The first day at the VM Motorsport Show (Helsingin Jäähalli) attracted a broad range of people - the place was pretty packed once the show got going. As usual, rumors spread on the floors...
The most interesting question for Formula Ford fans is of course who will be driving in 2010, and in particular which drivers will go for UK Championships. Antti Buri, showing his upgraded Mygale 2008 (ex-Wayne Boyd), is a sure bet but beyond that things are less clear. Jesse Anttila is said to have signed a contract to go (with Fluid and Van Diemen), but his financials were not fully clear. Oskari Kurki-Suonio should at least do a few races with Ray, but whether or not he does the full series is yet not sure. It is a matter of getting an offer at the right price, apparently. Kivinen has a new Duratec from Van Diemen, and could potentially go for a few races, but firm commitments was not heard about him either...In Finland, ADRF says they will at least race the Mygale 2006 (Zetec) they hold, and then there are supposed to be a few new Duratec drivers coming to the series. The number of Zetec drivers is not so clear, nor is the fuel the Zetecs will be using decided yet. Things like the Finnish Formula Ford Championships' series sponsors and such are all up in the air, but work is being done. Talk about ways of getting Swedish drivers to drive i Finland was also heard in the corridors.
At the show, Mtec was showing their first "made in Finland" tubular frame. This, unlike the original Comtec, was made with TIG welding (rather than brazing, a form of soldering, which is popular among UK manufacturers such as Van Diemen and former Comtec). TIG should make the tubular frame a bit stiffer, which should be good news. Perhaps worthwhile to mention that Mygale frames are apparently TIG welded too, and are known to be sharp in their drive characteristics and response (whereas Van Diemens have been considered a bit softer). Buri and LMS Racing (A15) was showing their Mygale, which while being 2008 model had been upgraded with many of the latest parts. If you stop by, have a look at the exhaust for example! Buri's car also featured the new Dunlop radials, which will undoubtedly give all manufacturers something to think about due to the high cambers required (particularly in front). Seems no one had an "officially ready and tested" solution available yet... Some off-the-cuff comments were made about a new type of Formula Ford coming out in the future, with a stronger body and sequential gears (same as the one used in F3s, with FIA approval), but no details were available.
As a side remark, at the LMS Racing stand (A15) next to Antti's Mygale, the DVD from this year's BRSCC Formula Ford Festival was playing. Some great racing there, featuring several Finnish drivers (with Sebastian Nummi, in his battle for Zetec Finals victory with Neil Tofts, getting most airtime).
So, all in all a lot of talk in the air. As most know, Rata-SM entry deadline is approaching, so we should at least be wiser regarding Finnish Championship drivers by end of January... With the buzz around FFs going on, it seems certain that 2010 will be very active for this class! Stay tuned...
