Racing stars pay tribute to Formula Vee at 50

| 30 Jan 2013

Formula Vee – the sport that kick started the careers of F1 champions Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet, Emerson Fittipaldi and Keke Rosberg – celebrated its 50th anniversary during Daytona’s Rolex 24 weekend last Saturday.

Stars of US motor racing were on hand to mark the occasion, including Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendyk and two-time Daytona winner Elliott Forbes-Robinson.

Dutchman Luyendyk said: “It was great to be here, I grew up around Formula Vee. My dad drove them and I worked on them. Formula Vee has been a very big part of my life.”

The formula’s first race was held at the Daytona Speedway in 1963 and two years later it made its European debut in front of 50,000 spectators at the Norisring in Nuremberg, Germany.

By 1971 the Formula Super Vee Series had been spawned, featuring 1.6-litre Volkswagen engines tuned to 120bhp.