Team BRM returns in force to Australian Formula Ford Championship (11/16/2008 at 7:13:17 PM) Adelaide-based Team BRM will return in force to the Ford Genuine Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship in 2009. Recently crowned Australian Formula 3 Champions for the fourth time in six years, Team BRM has reached an agreement to run three Mygale SJ09 chassis in the 2009 championship after spending a year in state-level competition in ‘08. Second-generation driver Ben Small has also become the first driver to sign with the team for the full 2009 campaign. Small – son of renowned engine builder Les and bother of former Formula Ford winner, and SuperCheap Auto Racing engineer James – finished third in the 2008 Victorian State Formula Ford Championship driving a Mygale SJ07 despite missing one round due to university commitments. ”This was my first year in Formula Ford racing and I have always wanted to run in the National series, so I’m very excited,” he said. ”To be able to do it with a team like BRM makes it even better. They have a proven record plus a lot of success and experience so hopefully we can have a good year. ”I don’t have a lot of experience in Formula Ford but with a good testing program I’m confident that we can run up the front next year.” Team BRM contested the Australian Formula Ford championship in 2006 – 07, finishing on the podium at the Clipsal 500 (Ben Clucas, 2006), Sandown and Symmons Plains with Nick Percat last year. Percat still holds the Symmons Plains lap record driving a Team BRM entry in 2007. The team has contested the Victorian State series with Jordan Skinner this year, finishing sixth in just the 17-year-old South Australian’s rookie Formula Ford season. Team BRM manager Mark Rundle met with Mygale founder Bertrand Decoster on a trip to Europe in late 2007, and has since continued discussions throughout the season with both the French factory and Mygale Australia – headed up by Greg Woodrow – to form its plans to re-enter the series. Team BRM also recently travelled to Winton Raceway in Victoria to complete an evaluation test with several existing Mygale chassis prior to taking on new cars in time for the 2009 season. The team will take delivery of the first of its chassis later this year ahead of a full testing program prior to the opening round of the series. ”We are very pleased to be returning to Formula Ford and of our new relationship with Mygale,” Mark Rundle said. ”We consider Formula Ford as ‘unfinished business’ for Team BRM. We showed over the past two years that we have the pace and ability to run cars that are fast and are capable of winning races. Now we are planning to go out and win a championship and I think that is very achievable. ”The team has finished a reorganisation of our Adelaide workshop which, along with our brand new transporter, gives us all the facilities we need. We have an excellent group of people in place to run both the F3 and Formula Ford team and there is a great deal of confidence amongst the team, especially after our recent F3 win. ”It is our plan to run an in-house program that can bring drivers though Formula Ford, into our Championship winning Formula 3 team and potentially into the next logical step up as well – details of which we plan on announcing soon.” Rundle said. Team BRM will announce further plans for its 2009 Ford Genuine Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship campaign in due course. For more information head to www.teambrm.com.au or www.formulaford.com.au ENDS