Britcover National Formula Ford 1600 Championship with Avon Tyres has been one of the most competitive in British club motorsport. As a result, this has led to grid sizes regularly averaging 30 cars per meeting across the 8 race meetings held this year. To reward this achievement, the BRSCC has elected to place the Championship onto the support package for the all-new TCR UK Championship, a cost effective touring car formula that is already established around the world with several regional and national series as well as the top-line TCR International Series. The provisional calendar for the 2018 TCR UK Championship was unveiled recently and as such, the Britcover National Formula Ford 1600 Championship with Avon Tyres will see 7 of its 8 race meetings follow TCR UK to the same venues. The season will start on March 31/ April 1 with a visit to Silverstone in Northamptonshire on the National circuit. A subsequent trip to Knockhill Circuit in Fife, Scotland will mark the second meeting of the year as the teams and drivers head north of the border, before heading down south to Brands Hatch Indy circuit in Kent, the home of the BRSCC Formula Ford Festival. Castle Combe in Wiltshire will host the 4th meeting of 2018 at a high speed venue known for its own incredibly competitive Formula Ford Championship, before a trip west to Oulton Park in Cheshire will see the Championship tackle a real drivers’ favourite. Croft in North Yorkshire makes a welcome return after a year’s absence, before Donington Park circuit in Leicestershire plays host to the final rounds of the 2018 season on October 13/14. The venue and date for the 8th meeting is to be confirmed. The excitement around the TCR UK Championship should lead to the National Formula Ford drivers racing in front of larger crowds than in previous years, helping raise the profile and standard of the Championship to a level that befits the quality of the driving talent and the racing itself. This has been helped by the introduction of the Pro Class in 2017 and with the National Championship once again selected as an official feeder series to the Mazda Road To Indy USF2000 $200,000 Scholarship Shootout, it proves that Formula Ford is still a viable, sustainable and valuable route into motorsport and a fantastic proving ground for young, talented drivers to hone their skills in car setup and race craft. It is a fitting arrangement given the Formula Ford category of single seater racing has been celebrating its prestigious 50th anniversary this year