An array of youngsters are set to take part in the 2007 running of the NSW Formula Ford 1600 Championship, which begins this weekend (April 14 – 15) at Wakefield Park Raceway in Goulburn for the first of six rounds.

Seen to be a true breeding ground of legends, past competitors have been moving on to bigger and better things recently, including Ian Dyk and John Martin. 2005 runner up John Martin has now moved to UK to compete in the British Formula 3 Championship with the highly experienced Alan Docking Motorsport team. Dyk recently competed in the A1 GP race at Mexico, finishing an extremely creditable 3rd in the sprint race for Team Australia.

The NSW Championship is now regarded as a good stepping stone to the National Formula Ford Championship and beyond.

Amongst the field for the opening round is CAMS Rising Star drivers Daniel Erickson (Spectrum 010B) and Scott Pye (Spectrum 010B), along with the likes of Rob Storey (Spirit WL07 out of the Anglo Australian Motorsport stable), current South Australian Series champion Jake Chapman (Spectrum 010B), current Qld Series champion Martin Swindells and second season racer Chris Goodman, which is just scratching the surface in terms of the talent that is going to be on show in the NSW Series throughout the year.

Without a doubt, Anglo Australian Motorsport team driver Rob Storey, is a pre-season favourite heading into the 2007 opener and he wants the NSW Series win, and nothing less. Other drivers hoping to make a challenge for the championship title are the likes of Erickson, Pye, Glenn Welch (driving for Team Sydney owned by Alan Price in a Listec Wil 05), Jake Chapman, and Tom Tweedie (running the second of the Anglo Australian Motorsport entrants, a Van Diemen Stealth) amongst others.

After making his Formula Ford debut last year in the NSW State Series, Goodman has stepped up his program in 2007 after leasing the Spectrum 010B driven last year by Nick Lowe. Goodman will again be engineered by the experienced Justin Cotter.

This year there has been an influx of interstate entrants, and the opening round of the NSW Series has attracted entries from Jake Chapman (VIC), Pye, (SA), rookie driver Tom Ballard (ACT) who has moved up from the Formula Vee ranks after purchasing the ex Garry Watson Mygale 95J, Andrew Hagen (QLD) – Van Diemen RF92, Tony Chapman (QLD) running the Van Diemen RF01Z, and Nikki Templer (VIC) – Spectrum 010B.

An addition to the NSW Championship this year has been the introduction of a tyre rule, which requires each driver to use one set of tyres for the whole weekend, and that is certainly bound to even up the field somewhat.

Series organiser Jeff Senior said “the concept of the NSW Championship is to be a training ground for our competitors for when they move up the motorsport ladder. The addition of a tyre rule will train our competitors to be more efficient with their tyres for the whole weekend."

The field will also include the likes of Derryn Harrison (Spectrum 06B), Matt McGill (Swift 92), and budget racer Dave Wood (Van Diemen RF95). Add to the field historic Formula Ford enthusiast Don Holland (Reynard 1989), and 2007 is no doubt going to be an exciting battle over the six round series.

The 2007 NSW Championship will see Wakefield Park, Eastern Creek and Oran Park Raceways host two rounds each starting in April, and going right through to September.