Formel Vau will be a guest of the Czech Truck Prix 2023

The Formel Vau formula series has already competed in Most, but few people know about it. We bring you an article about the history and present of Formel Vau. You will see it in Most in 14 days at the Czech Truck Prix & NASCAR Whelen Euro Series (25. – 27. 8. 2023).

In 1959, VW Racing began in America. Ferry Porsche and the then racing director Huschke von Hanstein were inspired by the American idea and took 10 cars to Germany. The Beach and Formcar vehicles could already reach 160 km/h at that time and had about 40 horsepower. The first presentation of these Volkswagen Rennen took place in 1965 on the Eberbach hill. Many mocked the strange or even creepy reptiles.

However, Formula Vau quickly established itself as a serious junior racing formula. Drivers such as Niki Lauda, Dieter Quester or Harald Ertl laid the foundations of their racing careers here. Living wildly and dangerously then became Rainer Braun's slogan, and in the field of 70 racing cars there were terrifying battles. Later, such names as AJ Foyt, Jochen Rindt, Jacky Ickx or JP Beltois appeared in the racing series. Slightly modified Beetle engines with open exhaust systems were able to bring the mechanics up to 70 horsepower. Nevertheless, 2 carburetors or dry sump lubrication were modernized.

Another idea for 1600 engines came from America, the Super Vau formula. The maximum speed then shot up to 230 km/h and it gave 140 hp. Emerson Fittipaldi, Keke Rosberg, and Jochen Mass also had their moments with these real racing cars. In 1973, there were 3000 Formel Vau and Super Vau cars in the world, thus surpassing even the junior formula. However, in 1978, the series dropped air-cooled engines, which meant the end of the swan song of Super Vau, as it was too close to the F3 formula. In 1982, the Super Vau formula ended. Nowadays, Formel Vau runs in seven classes divided according to the age of the car and engine capacity.

Find out more about the series here

The series features brands such as Kaimann, RPB, DRM, March, Royale, Lola and Ralt.

In the list of unknown pilots of these historically fragrant machines, after the races at Hockenheim, Oschersleben and Lausitzring, we find Nick Wittkuhn with the Kaimann car, who currently leads the overall standings of this racing series, Marco Wittkuhn with the Royale brand is in second place overall, and third place belongs to Eckhard Guhl with the Burkhart car before the race in Most.

You can find the current season results here: Historische Formel Vau Europa eV (formel-vau.eu)

In 2011, the Formel Vau raced in Most in a joint race with the Interserie and the Austria Formel Cup, and then several more times. Now the drivers of this series will return to Most for truck races, which, however, no longer resemble trucks. Anyone who wants to see these historic machines in action has a good chance in Most at the Czech Truck Prix. After Most, this series will end the season in Zolder.

Text: Vláďa Rožánek, Photo: Formel Vau 2023