NEW TEAMS SET TO JOIN FORMULA FORD

21 November, 2008: Two new teams are planning Formula Ford campaigns in Britain next season - one squad to be run by a championship-winning driver and the other set up in association with a university.

Linton Stuteley is the driver turning team manager for 2009: the 22-year-old has teamed up with ace mechanic Tom Farquhar to found Enigma Motorsport, and they plan to run two cars in the Ford-backed series. One of the chassis to be used will be the 2006 Mygale which Linton drove to a race victory and championship fourth last year.

"My Mygale will make an excellent Scholarship Class car for somebody," said Stuteley. "Tom and I have gathered extensive knowledge of it over the last two seasons and we believe that it will be a class-winning car in the right hands." Linton's plans mean an at-the-least temporary halt to his own racing ambitions: "Regrettably it's probably the end of my serious driving career, but we'll have to see what comes along in the future." Stuteley, like his father John before him, raced Formula Fords for four seasons; he was Avon Clubmans Formula Ford Champion in 2005.

Enigma Racing will be testing hopefuls at the Formula Ford Sampler Day at Silverstone on 2 December, as will the newly formed Beacon Racing/Staffordshire University team, which plans to field three cars in '09.

The squad has been formed by Staffordshire University motorsport technology degree lecturer Mike Farnworth to provide vital real-life racing experience for the students. "Staffordshire University's first motorsport technology foundation course, which began in September 2007, is just about to deliver 12 graduates. Such has been its success that this September 41 students signed up for the course," says Farnworth.

"A vital part of the course is providing the students with the opportunity to work with teams at events and in their workshops between races which is why we have, with the university's support and financial assistance, set up Beacon Racing."

The team has workshop facilities alongside those of the university's on the Beaconside campus at Stafford and has already signed one car-owner to the team. "We are looking to run cars for two drivers with their own chassis, and we are also negotiating to buy a 2007 Mygale which we plan to offer for hire," adds Farnworth. "The students will be doing the majority of the work, the preparation, set-up and logistics, under the guidance of experienced professionals."

There's healthy interest from drivers and from teams in the 2 December 'open track' Sampler Day at Silverstone, which is seen as a vital opportunity for would-be Wayne Boyds to meet the teams and to drive the cars.