The Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain today unveils a superb provisional calendar for the coming season - the 44th in Formula Ford's illustrious history. With five meetings supporting British Formula 3, one alongside the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, another supporting the DTM and a "jewel in the crown" slot at Europe's F3 blue riband event, the Zandvoort Masters.

The Ford-backed championship will be contested over 25 races with a mix of double-header and triple-race events spread over the 10 meetings; Sam Roach of Formula Ford promoter RacingLine says the planned calendar will be superb for spectators and competitors alike:

"The natural progression of drivers from Formula Ford to Formula 3 is being reinforced with every passing season. Our 2008 champion, Wayne Boyd, was a British F3 race-winner last year and we expect our '09 champion, James Cole, to follow Wayne into F3 this season. So we are in an excellent position for the coming year with five of our 10 meetings alongside British F3 at the UK's best circuits.

"It's fantastic also to have been selected to join the bill at the European 'Formula 3 Grand Prix', the Masters at Zandvoort in the Netherlands, which I am sure will be a highlight for everyone." The British teams will share the grid in Holland with cars from the Benelux Formula Ford series, and it's hoped that Scandinavian-series cars will join the party.

Other highlights for the coming season include races at Donington Park with British Touring Cars, at Brands Hatch with German touring cars, and at Knockhill in Scotland with British GT. The August Silverstone fixture will see Formula Ford tackling the full Grand Prix circuit for the first time since the introduction of the Duratec engine in 2007.

There's also an early-summer visit to Castle Combe, trips to Rockingham and Snetterton, and an exciting Easter championship kick-off at Oulton Park.

Among the technical and sporting innovations for 2010 are the radial tyres developed by new title sponsor Dunlop, and revisions to the Scholarship division for less experienced drivers which will see the Scholarship champion winning the free use for the 2011 season of a Van Diemen chassis and Scholar-prepared engine, as well as free race entries.

With the championship celebrating the addition of World Champion Jenson Button's name to the lengthy list of ex-Formula Ford champions to have made it to the pinnacle of global motorsport, the prospects for finding a successor in Formula Ford 2010 could not be brighter.

Registrations for the coming season are already open and are being taken at the BRSCC stand at next week's Autosport show at the NEC Birmingham.