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About The Team USA Scholarship was founded in 1990. At the time, opportunities for young American drivers were few and far between. Also, Formula Ford in England was going through a lean spell. British championship races were being canceled due to a lack of entries and it seemed that the future of the Formula Ford Festival, which had provided an end-of-season opportunity for talented up-and-coming drivers from around the world since 1972, was in jeopardy. So it seemed like a good idea to raise some sponsorship and create an opportunity for a talented young American to contest the Formula Ford Festival and World Cup at Brands Hatch. A program was instituted at relatively short notice and Jimmy Vasser was dispatched to England...where he faced one of the largest entries the Festival had ever attracted, over 200 cars! In 1995, with Formula Ford again going through the doldrums following a decision to replace the trusty Kent engine with the newer Zetec motor, the decision was made to enter that year’s Team USA Scholarship winner (Memo Gidley) in a non-championship end-of-season International Formula 3 race at Donington Park in England. The high cost of F3 and the growth of American Dan Partel’s Formula Vauxhall/Lotus initiative, through his European Formula Drivers’ Association, led to a switch to the EFDA Nations Cup event, also at Donington, in 1996. In 1999, the Team USA Scholarship switched its attention to Formula Palmer Audi, which offered a four-race Winter Series in England and unparalleled value for money. After a few years of focusing instead on the New Zealand International Formula Ford Championship (starting in 2001/2002), which was especially attractive due to favorable currency exchange rates, the Team USA Scholarship switched back to Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Trophy in time for the 2005 season. |
Team U.S.A News
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