Formula Vee

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.

"Formula First" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Formula One.
Olympic Formula Vee racing at Nürburgring in 1969
2008 Formula Vee 45th Birthday Party at Roebling Road Raceway

On the international stage, Niki Lauda, Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet 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 US and New Zealand, employs the same chassis, but with upgraded motor, brakes and steering.

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 190 km/h (120 mph) and corner at about 1.6 g. It weighs a minimum of 465 kg (1,025 lb) with driver or 500 kg (1,100 lb) with driver as raced in the Australian 1,600 cc (98 cu in) 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 US and New Zealand, which employs the same chassis, but with later model Beetle parts, a larger 1,600 cc (98 cu in) motor (New Zealand uses the 1,200 cc [73 cu in] variant) and other upgraded components such as disc brakes rack and pinion steering.

(Formula Super Vee, although initially similar, soon moved to water-cooled 1.6-litre (98 cu in) VW four-cylinder engines for higher-tech and faster cars).

SCCA Runoffs Winners
YearDriverCar
1964 Lewis KerrFormcar
1965 Dan FowlerBeach 5
1966 Bill CampbellZink
1967 Bill CampbellZink
1968 Bill ScottZink
1969 Bill ScottZink
1970 Harry IngleZink
1971 Garret Van CampLynx
1972 Dave WeitzenhofAutodynamics
1973 Rollin ButlerZink
1974 Harry MacDonaldLynx
1975 Mike FrangkiserLynx B
1976 James BrookshireAgitator
1977 Mike FrangkiserLynx B
1978 Don CourtneyVista Bushwaker
1979 Wayne MooreZink
1980 Wayne Moore †Zink Z12.5
1981 Don CourtneyVista Bushwaker
1982 Bill NobleCaracal
1983 George FizellZink Z12
1984 George Fizell †Zink Z12
1985 Scott RubenzerCitation 85V
1986 George FizellCaracal D
1987 Stevan Davis †Racer's Wedge
1988 George FizellCaracal D
1989 Bill NobleCaracal C
1990 Bill NobleCaracal C
1991 Skip StreetsMysterian
1992 Stevan DavisRacer's Wage
1993 Bill NobleCaracal C
1994 Bill NobleCaracal C
1995 Jon AdamsAdams Aero
1996 Jaques LazierMysterian M2
1997 Jonathan RufenerCaracal D
1998 Brad Stout †Protoform
1999 Roger SiebenalerMysterian M2
2000 Roger SiebenalerMysterian M2
2001 Brad StoutVortech
2002 Brad StoutVortech
2003 Stephen OsethVortech
2004 Jeff Loughead †Vortech
2005 Brad StoutVortech
2006 Stephen OsethVortech
2007 Stephen OsethVortech
2008 Brad StoutVortech
2009 Michael VaracinsSpeed Sport AM-5
2010 Rick ShieldsVDF
2011 Roger SiebenalerMysterian M2
2012 Michael VaracinsSpeed Sport AM-5
2013 Michael VaracinsSpeed Sport AM-5
2014 Rick ShieldsVDF
2015 Michael VaracinsSpeed Sport AM-5
2016 Michael VaracinsSpeed Sport AM-5
2017 Michael VaracinsSpeed Sport AM-5
2018 Michael Varacins †Speed Sport AM-5
2019 Andrew WhitstonProtoform P2
2020 Chris JennerjahnVortech


Michael Varacins has the most titles with seven.

† Denotes President's Cup Winner

List of Formula Vee championships and Events
Country Series/Event Name Active Years Additional Information
Australia Formula Vee Australia Series 1965–present
 Canada Formula 1200 Championship Series 1965–present
Challenge Cup Series 2015–present Also competes in the United States of America.
Autumn Challenge Cup Series 2013–2014 Also competed in the United States of America. This series became the Challenge Cup Series.
Ireland Selco.ie National Championship Series Unknown-present
Brazil Campeonato Paulista de Formula Vee 2011-present The most competitive Fvee championship in the world
New Zealand Formula First New Zealand Championship Series Unknown-present
South Africa Formula Volkswagen South Africa Championship 2008–2013
 United Kingdom Formula Vee Championship Series 1967–present
750 Motor Club Formula Vee Championship 1979–present
 United States Formula Vee at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs 1964–present Oldest Formula Vee event in the world.
Challenge Cup Series 2015–present Also competes in the Canada.
Northeast Formula Vee Championship Series Unknown-present
Autumn Challenge Cup Series 2013–2014 Also competed in Canada. This series became the Challenge Cup Series.

See also

References
  1. http://www.grassrootsmotorsports.com
  2. (SCCA GCR 2010 specs) Archived 2008-05-31 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-04-28. Retrieved 2013-07-29.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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