GOLDEN BOY: Adam Higgins celebrates with his proud dad Bob after taking the class win in only his sixth race last August at Castle Combe Circuit. He will be gunning for the Golden Helmet

Formula Ford 1600 has been an integral part of the Castle Combe Circuit's success for almost 40 years and during that time Formula Ford as a national category has gone through a roller-coaster of success.

For the first two decades of its life, Formula Ford 1600 was the category of choice for young, aspiring Formula 1 drivers.

It's support from the Ford Motor company was often somewhat indifferent however, and with its old Kent engine long since out of production, the category became less and less popular as a desirable national series. Nevertheless, Castle Combe remained loyal to the original concept, its Melton Concrete Products backed championship consistent in its close racing and healthy grids.

Whilst many high profile formulae went from boom to bust, Formula Ford 1600 stubbornly refused to die and in the noughties' began a national revival which is still on a roll.

One of the results of the renewed interest in Formula Ford 1600 was the launch in 2005 of the Formula Ford Golden Helmet Trophy race.

Devised by the prestigious British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC), the aim of the race is to challenge the world's top FF1600 pilots in a one off duel, the winner allowed to wear a prestigious Golden Helmet' for the following 12 months.

This year, for the first time, the Golden Helmet comes to Castle Combe, forming the centrepiece of its opening meeting of the 2008 season on Easter Monday March 24.

Since its first race at Silverstone, the Golden Helmet has featured some well known Castle Combe exponents including 2006 Combe Carnival winner Peter Dempsey and multiple Castle Combe champion, Gavin Wills.

In theory, the regulars from the circuit's own championship should have a home advantage, but as has been seen before in the Carnival races, the visitors can sometimes trounce the Combe regulars, the races so close the top six are virtually indistinguishable from each other.

Incredibly, the basic Formula Ford concept has been unchanged for 40 years.

Tyres are slightly more modern and the chassis have evolved with advances in technology, but the humble 1600 crossflow engine from the Cortina is still compulsory.

Despite developing only a little over 100bhp, the cars are incredibly fast, averaging Castle Combe at not far off 100mph, their tightly controlled specification making for the closest racing imaginable.

Wiltshire drivers, Ed Moore, Adam Higgins, Ben Norton and Andy Jones are all potential stars of the race and hungry to show off their circuit knowledge in front of the world's top Formula Ford protagonists.

2:38pm Thursday 28th February 2008

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