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Marcos Ambrose, Duckhams Racing, Van Diemen RF98 leads Jenson Button, Haywood Racing, Mygale SJ98, Dan Wheldon, Duckhams Racing with Van Diemen, Van Diemen RF98
Autosport Plus
Special feature

Memories from Formula Ford Festival greats

Ahead of this year’s 50th edition of the legendary contest, we speak to some of those involved in some of the best contests over the years

Marcos Ambrose - 1998

The Supercars champion and NASCAR race winner has a unique link to Formula Ford. The Van Diemen brand was co-founded by his father Ross, the name a nod to the family’s home state of Tasmania in Australia. A fairytale Festival win in a factory Van Diemen beckoned for Ambrose in 1998, only for Jenson Button and the slightest of tactical miscalculations to intervene.

“I knew Jenson would have car speed on me. I had the lead and I was covering my lines really tightly. On that short Brands Hatch layout, you can basically hold the inside line the whole way around. It was a tense race and he was trying everything to get past, but I could check every move. I was being pig-headed, I was defending about as hard as you can defend.

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