WHT at Brands next year?

[Barry Pomfret]

There was a rumour doing the rounds at Brands over the weekend that the WHT will be at Brands next year on the "Festival" weekend with a certain Mr JEB doing the organising. The whole weekend will be back to just Formula Fords, and not two days of Caterhams, as the Festival turned out to be this year.

[Suze]

I'm sure I saw JEB with others on Sunday.....but they may just have been "interested observers."

[Ian Sowman]

I'm not sure that rumours are particularly helpful to anybody. I think the immediate focus should be on ensuring that the 2007 WHT is a success.

I saw JEB with lots of others over the weekend - myself included. He is a popular man!

[kartingdad]

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!


Keep it at Silverstone, keep it's ID, keep it's efficiency, keep it organised by JEB. In my opinion, (not that thats worth a carrot) but if you moved it away from Silverstone, it would lose it's identity and you would just have 'The Festival' by another name.

What people should be working towards is getting the festival back to it's days of former glory.

Trouble is that there is effectively 3 different categories of FFord now - Kent, Zetec an Duratec.

Top young chargers trying to go up in the world are currently in Duratecs with no real interest in zetecs or kents, so all your interests are now diluted.

Only way to get the Festival back to huge entries where all top guys, wannabees, newbies and hasbeens can compete is with a single class. Not enough duratecs or zetecs around so you come back to kents.

Therefore the fford festival needs to go to a kent spec (and lets face it there are enough new 1600's to make it visually up to date) event. If there was no option for duratecs etc, then the top drivers would be happy to do a Kent version. It's not what you race thats so important in this case,especially with duratecs being similair to drive to a kent, it's who you beat thats important.

I think thats why the WHT is so good, and why they get a lot of high profile names to do it.

If there was to become a mini championship with the both wht and the festival then there would be a good incentive to do both, and both could benefit. One set of tyres plus a wet set for the weekend would be good as well.

Just my tuppence worth folks....

[Andrew Kitson]

Originally Posted by kartingdad

Therefore the fford festival needs to go to a kent spec

Not just the Festival, but Formula Ford as a category full stop.
Skinny tyres too and bring back that 70s/80s magic.

[kartingdad]

Not convinced about living in the past, but more convinced that there is load more to come from kents.

Mind you, if there was a way to change from a kent engine to a remapped duratec to give exactly same power characteristics as a kent, then that would be a good move, just on reliability issues.

I know that would cause a lot of people to throw their hands up in horror due to 'setup costs' to swap, but if the power and torque curve of the engines are the same, but they will last a couple of seasons without a rebuild, and are more reliable, surely thats an avenue worth looking at.

Some older cars may be not possible to convert, but imho it's only the same as requiring a modern kent car to be as bendy and soft as a pre 89 car.

[Athgoe Racing]

Duratec brought down to 120 bhp and put them on kent tyres and the kents would be dead in the morning.

[kartingdad]

Originally Posted by Athgoe Racing

Duratec brought down to 120 bhp and put them on kent tyres and the kents would be dead in the morning.

Well maybe if they gave them 115 bhp they would last to mid afternoon.....

[Triple J Motorsport]

Originally Posted by Athgoe Racing

Duratec brought down to 120 bhp and put them on kent tyres and the kents would be dead in the morning.

Be amazing Nev...not seen my signature this year?

[Triple J Motorsport]

Originally Posted by kartingdad

Not convinced about living in the past, but more convinced that there is load more to come from kents.

Mind you, if there was a way to change from a kent engine to a remapped duratec to give exactly same power characteristics as a kent, then that would be a good move, just on reliability issues.

I know that would cause a lot of people to throw their hands up in horror due to 'setup costs' to swap, but if the power and torque curve of the engines are the same, but they will last a couple of seasons without a rebuild, and are more reliable, surely thats an avenue worth looking at.

Some older cars may be not possible to convert, but imho it's only the same as requiring a modern kent car to be as bendy and soft as a pre 89 car.

Totally agree if you want them to race with kents, the motors should be the same as the national series but with a different mapped chip (as you said) or air restrictor some thing simple and cheap so the motor are basically the same.

Or have club series running away from kents to full national spec just on ACB10s so alloy calipers, wheels, remote dampers etc so much power difference between the best and worst engine would matter so much also driver weights etc etc just about drivers and chassis set up.

[Biggun]

Isn't a duratec engine about half the weight of a kent? I understand they float away if not nailed down....

[Triple J Motorsport]

Will if racing with kents you'd have to add a nice thick stainless steel floor big battery and a bit of lead then.

[minimangler]

Why move it from Silverstone??? Its a lot further for Irish and scottish competitors for a start, and Brands would probably charge more for us spectators too...

[youngoldy]

Originally Posted by minimangler

Why move it from Silverstone??? Its a lot further for Irish and scottish competitors for a start, and Brands would probably charge more for us spectators too...

They all make the trip for the Festival don't they ? I'm sure the distance isn't too much of a worry for them, just as long as there is going to be some quick boys out, that's all that matters, it seems to us!

Anyway BRDC secretary Stu Pringle has said in Autosport this week 'I can think of no better way for Silverstone to finish its season's racing than with this meeting'.

May just be me, but it sounds very much like the WHT is to remain at Silverstone for a long time, and the good news is, it is confirmed for next year at Silverstone.