Welcome to the most vibrant single-seater championship in the world - the British Formula Ford Championship.

2007 witnessed the most successful year for British Formula Ford in recent memory. With strong grids and exceptional racing, this attracted the attention of press, public and the motorsport industry alike. 2008 is certain to build on this success.

New teams and new drivers are already flocking to the '08 championship. These newcomers are clearly aware that to win races in Formula Ford, or even become British Champion, will give them greater credibility in the eyes of the motorsport community than any other junior single-seater category can offer.

But as well as the respect that winning in Formula Ford can give a career-minded driver, the other half of the equation is always the financial one. With budgets in rival single-seater championships continuingly escalating, it is a central principle of Formula Ford's future to constantly seek ways in which to cap or even reduce cost to teams and drivers. The championship has removed the official testing programme, thus giving each driver and team the flexibility to tailor their own testing programme to suit their budgets and time.

But not only does Formula Ford offer lower annual running budgets than its rivals, it also offers maximum track time. This is arguably the single most important aspect of any young driver's development.

Do the calculations - you will find that Formula Ford Duratec costs around half the price per mile of its rivals. With budgets being so hard to achieve at this level of the sport (and indeed each of the subsequent stages), every driver must consider very carefully just what that funding buys them at each step of the career ladder.

The British Championship in 2008 will be contested over 25 rounds at 10 venues across the UK. We are supporting every UK round of the British Formula 3 Championship, plus a repeat of the fantastic support race at the A1GP meeting. Supporting F3 has proved to be the perfect environment for both the drivers and teams with a number of leading Formula Ford drivers from previous year's championship grids making successful transitions into Formula 3 drives.

GRAND PRIX DRIVER JENSON BUTTON:
"Formula Ford was a great championship for me to start my career in single-seater cars. For drivers making the step up from karts to cars, Formula Ford couldn't be a better championship to introduce rookies to the open wheel racing. After winning the British Formula Ford Championship and the Formula Ford Festival, the next step up for me was Formula 3. I definitely think that Formula Ford gave me the right preparation and experience needed to move up again in my career."

WHY CHOOSE BRITISH FORMULA FORD?
The 2007 British Formula Ford Championship was, incredibly, its 40th consecutive year of delivering future champions. The list of drivers who have started their car racing careers in Formula Ford reads like a who's who of motorsport. It is this heritage that makes Formula Ford such an incredible championship in which to take part.

Nothing is a certainty in motorsport, but it always has been and always will be a pretty good bet that any driver who excels in British Formula Ford is on their way to great things in their driving career.

The strictly enforced technical regulations are one of the mainstays of the championship over the years. Ford Motor Company is behind these regulations, with staff at the home of Ford Motorsport in Dunton Research Centre, writing and updating these, and providing the vital expertise of the championship scrutineer and electronics experts.

One of the key elements of its success is that Formula Ford, unlike all the other single seater series that have come and gone in the UK over the past 20 years, is not a one-make championship. By allowing freedom of chassis design, engine build and numerous technical items of specification on the car, this drives the technical standards to exceptionally high levels from both teams and drivers.

Contrast the fixed specification of rival single-seater cars with the engineering freedom permitted for Formula Ford, and you will rapidly appreciate why Formula Ford drivers leave the series with exceptional levels of understanding of car set up and the implications of each chassis variation they try. This tends to be the reason that their careers progress so far thereafter. If you are serious about your driving career, missing the crucial learning experience that Formula Ford provides might just be the biggest mistake you make.

There are only two other professional single-seater racing formulae in the world that offer freedom of chassis and engine build - they are Formula 3 and Formula 1.

This is why Formula Ford continues to resist aerodynamic aids such as wings and their resulting downforce, giving drivers the only chance in their careers to master the mechanical grip that a car and tyre will produce when driven and set up properly. If a driver misses this crucial stage of learning, then they may never get a chance to regain this critical knowledge.

As Motorsport News asked recently: 'Can you really afford to skip Formula Ford?'

SUCCESS IN FORMULA FORD - TWO OF OUR MOST RECENT GRADUATES
There is no better testimonial for aspiring drivers considering their choice of single-seater championship than to look ahead at the next steps on the ladder - Formula 3 and Champ Car. It is no secret around UK paddocks that Formula 3 team managers respect the development that Formula Ford gives its drivers over that offered by rival one-make, winged racing cars. That is why we choose to follow the Formula 3 calendar - just watch how the Formula 3 teams come out of their garages to watch the Formula Ford races.

The very best illustration of this comes from two of our top drivers from the last couple of years who have moved up from British Formula Ford to British Formula 3, then on to Euro F3 and Champ Car World Series. They have performed way above expectation, both winning races in the first half of their maiden seasons of British F3.

There is no other junior single seater formula in the UK or abroad that develops its top drivers highly enough to achieve this level of success. Built on Formula Ford foundations, both of these drivers' racing careers are tipped to go all the way.

Charlie Kimball, Euro Formula 3
"As a driver, I can think of no better junior Formula than Formula Ford in which to prepare to race in Formula 3. F3 has always been a proving ground for young drivers because of its level of competition, technical education, as well as its extensive testing and racing. Formula Ford excels in those same three categories which allows a learning and developing driver to prepare him/herself best for the future. The technical foundation of Formula Ford is so important because it allows a driver to understand the basis of a racing car, mechanical grip, without being confused with aerodynamics. This core knowledge has given me the necessary tools to develop a new Formula 3 car in my first year. Furthermore, the amount of testing and racing in Formula Ford prepared me for the physical and mental tests of a 22 race season in F3. Without the education of Formula Ford, I would not be in a position to be as successful as I have been this year."

Dan Clarke, Champ Car World Series
"I competed a total of three years in the racing divisions of Formula Ford and enjoyed huge successes with race wins at Brands Hatch, Thruxton, Spa Francorchamps and most importantly, the Formula Ford Festival in 2004. Now in my first year of Formula 3 I'm already a race winner. And I can attribute much of that success, not only the car controlling skills I honed from driving Formula Fords, but also the racecraft I developed in the fast and exciting races in Fords. Any race fan will tell you, with the array of classes out there at the moment, Formula Ford is the only one that constantly guarantees close racing and overtaking. And I have that experience to thank for my success in Formula 3 and Champ Car since."