2012 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park - Ontario Formula Ford Championship

As was the case last year, the Ontario Formula Ford Championship schedule consists of seven weekends; for a total of fourteen contests. The points system remains unchanged for this year - a competitor’s two worst finishes will be dropped from their total - meaning a driver is collecting points in twelve of their best fourteen races.

The season kicks off in May at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) during the BEMC Spring Trophy Races. The next two rounds are part of the DAC Trillium Trophy Races at Shannonville Motorsport Park. Then the series returns to CTMP for races five and six. In early August, competitors make their third of five visits to CTMP during the BARC Canadian Touring Trophy Races. After a one-year absence, teams travel to Calabogie Motorsports Park, where they will share a pair of races with Quebec’s Formula Tour 1600. The penultimate weekend of competition occurs in mid-September as part of the BEMC Indian Summer Races. The CASC-OR Celebration of Motorsport ends the season in Ontario and determines class champions.

The single-seater, open-wheel race cars in the championship are powered by one of two engines - a four-cylinder, 1600-cc Ford engine or the 1.5-liter HPD Honda L15A7. Both motors produce approximately 120-horsepower. A mixture of European and North American chassis is used by competitors. Minimum vehicle weight is determined by the suspension design and ranges from 1050 to 1125-lbs. Teams are required to use a spec tire – the Toyo Proxes R888.

For 2012 the FFC class was rolled into FFB. There were two groups for this season.

FFA – This category is for newer chassis’ built between 1995 and 2012.
FFB – This group is for cars constructed between 1994 and older.

The manufacture date for the individual car and not the model is used to determine the year split and if a vehicle is categorized as FFA or FFB.

The 2012 Ontario Formula Ford Championship’s opening rounds were held during the British Empire Motor Club’s Spring Trophy Races at CTMP. Drivers would compete in two heat races around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.

Race one for the 2012 Ontario Formula Ford Championship at CTMP. The starting order was not as the drivers qualified. Jack Mitchell, Jr., Shane Jantzi and Caitlin Johnston were late arriving at the grid and started at the back of the field. Leading the nine entrants into corner one is the pole-sitter, Michael Adams, in the No. 59 Van Diemen RF92. Behind Adams is the fourth-place starter Steve Bamford.

Last season’s FFB champion, Michael Adams, returned with the familiar No. 59 Van Diemen RF92. However, he chose to compete in the FFA category, although the car was still eligible for the FFB class. Adams qualified on the pole for Saturday’s contest and went flag-to-flag for his first overall victory in the series. The next day, he started first and traded the top spot with Shane Jantzi several times before finishing second.

Shane Jantzi’s 2011 season ended with a nasty accident, but he recovered and was entered in the opening rounds of this year’s series. Jantzi qualified third-fastest for the weekend’s first contest, but he was late to the grid and started at the back of the field. He would cross the finish line in third place. On Sunday, Jantzi qualified on the outside of the front row and after a battle with Michael Adams, he grabbed the win.

Last year Steve Bamford competed in the FFB class and started the season driving Van Diemen RF93 before switching to a Swift DB-6. Bamford finished a very close second to Michael Adams in the final standings. This season he moved up to the FFA category piloting a Mygale SJ-11. Bamford qualified fourth for race one and benefitted from the starting grid issue to finish second. In the finale, he was fifth.

One of the early adopters of the Honda engine option was Caitlin Johnston. Last year, Johnston introduced the new package but only competed part-time and had mixed results. She qualified in the fifth position for the 2012 season opener but was one of three drivers that had to start from pit lane. Johnston charged through the field to finish fourth. On Sunday, she redeemed herself with a third-place result.

Formula Ford veteran Jean-Guy Fournier put the No. 89 Equipe de course 89 Van Diemen RF94 on the FFB class pole for Saturday’s contest. Unfortunately, issues prevented him from taking the Starter’s flag. The next day, Fournier was gridded in the eighth position and on the category pole for a second time this weekend. With his problems behind him, he captured his first victory of the new year.

POS.	START	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	1	A-1	Michael Adams	Van Diemen RF92	15	-
2	4	A-2	Steve Bamford	Mygale SJ-11	15	-
3	3	A-3	Shane Jantzi	Van Diemen RF02	15	-
4	5	A-4	Caitlin Johnston	Van Diemen RF97	15	-
5	6	A-5	Tony Cove	Van Diemen RF98	15	-
6	7	A-6	Jean-Philippe Jodoin	Van Diemen RF01	15	-
7	10	B-1	Paul Bollenbach	Reynard 90SF	15	-
8	2	A-7	Jack Mitchell Jr.	Piper DF5	15	Penalty
9	11	B-2	Andrew Celovsky	Reynard 82FF	14	-
-	8	B	Jean-Guy Fournier	Van Diemen RF94	-	Did Not Start
-	9	B	Kieran Murphy	Van Diemen RF91	-	Did Not Start

POS.	START	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	2	A-1	Shane Jantzi	Van Diemen RF02	15	-
2	1	A-2	Michael Adams	Van Diemen RF92	15	-
3	3	A-3	Caitlin Johnston	Van Diemen RF97	15	-
4	5	A-4	Jack Mitchell Jr.	Piper DF5	15	-
5	4	A-5	Steve Bamford	Mygale SJ-11	15	-
6	6	A-6	Jean-Philippe Jodoin	Van Diemen RF01	15	-
7	7	A-7	Tony Cove	Van Diemen RF98	15	-
8	8	B-1	Jean-Guy Fournier	Van Diemen RF94	15	-
9	9	B-2	Paul Bollenbach	Reynard 90SF	15	-
10	-	B-3	Andrew Celovsky	Reynard 82FF	14	-
-	-	B	Kieran Murphy	Van Diemen RF91	-	Did Not Start

Copyright Notice:

All content (photographs and text) appearing on this website are the exclusive property of © www.zoompics.com and are protected under International copyright laws. The subject matter on this website may not be reproduced, copied, stored or manipulated.