Formula Race Promotions Launching new FIA Spec Formula 4 car

[Dennis Valet]

Got this email today. Interesting to see how this will affect F1600 and F2000 as there is crossover in costs, performance and ladder between the three. Anyone know if these will be faster than the F2000 cars? On paper it seems like it should be since it's a 160hp Ford Ecoboost engine, but so did the Formula Lites cars and we see those are pretty slow...

USF4 Launching for 2016 Race Season

For Immediate Release | August 4, 2015

Salem, NH – The USF4 Championship Series will launch a seven-weekend, 21-race 2016 season, Formula Race Promotions announced today. USF4 will join the F2000, F1600 and Atlantic calendars, bringing an evolutionary change to North American open wheel racing. Key partners in the new Series include French manufacturer Mygale Cars and Hoosier Racing Tire, with a projected price point of under $60,000 for a turn-key, state-of-the-art open-wheel race car powered by a 1.6-liter turbocharged Ford EcoBoost powerplant.

The Series will be operated by Formula Race Promotions, which has grown considerably since launching the F2000 Championship Series in 2006. USF4 will follow the global FIA F4 sporting regulations and provide seven race weekends per year, with three races per weekend and a minimum of three hours of track time per event.

Mygale F4 cars will be imported through partners Mygale North America, which has been both a competitor in the F1600 Championship Series and the importer for the Mygale SJ FF car for the last four seasons.

The French-built car will be mated to a 1.6 liter Ford EcoBoost engine, producing the FIA mandated 160hp. Each F4 car will be shod with spec Hoosier tires produced specifically to work within FIA guidelines.

The F4 specification has already proved successful around the world, with championships running in Italy, England, Germany, and Spain with Australia, China and other countries joining for 2016.

An F4 car was recently on display at the Formula Race Promotions event at the new Pittsburgh International Race Complex. Complete cars are available for order now.

Interested teams and drivers should contact Mygale North America at 727-504-1414 or the Series at 855-722-3377.

##Quotes##

Robert Wright and Al Guibord, Co-Owners, Formula Race Promotions: “F4 represents the next step in open-wheel racing. It has been accepted as a worldwide formula and we are excited to bring it to North America. With a cost-capped philosophy, and great partners in Mygale and Hoosier, we expect a tremendous inaugural year in 2016. We will bring the same idea that made F1600, F2000 and Atlantic viable, which is low cost structure, lots of track time, and an environment run by racers, for racers.”

Bryan Herta, Owner, Bryan Herta Autosport (IndyCar Team).: “The F4 platform has proven to be a success in countries throughout the world due to its’ low price point, controlled operating costs, and the advancements in safety carried through from the higher formula open wheel cars. Mygale has already delivered over 100 of these cars to customers, and I am sure the class is going to be hugely popular in the US. We are proud to partner with Formula Race Promotions as the exclusive importer of cars and plan to provide first class on-site spares and service support for the series.”

Nigel Tuckey, Managing Partner, Mygale N.A.: “For Formula Race Promotions in conjunction with Mygale to be bringing the worldwide and proven F4 open wheel formula to North America is an incredible opportunity for everyone, especially young drivers looking to further their careers. The Mygale F4 car is already promoting driving talent all over the world and has proven to be the perfect fit for creating a new and modern platform to train the next generation of drivers. This is a very big day for US and worldwide Motorsport.”

Bruce Foss, Business Unit Manager, Circuit Racing Tires, Hoosier Racing Tire: “Hoosier Tire is excited to be a part of the USF4 Championship Series. We have enjoyed a tremendously successful partnership with Formula Race Promotions and expanding our relationship with this new series is an exciting opportunity.”

Media Availability: Key officials from Formula Race Promotions are available for phone interviews upon request.

Press Contact: Monty Mathisen | MathisenMedia | monty@mathisenmedia.com | 212-729-4898

Logo Set: www.mathisenmedia.com/usf4.zip

On the Web: www.USF4.com | www.FormulaRacePromotions.com | www.F2000Series.com | www.F1600Series.com | www.AtlanticChampionshipSeries.com |

http://www.usf4.com/

Rollers are 33,000 Euros on Mygale's website

http://www.mygale-cars.com/our-race-cars/formula-4/

[kea]

Tatuus also makes one.
I wonder if it will be allowed in this series.

[Steve Bamford]

From what we were told the car is a few seconds slower then the F2000 on most tracks and a few seconds quicker then F1600.

Big pods add to the safety but add some extra drag.

[S Lathrop]

I don't think this is all that exciting for the current manufacturers, importers and support operations for the current FF and F2000 cars. I don't see that this will affect FA.

The question is whether this car brings in new competitors and the existing classes grow along with this new class or it just poaches competitors from the other 2 classes.

I guess we will all find out soon enough.

[Steve Bamford]

Not going to disagree with you Steve.

[John LaRue]

Who is supplying the popcorn while we watch this one?

[Steve Bamford]

Who is supplying the popcorn while we watch this one?

John,

Is the SCCA not looking at F4 already as well?

[Dennis Valet]

At least our Formula Fords are slower than this car. How does a place like Australia reconcile this car with its Formula Ford?

[JByers]

The car and concept are interesting -- (Designed to be a globally recognized, yet affordable step between Karting and F3, FIA Formula 4 will allow drivers to compare themselves to the best young talent, not only in their own country, but across other championships around the world.)
http://www.fia.com/formula-4-championships

It would be a mistake to include it into the SCCA roster.

Is there enough time to add another three races per weekend or is something going to get bumped???

[Ty_Handke_83]

At least our Formula Fords are slower than this car. How does a place like Australia reconcile this car with its Formula Ford?

http://www.motorsport.com/openwheel/...ad-of-f4-debut

It isn't pretty down there mate...

[Daryl DeArman]

It would be a mistake to include it into the SCCA roster.

Is there enough time to add another three races per weekend or is something going to get bumped???

19 out of 29 classes last year average entrants at majors could be counted on one hand (less than 6).

5 cars per class or less in almost 2/3's of the classes. I'm thinking they could eliminate a class or 2 or 10 from majors.

[William I. Hollingsworth]

Formula Race Promotions run the best bang for the buck with the classes it has. FA has been a disappointment. This MyGale package of engine and chassis with the commitment from MyGale for spares makes it also "the most bang for the buck." The Zetec is out of production for the Formula Continental and the SCCA mixes them with every formula car that shows up. At $60,000 this is cheaper than a F1600/Honda, and certainly a dramatic improvement over a Kent engined F1600. The F4 is dominant in Europe and the U.K. and will be dominant here. We are lucky that FRC is taking the lead before "Big Brother" attempts to spoil it.

[Steve Bamford]

To update my first post...spoke to a reliable source and lap times are supposed to be closer to F2000 or expected to be faster then I first reported. Sounds like there is lots of interest and the cars will have their own grid. "If you build it they will come"

Hopefully F1600 continues on as it is a great development class in my opinion with some of the best racing around. F2000 is also a great step up as well once you learn mechanical grip. It would be a shame to see either class fall away so hopefully this can be an additional class but I doubt that will be the case. Each class has its benefits.

I believe many current racers will be strongly against F4 as they are heavily invested in other open wheel classes but I also believe there will be good demand for a modern car such as this and someone has to dip their toe in the deep end and take a chance.

[Dennis McCarthy]

The F4 is dominant in Europe and the U.K. and will be dominant here.

Really? How many cars are actually racing in each F4 series across the world? With the exception of Italy the numbers aren't too impressive.

[Purple Frog]

Video killed the radio star

[Hawke]

Not exactly working well here. The ruling body - CAMS - has bought 20 F4 cars, and you lease one from them.

There has been a fair amount of criticism that members fees are funding a racing class. CAMS have also ruled that Formula Ford and F3 will no longer have a National Championship.

13 F4 runners at the last meeting.

[rickb99]

.....CAMS have also ruled that Formula Ford and F3 will no longer have a National Championship.....

How come THEY get to decide that? Is CAMS the one and only sanctioning body in Australia? Sound like you guys need another sanctioning body that's more user friendly. No FF championship? That goes against nature! The UK hasn't given up on FF.

[problemchild]

How come THEY get to decide that? Is CAMS the one and only sanctioning body in Australia? Sound like you guys need another sanctioning body that's more user friendly.

You mean like SCCA that lets any class start without eliminating other classes ..... so there are a record number of participants spread out over 40 classes and none happy with their quality or quantity of tracktime? It is not for me to judge on this matter, as I sit 10,000 miles away, but CAMS seems to have done a pretty good job with building their Formula car racing to this point.

[S Lathrop]

My initial response to F4 is mostly negative. I doubt that F4 will be a better learning ground than F2000 and F1600.

But that is not necessarily so, if the organizers structure the rules similar to those for Indy Lights with the Lola T97 and the older Dallara where there is a large range of adjustments and tuning that can be done, then this class can be a good thing. If they follow USF2000 and various Formula Mazda cars with very limited options for setups then I think F4 will be another of a long list of spec cars that fail to develop some very important skills all drivers need if they are to advance. Those skills are the ability to develop setups that maximize the performance of the driver and car for any given moment on any type of track limited only by their skills at driving and setups.

F1600 and F2000 provide the platform to learn tuning skills that are crucial to doing well when the cars become faster. Spec classes with spec setups fail in that task. Many drivers made the transition from F2000 to Indy Lights and were fast from the get go because F2000 taught them about setups and the cars were somewhat similar in how they handled, the level of down force relative to the weight of the car, and the overall balance of the car. Many, if not most of those drivers had a strong foundation in F1600.

You need only to look at how dominant Sam Beasley was at Pittsburg where he and his team had the best setup hands down. Everybody else will be trying to up their game by the next race at Pittsburg in response to the challenge laid down by Sam's team. This is the real challenge of racing. Spec classes don't allow for this level of perfection by a driver and team.

[AGMelv]

Really? How many cars are actually racing in each F4 series across the world? With the exception of Italy the numbers aren't too impressive.

Here's a video of the grid a month ago in the German F4 series:

https://youtu.be/lE3Lz8cQFOs?t=25

In case you've got some time to kill, here's a directory of full race video of almost every F4 series in the world:

https://goo.gl/ARBcio

[NPalacioM3]

Whole lotta kool-aid people are drinking up in here. I really hope those people are correct, otherwise we are looking at an advancement in the decline and destroying the value of equipment already out there in the country. If this fails, we will be all back running club, which might not be the worst thing in the world....

I personally think the series is missing their target demographic here. Looking back to the 90's/2000's when these classes were flourishing, the paddocks were flooded with people like myself now, 30-40 somethings who were fast and had some cash to blow. Not kids. At that time, I was 20 or so and was certainly in the minority. This has suddenly changed? At 36, I could care less about paddle shifters and carbon tubs, nor would I have any concerns putting my child in a tube frame car. I just don't get it and I really hope everyone thinks this through before hopping on the bandwagon.

[dalz]

Maybe someday they can combine this, F-lites, F-Bimmer and Shelby Can-Am with the fenders sawzalled off and call it the Salvage Series. If they can scare up a 16-car grid I might even try to find a seat....

[Marshall Mauney]

Maybe someday they can combine this, F-lites, F-Bimmer and Shelby Can-Am with the fenders sawzalled off and call it the Salvage Series. If they can scare up a 16-car grid I might even try to find a seat....

You left out Formula Renault (Fran-Am).

[provamo]

just let anybody run whatever they want to run and then handicap till they all turn the same time LOL

[R. Pare]

Just what the world needs - another one-cash-register-racing spec series.

[Michael Rand]

Well said Richard......

[BeerBudgetRacing]

Whole lotta kool-aid people are drinking up in here. I really hope those people are correct, otherwise we are looking at an advancement in the decline and destroying the value of equipment already out there in the country. If this fails, we will be all back running club, which might not be the worst thing in the world....

I personally think the series is missing their target demographic here. Looking back to the 90's/2000's when these classes were flourishing, the paddocks were flooded with people like myself now, 30-40 somethings who were fast and had some cash to blow. Not kids. At that time, I was 20 or so and was certainly in the minority. This has suddenly changed? At 36, I could care less about paddle shifters and carbon tubs, nor would I have any concerns putting my child in a tube frame car. I just don't get it and I really hope everyone thinks this through before hopping on the bandwagon.

While I agree with what you say - and I'm new to the sport - I'll compare it to a $port I'm familiar with. Equestrian Horse Jumping.

When I met my wife in 1983 she had 2 horses. Neither cost more than $15k - but that was considered a lot back then. People competed with $5k horses. Within a year she bought "the next gen" for $40k. Show jumping horses were just braking the $50k price.
People towed with pickups, etc.

Go forward to 2005 and our daughter is showing. Her horses cost in the neighborhood of $25-35k and she was competing against riders on $150k-$250k horses with parents that plunk down $5-6mil for a barn property for the kid to train.

Drive by some of these big shows. The parking lots are full of $100k+ cars and $500k+ show rigs. The likes of Nascar. Kids showing 2 or 3 $150k horses, driving up in their Bimmers (mom follows later in her Bentley). And then you have to have a staff to manage it all. Can't expect the kid to groom their own horse. Easily $1mil in assets arrive for the show.... And if they don't have the latest, they buy the latest.

Sport of kings. It's what amateur racing is experiencing. I see a lot of parents money in F4 and they only care about the latest whatever. Create a new class and I'm sure they'll jump in..... $100k is nothing to some people.

Only very wealthy people.... Its about money.... and doesn't FIA get a chunk for every car sold and every event held?

I think they've targeted their demographic... it's $$$$.

[Steve Bamford]

As I am likely one of the more heavily invested individuals (non team) in both F1600 and F2000 I am unsure of whether F4 will be good for us racers or not.

One thing it does is answers Reid's thread he started a month or so ago that was heavily read and commented on for trying to do something to control costs and barrier to entry for a competitive car. This does answer that does it not? Or am I missing something here?

This for sure does take away from being a development class to a certain degree to Steve's point earlier. Legacy (Beasley) has done an amazing job this year with their entire package with a great team effort. With that said there is no way you could buy a similar car for near the cost of the F4. Also any development costs money and lots of it. This does limit development.

As for target audience for FRP if you look at the F1600 grids it is more then half to three quarters youngsters 20 and under, very few 20 - mid 30's and balance being 35 plus. If you showed this car to them and a F1600 which one do you think they will pick? As for Dad trying to sell Mom on letting their boy/girl go race which do you think is an easier sell based on safety? I don't disagree that some mechanical grip development will be lost by skipping F1600 but maybe that is what they learn already in karting?

I do believe in the short turn this will cause a lot of confusion and dilute already shrinking fields until some classes simply die off. I really don't know if this a good thing for our racing or not in all honesty but it does address some of the issues of costs people have been saying is a limiting factor in them racing. It does address having a modern car some younger people can relate to. If costs are what they are supposed to be in a few years these used cars will on the market for people on a tighter budget and making them able to get in for mid 40's.

Unfortunately F4 can not flourish without other classes taking a hit.

[nulrich]

Many of you are jumping to conclusions based on incomplete information. Apparently the cars cost less than $60k ready to race including engine, data, dampers, paddle shifted sequential gearbox, carbon tub, etc. That's 35% cheaper than a new F1600 car with a Honda FIT engine, and half the cost of a Formula Lites or new USF2000 car. A roller is reportedly $36k and engines are less than $10k including installation kit, ECU, etc (anyone with more complete information feel free to correct me).

So these cars are substantially cheaper to purchase and probably cheaper to maintain.

I'm not a fan of spec racing, but by building, literally, hundreds of identical cars, manufacturers are able to drive costs down massively. I may be wrong, but Formula Race Promotions has never tried to profit on sales of cars and parts (unlike every other spec series out there) so I imagine spare parts will be very inexpensive.

I downloaded and read the 2016 FIA regulations for Formula 4 (here) and it became clear how they've managed to cut costs so dramatically.

They are building a very high tech car in terms of safety and things like the paddle shifted gearbox, but much of the car is quite low tech. For example, the FIA regulations mandate a automotive Type 3 wheel hub unit, which is an all steel integrated bearing, axle, mounting plate and wheel drive flange that are manufactured by the millions for street cars. You can buy some of the more common ones on eBay for less than $50 each. The same assembly on a Van Diemen costs around $1000 (several bespoke parts made from aluminum in small quantities). Not only are these hub units cheap, but they are literally bulletproof, no maintenance required. And if one fails, replace it for almost nothing.

The tradeoff is that these units are massively heavy. The wheel hub unit (bearing) has a minimum weight of 2.4 kg (5.3 lb)! That's like five times the weight of the wheel bearings used in the Radon. The upright assembly, without wheel, can't weigh less than 12 kg (26 lb), about twice what comparable assemblies would weigh on other formula cars.

The same approach is used in many other places. The wheels have a minimum weight of 5 kg each (11 lbs) which is considerably heavier than the best magnesium wheels from someone like OZ. The brake discs are huge and must have an integral steel hat (no floating rotors on aluminum hats). Wing profiles are fixed in construction, location, and mounting.

But as it's a spec formula, everyone deals with the same handicap. I'm sure the high unsprung weight will degrade mechanical grip, and the highly restricted aero will reduce downforce and increase drag, but at 160 hp the cars will still be considerably faster than F1600 cars. Probably several seconds a lap slower than F2000 cars, more at fast tracks like Watkins Glen, but we won't know how much until a good team and driver starts developing one.

My personal opinion is that this series will draw mostly from the F1600 paddock, but I think it's quite possible they will attract many new drivers, especially from overseas.

Nathan

[Dennis McCarthy]

Nathan, unless you are referring to south of the border drivers, why would anyone incur the expense of coming to the US to live and or race when the F4 is already available overseas?

[reidhazelton]

My 2 cents....

This will be a big deal. Here is why -

I think the level of intelligence of many of those on this thread in regard to formula cars sometimes skews the opinions. In other words, a lot of people know far more than those who write checks and don't care about what they don't know or understand. Many here pointed out nuances of these cars compared to others. Upright weights, spec handicaps, ect. This matters very, very little if any to those paying the bills...aka...daddy. Do you think a kid out of karts will care if the upright weighs 15 lbs or the airfoils are 60% as efficient as a F2000? Nope. Not one bit. And if you try to explain it they won't get it either. The kid has likely never turned a wrench in his life.

Those buying into series like this care about (in my opinion) the following:
1. Competition to showcase thier kid who is clearly going straight to Ferrari.
2. Does it look cool? Does it look like an F1 car and will it look cool showing it off to your buddies and PR campaign? FV isn't that sexy. F4 is, more so.
3. Speed. "How fast is it" is the most common question asked I am sure.
4. Cost. Compare the speed/cost ratio and you have just murdered any reason to run FF.

In my view, FF will take the biggest hit. If F4 works, FF will be dead in 3 years. F2000's only redeeming justification is it is faster. Does the speed of the F2000 car justify the nearly 2x cost over the F4? Hard to tell, but I say I doubt it. Sell your FF's now....

The guy/lady writing the check for his/her kid does not care about upright weight, wheel weight, ect. They care about the costs, maybe, and if the thing looks cool. Compare an F4 car (carbon tub, turbo, 160 hp, wings, looks kinda like an F1 car) to an FF (tube frame, crappy sounding engine, no wings, looks nothing like an F1 car) and then tell them the F4 car is cheaper and you will have no one going to an FF. Slower, costs more, not as safe, looks old.

Daddy - "So I can have a F4 car that is faster, and cheaper than an FF?"

Builder - "Yeah, but it's 'spec' and has heavy uprights and the wings suck."

Daddy - "But it's faster and cheaper, and looks like an F1-ish car. Just look at all that cool carbon stuff like on my Maserati! The FF looks like a relic."

Builder - "Yeah...but....you can't tweak the suspension until you're blue in the face."

Daddy - "But it's cheaper and faster, right? And this one has wings. Why is the more expensive one not have wings? Wings are cool."

Builder - "......."

And spec is not a deterrent to the check writers. You can 'sell' that very easily.

[reidhazelton]

I'm thinking Honda/HPD is not too happy right now. At least, if they even realize.....

Beta and VHS comes to mind.

[BeerBudgetRacing]

...a lot of people know far more than those who write checks and don't care about what they don't know or understand.

That is exactly correct. My experience in horse showing is that the check writers don't know the front of a horse from the back - just that the wife and daughter will stop bothering him if he writes a check. He can get back to hanging out with the other 1%'ers

Not always the case but rarely not....

[billwald]

They are beautiful cars. I wish Robert and Al good luck and success with their new series.

[problemchild]

When discussing various concerns in the FRP Series, the term "unintended consequences" is used often. While the last week has made for lots of interesting discussion, I really think the "unintended consequences" may be great for club racing, which is what most people on this forum care most about.

FRP is taking a huge risk. They are risking that the 100 or so F1600 and F2000 drivers, and several hundred people who earn part of their living, supporting those drivers, will buy into this new "single cashier" Series. I expect a dozen drivers, or so, will. That means they need a bunch of new blood. If, in two years, they have 20 FAs and 30-40 F4s, then it was a good move for them.

Whether F4 succeeds or not, the sale of new F2000 and FFs will return to a trickle, the market will stabilize, and club racing will see some revival. The Art Fosters and Mike Scanlons will return to Club racing. FRP and the group of people in my 2nd paragraph, like myself, are really the only ones exposed to negative potential here. Some of us will drink the Koolaid, some will go work on "the Road to Indy", and some will get real jobs. I just don't see F4 having a huge impact on the American Club Racing scene.

[provamo]

I'm thinking Honda/HPD is not too happy right now. At least, if they even realize.....

Beta and VHS comes to mind.

i do not think Honda even cares, they have MUCH BIGGER FISH TO FRY (Indy, F1)



also quite glad i cannot afford almost any of this

[BeerBudgetRacing]

They care about the costs, maybe,

I think that pairing Spec and Cost Control does a disservice to both.....

Spec is all about drivers driving the same car. Period. It shows driver skill and experience.

There is a cost benefit to spec in that all parts are the same and manufacturers can build dozens of spares that match. But it doesn't translate into saving money. Why?

There is nothing stopping someone from driving everyday, training everyday, and traveling to races every weekend.

So, if you are (daddy) spending $150k+ a year to have your kid race every weekend, is the cost difference between an FF, FC, or F4 going to be an issue? Daddy will be buying you a new car next year anyway. Either in the current series or the next level.

This is the target demographic of F4. If these people participate in FF or FC I think they drive costs UP. They pay more for cars and parts and consume services temporarily.
Its a transient driver with a big budget. Not good for the stability of a class or a business supporting them.

The car and class is not the problem. We are trying to identify the cause of the demise of certain classes from a long term perspective when all these classes are intended to develop drivers in the short term.

[RSS]

I think the clubs might benefit in the short term but if there are no more pro series for FF and FC/F2000 then long term this would be the end of those 2 classes.This already happened in the road to nowhere and now we might lose the only source for newer cars that would trickle down into the clubs.

On that note we need more FC's in the Northwest so we are gladly offering 20cents on the dollar for your no longer needed F2000 pro cars.

[Hawke]

How come THEY get to decide that? Is CAMS the one and only sanctioning body in Australia? Sound like you guys need another sanctioning body that's more user friendly. No FF championship? That goes against nature! The UK hasn't given up on FF.

CAMS is the only sanctioning body, but the Formula Ford Association is continuing independently to run National and State championships.

[Spengo]

Do you think a kid out of karts will care if the upright weighs 15 lbs or the airfoils are 60% as efficient as a F2000? Nope. Not one bit. And if you try to explain it they won't get it either. The kid has likely never turned a wrench in his life.

I think you underestimate the kids in kart racing. They seem to know a hell of a lot more about their karts than I do. I'm just a software guy who didn't get to grow up around all this stuff and am learning it for the first time now, usually the hard way by ruining something expensive before figuring it out. You're right that they won't care though. They're very much used to the idea of spec classes where less advanced parts are used for cost control. Close competition is more important than having fancy $1000 wheel hubs at the lowest levels of motorsport. This is F4, not F1 after all.

Many of you are jumping to conclusions based on incomplete information. Apparently the cars cost less than $60k ready to race including engine, data, dampers, paddle shifted sequential gearbox, carbon tub, etc. That's 35% cheaper than a new F1600 car with a Honda FIT engine, and half the cost of a Formula Lites or new USF2000 car. A roller is reportedly $36k and engines are less than $10k including installation kit, ECU, etc (anyone with more complete information feel free to correct me).

Didn't want to repost the entire wall of text but it sounds to me like F4 addresses almost every issue discussed in that car cost thread from a couple weeks ago. It's even got the flappy paddles everyone thought were so important. It does suck for people heavily invested in current open wheelers but maybe killing off some of the old and fractured classes with car costs that have ballooned out of control is what's necessary. On the plus side it would mean a lot of cheap high end cars for club racing. Just don't crash them!