For over 40 years, the Formula Ford 1600 Championship has been serving as a driving school for future F1 or Champ Car hopefuls.
In fact, several legendary drivers such as Emerson Fittipaldi, Ayrton Senna, Michael Andretti, Michael Schumacher, Gilles Villeneuve and his son Jacques have began their career in Formula Ford.
This series is part the auto racing history in Quebec and Canada. Most of our drivers have used it as a springboard to bigger series, most notably Gilles Villeneuve, who won the 1973 Quebec Championship with an open-wheel car built by Jean-Pierre St-Jacques. (This machine can be seen at the Gilles Villeneuve Museum).
Many other drivers have also learned valuable lessons by taking part in this series, now called Formula Tour 1600. Patrick Carpentier, Alexandre Tagliani, Bertrand Godin, Claude Bourbonnais and Greg Moore are some of the most famous names.
A couple of years ago, the Formula 1600 National Championship was put on stand by before a group of Quebec businessmen, led by racing fan François Audette, injected a new life into it.
"We want to develop our young drivers with competitive machines, a reasonable budget and a race calendar that doesn't spread all over the continent. This new series will be driver-oriented and team-oriented," explained Serge Bernier.
The National Championship : stand by in 2002
For a dozen years, a national championship was organized for Formula Ford drivers. The races were mainly held in Quebec, Ontario and sometimes in the Atlantic provinces.
Unfortunately for drivers and their teams, the championship disappeared at the end of the 2002 season and there was a huge void to fill.
The final race of the Formula Ford National Championship held during the Canadian Formula One Grand Prix, on June 8, 2002, saw Chris Guerreiri finishing ahead of Louis-Philippe Dumoulin and Didier Schraenen.
In fact, several legendary drivers such as Emerson Fittipaldi, Ayrton Senna, Michael Andretti, Michael Schumacher, Gilles Villeneuve and his son Jacques have began their career in Formula Ford.
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This series is part the auto racing history in Quebec and Canada. Most of our drivers have used it as a springboard to bigger series, most notably Gilles Villeneuve, who won the 1973 Quebec Championship with an open-wheel car built by Jean-Pierre St-Jacques. (This machine can be seen at the Gilles Villeneuve Museum).
Many other drivers have also learned valuable lessons by taking part in this series, now called Formula Tour 1600. Patrick Carpentier, Alexandre Tagliani, Bertrand Godin, Claude Bourbonnais and Greg Moore are some of the most famous names.
A couple of years ago, the Formula 1600 National Championship was put on stand by before a group of Quebec businessmen, led by racing fan François Audette, injected a new life into it.
"We want to develop our young drivers with competitive machines, a reasonable budget and a race calendar that doesn't spread all over the continent. This new series will be driver-oriented and team-oriented," explained Serge Bernier.
The National Championship : stand by in 2002
 |
Unfortunately for drivers and their teams, the championship disappeared at the end of the 2002 season and there was a huge void to fill.
The final race of the Formula Ford National Championship held during the Canadian Formula One Grand Prix, on June 8, 2002, saw Chris Guerreiri finishing ahead of Louis-Philippe Dumoulin and Didier Schraenen.