Olympic Formula Vee racing at Nürburgring in 1969
2008 Formula Vee 45th Birthday Party at Roebling Road Raceway

Formula Vee (Formula Fau Vee in Germany) or Formula Volkswagen is a popular open wheel, single-seater junior motor racing formula, with relatively low costs in comparison to Formula Ford.

On the international stage, Niki Lauda, Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg, all Formula 1 champions, and Scott Dixon a six time IndyCar champion raced Formula Vees in Europe, New Zealand, 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. Australia’s modern Formula Vee car rules are the definition for formula first in these countries

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]

Purchasing and running a Formula Vee car is relatively affordable compared to most motorsport categories. In 2022, a brand-new race car for the Australian Formula Vee series was estimated to cost approximately "50-55,000 Australian dollars" (approximately $US 37,000), with competitive second-hand cars costing much less. Renting a car for a race meeting was estimated at $A1000 (approximately $US700).[4]

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 Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, UK & Ireland, South Africa, 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
1964United States Lewis KerrFormcar
1965United States Dan FowlerBeach 5
1966United States Bill CampbellZink
1967United States Bill CampbellZink
1968United States Bill ScottZink
1969United States Bill ScottZink
1970United States Harry IngleZink
1971United States Garret Van CampLynx
1972United States Dave WeitzenhofAutodynamics
1973United States Rollin ButlerZink
1974Canada Harry MacDonaldLynx
1975United States Mike FrangkiserLynx B
1976United States James BrookshireAgitator
1977United States Mike FrangkiserLynx B
1978United States Don CourtneyVista Bushwaker
1979United States Wayne MooreZink
1980United States Wayne Moore †Zink Z12.5
1981United States Don CourtneyVista Bushwaker
1982United States Bill NobleCaracal
1983United States George FizellZink Z12
1984United States George Fizell †Zink Z12
1985United States Scott RubenzerCitation 85V
1986United States George FizellCaracal D
1987United States Stevan Davis †Racer's Wedge
1988United States George FizellCaracal D
1989United States Bill NobleCaracal C
1990United States Bill NobleCaracal C
1991United States Skip StreetsMysterian
1992United States Stevan DavisRacer's Wage
1993United States Bill NobleCaracal C
1994United States Bill NobleCaracal C
1995United States Jon AdamsAdams Aero
1996United States Jaques LazierMysterian M2
1997United States Jonathan RufenerCaracal D
1998United States Brad Stout †Protoform
1999United States Roger SiebenalerMysterian M2
2000United States Roger SiebenalerMysterian M2
2001United States Brad StoutVortech
2002United States Brad StoutVortech
2003United States Stephen OsethVortech
2004United States Jeff Loughead †Vortech
2005United States Brad StoutVortech
2006United States Stephen OsethVortech
2007United States Stephen OsethVortech
2008United States Brad StoutVortech
2009United States Michael VaracinsSpeed Sport AM-5
2010United States Rick ShieldsVDF
2011United States Roger SiebenalerMysterian M2
2012United States Michael VaracinsSpeed Sport AM-5
2013United States Michael VaracinsSpeed Sport AM-5
2014United States Rick ShieldsVDF
2015United States Michael VaracinsSpeed Sport AM-5
2016United States Michael VaracinsSpeed Sport AM-5
2017United States Michael VaracinsSpeed Sport AM-5
2018United States Michael Varacins †Speed Sport AM-
2019United States Andrew WhitstonProtoform P2
2020United States Chris JennerjahnVortech
2021United States Andrew WhitstonProtoform P2
2022United States Brian FarnhamSilver Bullet FR-S


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 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.
Pacific Challenge Cup Series 2022-Present Also competes in the United States of America. This series is held on the West Coast of Canada and the USA
Republic of Ireland Ireland Selco.ie National Championship Series Unknown-present
Brazil Brazil Campeonato Paulista de Formula Vee 2011-present
Copa ECPA Unknown-present
Fórmula Vee Open 2021-present Exclusively for beginners
New Zealand New Zealand Formula First New Zealand Championship Series 1967-present
South Africa South Africa Formula Vee Championship 1966–present Longest running motor racing championship in South Africa
 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. "Grassroots Motorsports | Sports Car Magazine".
  2. (SCCA GCR 2022 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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. McCarthy, Dan (2022-01-02). "The Cost of Racing: Formula Vee". Auto Action. Archived from the original on 2022-05-30. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
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