"Formula First" redirects here. Not to be confused with Formula One.

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

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]

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 cm3 (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]

In the US, 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 cm3 (98 cu in) motor (New Zealand uses the 1,200 cm3 [73 cu in] variant) and other upgraded components such as disc brakes and rack and pinion steering.[citation needed]

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

SCCA Runoffs coverage by year on YouTube

List of Formula Vee championships and Events

CountrySeries/Event NameActive YearsAdditional information
AustraliaMultiple state-based championships, see Formula Vee in Australia1965–present
Formula 1200 Championship Series1965–present
Challenge Cup Series2015–presentUS-based series that collaborates with F1200. See US section for info.
Pacific Challenge Cup Series2022–PresentAlso competes in the United States of America. This series is held on the West Coast of Canada and the USA
IrelandSelco.ie National Championship SeriesUnknown-present
BrazilCampeonato Paulista de Formula Vee2011–present
Copa ECPAUnknown-present
Fórmula Vee Open2021–presentExclusively for beginners
New ZealandFormula First New Zealand Championship Series1967–present
South AfricaFormula Vee Championship1966–presentLongest running motor racing championship in South Africa
Formula Vee Championship Series1967–present
750 Motor Club Formula Vee Championship1979–present
Formula Vee at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs FormulaVeeRacingUSA1964- presentThe SCCA Runoffs is the oldest Formula Vee event in the world, and SCCA holds both Regional & National level races all over the US.
Challenge Cup Series FB2015- presentBased in the Mid-Atlantic region. Also competes in Southeast US with Driverz Cup & in Canada with F1200, started as the Autumn Challenge Cup Series 2013-2014. Runs on radial tires.
Driverz Cup Series FB2018- presentSoutheast-based Challenge Cup Series sibling. Runs on radial tires.
Northeast Formula Vee Championship Series FBUnknown-presentHolds events in the New England region.
Pacific Challenge Cup Series FB2022- presentHolds events in the West & Pacific Northwest region.

References

  1. ^ "Grassroots Motorsports | Sports Car Magazine"
  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". Archived from the original on 2013-04-28. Retrieved 2013-07-29.
  5. ^ McCarthy, Dan (2022-01-02). "The Cost of Racing: Formula Vee". Auto Action. Archived 2022-05-30 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2022-05-30.