NA-F2000: New Dallara chassis for 2007 announced

The Cooper Tires Formula Ford 2000 Championship introduces new Dallara FF07USA chassis for the 2007 Series.

Palmetto, Florida (November 7, 2006) ---- Formula Motorsports Inc., promoter of the Cooper Tires Formula Ford 2000 Championship, revealed today that it will celebrate the Formula's 25th year in style with the introduction of a state-of-the-art carbon fiber Dallara FF07USA chassis in time for the 2007 season. Dallara Automobile of Varano Melegari, Italy is one of the world leaders in the design and production of open-wheel racing cars. Since its formation in 1972, Dallara has produced cars for virtually every single-seater series on the planet, including Formula 1, the current F1 feeder series GP2, World Series by Renault and 10 different national Formula 3 championships, plus the IRL and Indy Pro Series in North America .

"We at Dallara are extremely pleased to bring a new chassis to North America, and play a role in the long successful history of Formula Ford 2000. It is our intention to work closely with the teams and drivers and FMI to ensure the quality and service that our company is known for around the world," said Gian Paolo Dallara.

The new FF2000 design will be very similar to the car that has dominated Formula 3 since its introduction in Europe. The car also will incorporate an ultra-modern sequential no-lift shift 6 speed gearbox, FIA safety seat and of course, the Ford DOHC 2.0 Liter/Zetec engine which has proven to be so reliable and cost-effective since being introduced to Formula Ford 2000 in 2002 by Formula Motorsports. The FF07USA chassis is the result of extensive research and development including aerodynamic wind tunnel testing, 7 post shaker rig testing, rigorous FIA crash testing procedures, and the particular attention Dallara pays to the build quality of the finished product. Consequently each rolling chassis has a retail price of over $100,000 US dollars. FMI, however, has two new partners on board, who in order to launch the series will be able to offer the 1st twenty six chassis at a significantly subsidized price of $67,500 to ease the equipment change for clients.

"This is an important step for the Cooper Tires Formula Ford 2000 Championship," said Jon Baytos, president of Formula Motorsports Inc., "and we are so excited to have such a fantastic machine as the Dallara-Ford available to us for 2007. The current breed of cars has served us extremely well and will still be featured strongly in 2007 with junior championships based on both the East and West Coasts, but we felt it was important to upgrade our technical package for the National Series to include a new carbon chassis and the very latest sequential shift gearbox so it will provide an even better motorsport experience for our drivers and teams who are looking to move up into the Champ Car Atlantic Championship and the Champ Car World Series. When it became clear that we had to upgrade our chassis, we looked at many different options but it always came back to Dallara. Their reputation around the world for safety, quality and service speaks for itself. Our fans, teams and drivers are in for a ride when they get a look at this little carbon chariot.

Thanks to our partners at Cooper Tire, Sunoco, Performance Friction Brakes and of course Dallara for making this a reality."

-credit: dallara