Formula Vee
Olympic Formula Vee racing at Nürburgring in 1969
2008 Formula Vee 45th Birthday Party at Roebling Road Raceway
Formula Vee (Formula Fau Vee in Brazil and Germany) or Formula Volkswagen is a popular open wheel, single-seater junior motor racing formula, with relatively low costs in comparison to Formula Ford or Formula BMW.
On the international stage, Niki Lauda, Emerson Fittipaldi and Keke Rosberg, all Formula 1 champions, raced Formula Vees in Europe 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 USA and New Zealand, employs the same chassis, but with upgraded motor, brakes and steering.
Contents
1 Description
2 Variants
3 SCCA Runoffs Winners
4 See also
5 External links
6 References
Description
The class is based on a pre-1963 Volkswagen Beetle, utilizing a collection of the 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 chassis is a tube frame design and the body is fiberglass or carbon fiber. The intention of this class is for the average person to build and maintain the car.
2004 SCCA National Championships Runoffs Winner Jeff Loughead
Over the years, the rules have evolved to improve performance, lower cost, or to allow replacement of discontinued parts. In 2003, Grassroots Motorsports presented Formula Vee with the Editors' Choice Award. [1]
A top-running Formula Vee will go 120 mph (190 km/h) and corner at about 1.6 g. It weighs a minimum of 1,025 pounds (465 kg) with driver or 500kg with driver as raced in the Australian 1600cc specification.[2][3]
In 2008, a brand new ready-to-race car would cost about US $15,000. The car could be bought as a kit for about US $8,000, minus the Volkswagen parts. It costs approximately US $700 per race to maintain.
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 the Formula Vee as a class.
Variants
Variants of the Formula Vee rules exist in the Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Germany and New Zealand.
Particularly notable is Formula First, raced in the USA and New Zealand, which employs the same chassis, but with later model Beetle parts, a larger 1600cc motor (New Zealand uses the 1200cc 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 VW four-cylinder engines for higher-tech and faster cars).
SCCA Runoffs Winners
| Driver | Year(s) |
|---|---|
| Lewis Kerr | 1964 |
| Dan Fowler | 1965 |
| Bill Campbell | 1966, 1967 |
| Bill Scott | 1968 |
| James Killion | 1969 |
| Harry Ingle | 1970 |
| Garret Van Camp | 1971 |
| Dave Weitzenhof | 1972 |
| Rollin Butler | 1973 |
| Harry MacDonald | 1974 |
| Mike Frangkiser | 1975, 1977 |
| James Brookshire | 1976 |
| Dan Courtney | 1978, 1981 |
| Wayne Moore | 1979, 1980 |
| Bill Noble | 1982, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994 |
| George Fizell | 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988 |
| Scott Rubenzer | 1985 |
| Steven Davis † | 1987, 1992 |
| Skip Streets | 1991 |
| Jon Adams | 1995 |
| Jacques Lazier | 1996 |
| Jonathan Rufener | 1997 |
| Brad Stout † | 1998, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2008 |
| Roger Siebenaler | 1999, 2000, 2011 |
| Stephen Oseth | 2003, 2006, 2007 |
| Jeff Loughead † | 2004 |
| Rick Shields | 2010, 2014 |
| Michael Varacins | 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 |
Michael Varacins has the most titles with seven.
† Denotes President Cup Winner
See also
- Formula Volkswagen South Africa Championship
- Super Vee
External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Formula Vee. |
- Challenge Cup Series (US, South Africa & Brazil collaboration)
- Formula First USA
- formulaveeracing.org (US)
- formulavee.org (US)
- formulavee.us (US)
- ApexSpeed.com (US)
- Formula Vee (Ireland)
- Australian Formula Vee Website
- Australian Formula Vee Specifications
- New Zealand Formula First (née Formula Vee)
- Formula Vee (UK)
- 750 Motor Club (UK organising club)
- Formula 1200 – Canada
Formula Vee at Curlie- Formula Vee South Africa
- Historic Formula Vee in Australia
- Historische Formel Vau Europa
References
^ http://www.grassrootsmotorsports.com
^ (SCCA GCR 2010 specs) Archived 2008-05-31 at the Wayback Machine.
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