FEATURE : CLASSIC FF1600
Silverstone 1981 : David Wheeler in the SDC Royale
New sponsor for
Classic FF1600
SDC will be the title sponsor for the Classic Formula Ford 1600 championship this season , with support that will enable each competitor to benefit from a significant rebate on every race entry .
The new support for the Club ’ s championship for pre ’ 82 Formula Ford 1600s will give every contender a £ 75 rebate for each of the six doubleheader race weekends contested . Bedford-based SDC is a main contractor in the construction industry and operates as an Employee Benefit Trust ( EBT ), the first of its kind in the British construction industry . Profits are shared among 400 members of staff and the wider community .
SDC has a long involvement with Formula Ford dating back to the early
Great racing from the Classic FF1600 pack
1980s when the company supported drivers like Trevor van Rooyen , David Wheeler , John Village , Jonathan Palmer , Gareth Rees and Bernard Dolan in a series of Formula Fords . Last year , SDC celebrated its 50th year and supported Richard Tarling in a Royale RP26 and a Crossle 25F in the Classic championship . For 2023 , SDC will turn its attention to backing the entire championship and its support will allow every driver to receive a £ 75 rebate on each race entry this season . On the back of the overall HSCC entry fee reduction programme for the opening events of the season it means that a Classic Formula Ford entry for the double-header at Snetterton will be just £ 240 . Meanwhile , the pair of races on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit at the end of May will now cost £ 435 .
Stuart Kestenbaum is chair of the Classic FF 1600 Championship and says that the support is very welcome . “ I think we will get more entries . Entry fees are the one thing that everyone is unanimous about and we ’ ve taken the pricing back about 10 years thanks to the support of SDC .”
SDC chairman Francis Shiner explained the company ’ s support : “ Formula Ford is an important part of our history and we have quite a few of our staff interested in racing . But it ’ s more of an emotional involvement for us rather than traditional sponsorship . We did a lot of work at Silverstone over the years and that was a really big part of the company story .
“ Later we completed construction projects for Jonathan Palmer at Bedford and supported local drivers like Nick Tandy . We plan to take a number of guests to the two race meetings at Silverstone in May and October . It fits that we have a couple of days at Silverstone and give something to our staff .” An F1 simulator will be taken to those two events to five staff a chance at trying it for themselves .
Alan Cornock , who was central to the SDC sponsorship 40 years ago , has played a key role in bringing the company back into Formula Ford racing . As the former boss of Royale racing cars , Cornock continues to be closely involved in Formula Ford through his FCS sales and spares organisation .
Richard Tarling in SDC colours last season
19