British Formula Ford 1972
Formula Ford was growing very strongly in Britain in 1972, with entries of over 100 cars at some events competing for only 25 places on the grid. The main championship was the British Oxygen (BOC) title, won by Ian Taylor in a Dulon, the 25-year-old Berkshire driver ending the season with a coveted Grovewood Award. Taylor also won the Daily Express title, while the BARC's Sunbeam Electric title was won by veteran driver Syd Fox, and the Brands Hatch championship by Bob Arnott.
Tim Brise, 18-year-old brother of Tony, had been very competitive at the start of the season in a special 1972 Merlyn with side radiators and snub nose, but he moved up to Formula 3. Another brother of an up-and-coming star, Ian Scheckter, decided to return to South Africa, leaving Wolverhampton's Derek Lawrence to be Taylor's main competitor. Later in the season, Mexican Johnny Gerber had a lot of success in an Elden with special bodywork by Dennis Falconer, and he won the high-profile World Championship Formula Ford Final at Brands Hatch in October.
BARC Sunbeam Electric Formula Ford
26 Mar 1972 > Snetterton
16 Apr 1972 > Silverstone
21 May 1972 > Brands Hatch
28 May 1972 > Croft
30 May 1972 > Oulton Park
11 Jun 1972 > Silverstone
16 Jul 1972 > Cadwell Park
30 Jul 1972 > Thruxton
20 Aug 1972 > Brands Hatch
02 Sep 1972 > Brands Hatch
24 Sep 1972 > Thruxton
08 Oct 1972 > Mallory Park
14 Oct 1972 > Oulton Park
29 Oct 1972 > Thruxton
1972 BARC Sunbeam Electric Formula Ford Championship table
| 1 | Syd Fox | Hawke DL9 - Ford Kent Holbay | 67 pts | 3 wins |
| 2 | Ken Bailey | Titan Mk6 - Ford Kent Titan | 46 pts | 2 wins |
| 3 | Derek Lawrence | Titan Mk6 - Ford Kent Titan | 42 pts | 4 wins |
| 4 | Bob Arnott | Merlyn Mk 20A - Ford Kent Scholar | 32 pts | 3 wins |
| 5 | Rob Wicken | Merlyn Mk 17A - Ford Kent Piper | 12 pts | |
| 6 | Robert Cooper | Merlyn Mk 20A - Ford Kent Scholar | 10 pts | |
| 7 | David Ferris | Merlyn Mk 20A - Ford Kent Rowland | 9 pts | |
| 8 | Peter Finlay | Palliser WDF2 - Ford Kent Rowland | 9 pts | 1 win |
| 9 | David Oxton | Merlyn Mk 11A - Ford Kent Scholar | 9 pts | |
| 10 | Peter Harrington | Cougar 72F - Ford Kent Scholar | 8 pts |
Points table from Autosport 2 November 1972 p6.
Johnny Gerber's prize was a new Formula 3 Brabham BT41, but he and Ippokampos Racing had little success in F3 in 1973. Ian Taylor acquired a March 733, and won six F3 races and won the BARC Forward Trust F3 Championship, before his career was derailed by an abortive season in Formula 5000. Tim Brise had a huge accident in F3 in August 1972, and his career never really got going after that. Derek Lawrence joined the Ehrlich team and became a regular in F3, but never advanced further up the ladder. Syd Fox moved up to F3 with R.A. McKinistry's Huron, a poor choice in hindsight, and Ken Bailey, second to Fox in the BARC series, bought a second-hand March 722 for Formula Atlantic.