Formula Vee

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Olympic Formula Vee racing at Nurburgring in 1969 WernerHannelore-OlympicFormelV19690801-1.jpg
Olympic Formula Vee racing at Nürburgring in 1969
2008 Formula Vee 45th Birthday Party at Roebling Road Raceway Picture of the 2008 Formula V 45th Anniversary Reunion.jpg
2008 Formula Vee 45th Birthday Party at Roebling Road Raceway

Formula Vee (Formula Fau Vee in Germany) or Formula Volkswagen is a popular open wheel, single-seater junior motor racing formula, with relatively low costs in comparison to Formula Ford.

Contents

On the international stage, Niki Lauda, Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg, all Formula 1 champions, and Scott Dixon, a six-time IndyCar champion, raced Formula Vees in Europe, New Zealand, or America at the beginning of their careers. In Australia, V8 Supercar drivers Larry Perkins, Colin Bond, John Blanchard, John Bowe, Jason Bargwanna and Paul Stokell were also racers in Formula Vee.

Formula First, raced in the US and New Zealand, employs the same chassis, but with upgraded motor, brakes and steering. Australia's modern Formula Vee car rules are the definition for Formula First in these countries

Description

The class is based on the pre-1963 Volkswagen Beetle, utilizing a collection of stock parts to form a competitive race car around a purpose-built tube frame and racing tires. The VW engine, transmission, front suspension, brakes, and wheels are stock or modified stock parts. The body is fiberglass or carbon fiber. The intention of this class is for the average person to be able to build and maintain the car.[ citation needed ]

2004 SCCA National Championships Runoffs Winner Jeff Loughead Jeff Loughead FV.jpg
2004 SCCA National Championships Runoffs Winner Jeff Loughead

Over the years, the rules have evolved to improve performance, lower cost, and to allow the replacement of discontinued parts. In 2003, Grassroots Motorsports presented Formula Vee with the Editors' Choice Award. [1]

Unlike many open-wheel formulas, Formula Vee cars are not permitted to use wings or ground effect to produce aerodynamic downforce. The lack of these features, the limited engine power, and the similar performance of the cars makes taking advantage of slipstreaming a key tactic. [2]

The engines are based on either the 1200cc or 1600cc variants of the Volkswagen Beetle engine. Unlike many amateur categories, competitors are permitted to build and tune their engines themselves, within strict limitations on the extent of modifications from stock permitted. The 1600cc engines used in the Australian Formula Vee series produce approximately "70-75hp"; [2] the original 1200cc engine produces considerably less. This makes Formula Vee cars among the least powerful vehicles used in circuit racing (for comparison, the contemporary Formula 4 category uses 160 hp engines).

A top-running Formula Vee car will go 190 km/h (120 mph) and corner at about 1.6 g. It weighs a minimum of 465 kg (1,025 lb) with driver or 500 kg (1,100 lb) with driver as raced in the Australian 1,600 cc (98 cu in) specification. [3] [4]

Purchasing and running a Formula Vee car is relatively affordable compared to most motorsport categories. In 2022, a brand-new race car for the Australian Formula Vee series was estimated to cost approximately AU$50,000 to AU$55,000 (approximately $US37,000), with competitive second-hand cars costing much less.[ citation needed ] Renting a car for a race meeting was estimated at $A1000 (approximately $US700). [5]

Each year, Formula Vee is one of the classes at the SCCA Runoffs, which awards a national championship. While it is primarily a class in the Sports Car Club of America, many other organizations have adopted Formula Vee as a class.[ citation needed ]

Variants

Variants of the Formula Vee rules exist in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, the UK & Ireland, South Africa, and New Zealand.

Particularly notable is Formula First, racing in the US and New Zealand, which employs the same chassis, but with later model Beetle parts, a larger 1,600 cc (98 cu in) motor (New Zealand uses the 1,200 cc [73 cu in] variant) and other upgraded components such as disc brakes rack and pinion steering.[ citation needed ]

(Formula Super Vee, although initially similar, soon moved to water-cooled 1.6-litre (98 cu in) VW four-cylinder engines for higher-tech and faster cars).

List of Formula Vee championships and Events

CountrySeries/Event NameActive YearsAdditional Information
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia Multiple state-based championships, see Formula Vee in Australia 1965–present
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Formula 1200 Championship Series 1965–present
Challenge Cup Series 2015–presentAlso competes in the United States of America.
Autumn Challenge Cup Series 2013–2014Also competed in the United States of America. This series became the Challenge Cup Series.
Pacific Challenge Cup Series 2022–PresentAlso competes in the United States of America. This series is held on the West Coast of Canada and the USA
Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland Selco.ie National Championship Series Unknown-present
Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil Campeonato Paulista de Formula Vee 2011–present
Copa ECPAUnknown-present
Fórmula Vee Open2021–presentExclusively for beginners
Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand Formula First New Zealand Championship Series 1967–present
Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa Formula Vee Championship 1966–presentLongest running motor racing championship in South Africa
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Formula Vee Championship Series 1967–present
750 Motor Club Formula Vee Championship 1979–present
Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Formula Vee at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs 1964–presentOldest Formula Vee event in the world.
Challenge Cup Series 2015–presentAlso competes in Canada.
Northeast Formula Vee Championship Series Unknown-present
Autumn Challenge Cup Series 2013–2014Also competed in Canada. This series became the Challenge Cup Series.

See also

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References

  1. "Grassroots Motorsports | Sports Car Magazine".
  2. 1 2 Williams, Bruce (6 February 2018). "Under the skin: Formula Vee". Auto Action . Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  3. (SCCA GCR 2022 specs) Archived 2008-05-31 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-04-28. Retrieved 2013-07-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. McCarthy, Dan (2022-01-02). "The Cost of Racing: Formula Vee". Auto Action. Archived from the original on 2022-05-30. Retrieved 2022-05-30.