[AMS2] Formula Ford Festival – DURATEC Champions 2007 - 2011

The Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch, still thriving as a cherished club event, once stood as one of the annual highlights of UK’s motorsport. A showdown of the best talents from several Formula Ford Championships around the globe seized the opportunity to compete against each other. For many aspiring race drivers, the Festival marked a mandatory milestone on the road to Formula 1, IndyCar, and other prominent racing series.

Since its inception in 1972, the Festival reached its golden era in the late 1980s, when it was regarded as the motorsport’s junior world championship. However, as the motorsport landscape evolved—with rising costs and increased investment from car manufacturers in F1 ladder single-seaters like Vauxhall, Renault, and BMW—Formula Ford and the Festival needed to adapt to remain relevant.

In 1993, the introduction of the Zetec engine (1800cc, 145hp) replaced the long-standing Kent engine (1600cc, 105hp), bringing with it increased costs and weight that altered the handling of the cars. The addition of side pods in 1994 and slick tires in 1995 enhanced performance, yet interest in Formula Ford plummeted by 2002, culminating in the retirement of the Zetec engine in 2005.

The tide began to turn in 2006 with the arrival of the Duratec engine (1600cc, 155hp), which boasted decreased weight (thanks to aluminum) and increased power. The new class debuted with a spectacular Festival finale held in challenging conditions. (look for the “Formula Ford Festival 2006” video on yt!)

In the following season the entries to the Festival raised again, and the class continued to produce superb racing from quality grids. The fortune did not last long and with the Festival’s 40th anniversary in 2011 the era’s peak was already reached. While the Duratec engine still thrives in a few Formula Ford series overseas, the Festival returned to its Kent roots in 2013.

Let’s revive the exciting Duratec era with this skin pack for the AMS2 Formula Trainer Advanced model, perfectly approximating the successful Mygale SJ chassis of these years with wide side pods and the overhead air box, matching engine specs and slick tires.

It consists of car skins as they appeared at the Festival from 2007 to 2011. Unfortunately, there are only 27 slots available. So, the selection tries to balance between podium drivers and variety in liveries and driver nationalities. Helmets, suits, proper previews and a custom AI file are included as well. Drivers and cars are mainly from British FF Championship spiced up with entries from Benelux and Danish FF Championships as well as the US.