The Ford Kent engine was the original powerplant of Formula Ford from its origins in 1967, and the British national championship used it until the Zetec transition. When the top-level series moved on, a collection of club and regional championships continued racing Kent-powered cars, recognising their low cost, mechanical simplicity, and the size of the existing pool of cars available to competitors. The chassis diversity within the specification is considerable — constructors represented include Van Diemen, Swift, Mygale, Reynard, Vector, Crossle, Royale, Hawke, Mallock, Merlyn, Palliser, Macon, Lotus, Elden, Lola, Brabham, Titan, Jamun, and Nike.
The Castle Combe Formula 1600 championship is the oldest Formula Ford 1600 championship in the United Kingdom, having run since 1969. It races exclusively at the Castle Combe Circuit in Wiltshire and uses a four-class structure in which the overall champion is determined by points regardless of class.
The Historic Sports Car Club took over the Classic Formula Ford championship in 2020, having previously been administered by the BARC. The championship comprises two classes — cars built before 1974 and cars built between 1974 and 1981 — with rounds at Snetterton, Silverstone, Donington Park, Brands Hatch, and Croft.
The Midlands-South series is an amalgamation of the former Star of the Midlands and MotorSport Vision championships. It races at Mallory Park, Silverstone, Snetterton, and Brands Hatch. The class structure mirrors Castle Combe's approach, though the pre-1990 class is further subdivided into cars built between 1985 and 1990, before 1985, and before 1980.
The North West series follows the same class structure as Midlands-South and races at Oulton Park in Cheshire and Ty Croes in Anglesey. Due to competitor numbers, races are split between cars built before and after 1990, with separate champions crowned in each class.
The Northern Irish championship accepts cars of any age and races primarily at Kirkistown, with additional rounds at Oulton Park and Mondello Park in the Republic of Ireland. The Scottish championship is organised by the Scottish Motor Racing Club and races mainly at Knockhill, with additional rounds at Croft.
The Irish championship runs its bulk of races at Mondello Park, with further rounds at Kirkistown and Pembrey in Wales. The series uses an unusual two-class system: Class A targets championship contenders pursuing maximum points, while Class B is open to drivers racing for personal enjoyment regardless of car age.
The Crossflow Cup races at Sonoma Raceway, Laguna Seca, and Road America and is limited to cars built before 1972. It was established in 2017. The Emerald Cup is a West Coast series racing at Pacific Raceways, Portland International Raceway, The Ridge, Sonoma Raceway, and Laguna Seca, and is open to all Formula Ford cars with points awarded by finishing position. A notable characteristic of the Formula Ford 1600 specification is that a pre-1971 car is eligible for every other championship, giving owners of the oldest machinery maximum scheduling flexibility.
FRCCA (Formula Race Car Club of America) has raced on the east coast of North America since 1980, running alongside EMRA Racing in an open format covering both FF1600 and Formula Vee.
A distinct feature of the Formula Ford 1600 calendar is a series of one-off trophy events that bring together drivers from different championships without class restrictions. Notable examples include the Castle Combe Carnival, the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch, the Edwina Overend Memory Trophy at Mallory Park, and the Anglesey Circuit Club's December Trophy. The Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone, held in November, is the most prominent of these gatherings, attracting up to 200 drivers and drawing competitors from higher formulae. Josef Newgarden, who later became a two-time IndyCar Series champion, won the Kent class at the Formula Ford Festival in 2008.
The enduring appeal of Formula Ford 1600 rests on several factors: low acquisition costs for second-hand chassis from the extensive pool produced over decades, mechanical simplicity that keeps running costs manageable, and the fundamental purity of the Kent engine specification, which changes little between competitive generations. These characteristics make the formula accessible to a range of competitors, from young drivers beginning their careers to experienced club racers maintaining long-term participation in the sport.