The FordSport Club
Discussion
Ford had a huge motorsport presence in the 70s. I joined BARC as a teenage marshal in 1970 and in the West Yorkshire area attended lots of shows and events organised by Ford. As well as Fordsport days at Croft , there were rally shows and forums at the Leeds dealer , Tate, and to hear talks by the likes of Stuart Turner and Marku Alen was a big thing .Most older folk I knew in BARC had Fords - from Cortina GTs via Mexicos to Caprl 3 litres , even a Cortina Savage.
Foreign marques like Alfa and BMW were way too pricey , and apart from Mini Coopers , other British marques were mainly as outdated old tut- hardly anybody drove an MG . Ford had a blue collar , racey , cheeky and almost ducking and diving image , and were dominant on track and stage. Escorts won all the rallies and often beat the Camaros etc on track,FF1600 was just huge (and wonderful , as it still is ) and the DFV won nearly every Grand Prix . HIgh profile ? Not 'alf...
Foreign marques like Alfa and BMW were way too pricey , and apart from Mini Coopers , other British marques were mainly as outdated old tut- hardly anybody drove an MG . Ford had a blue collar , racey , cheeky and almost ducking and diving image , and were dominant on track and stage. Escorts won all the rallies and often beat the Camaros etc on track,FF1600 was just huge (and wonderful , as it still is ) and the DFV won nearly every Grand Prix . HIgh profile ? Not 'alf...
coppice said:
Ford had a huge motorsport presence in the 70s. I joined BARC as a teenage marshal in 1970 and in the West Yorkshire area attended lots of shows and events organised by Ford. As well as Fordsport days at Croft , there were rally shows and forums at the Leeds dealer , Tate, and to hear talks by the likes of Stuart Turner and Marku Alen was a big thing .Most older folk I knew in BARC had Fords - from Cortina GTs via Mexicos to Caprl 3 litres , even a Cortina Savage.
Foreign marques like Alfa and BMW were way too pricey , and apart from Mini Coopers , other British marques were mainly as outdated old tut- hardly anybody drove an MG . Ford had a blue collar , racey , cheeky and almost ducking and diving image , and were dominant on track and stage. Escorts won all the rallies and often beat the Camaros etc on track,FF1600 was just huge (and wonderful , as it still is ) and the DFV won nearly every Grand Prix . HIgh profile ? Not 'alf...
Great post. It’s a large part of the reason old Fords are so popular today. Foreign marques like Alfa and BMW were way too pricey , and apart from Mini Coopers , other British marques were mainly as outdated old tut- hardly anybody drove an MG . Ford had a blue collar , racey , cheeky and almost ducking and diving image , and were dominant on track and stage. Escorts won all the rallies and often beat the Camaros etc on track,FF1600 was just huge (and wonderful , as it still is ) and the DFV won nearly every Grand Prix . HIgh profile ? Not 'alf...
coppice said:
Ford had a huge motorsport presence in the 70s. I joined BARC as a teenage marshal in 1970 and in the West Yorkshire area attended lots of shows and events organised by Ford. As well as Fordsport days at Croft , there were rally shows and forums at the Leeds dealer , Tate, and to hear talks by the likes of Stuart Turner and Marku Alen was a big thing .Most older folk I knew in BARC had Fords - from Cortina GTs via Mexicos to Caprl 3 litres , even a Cortina Savage.
Foreign marques like Alfa and BMW were way too pricey , and apart from Mini Coopers , other British marques were mainly as outdated old tut- hardly anybody drove an MG . Ford had a blue collar , racey , cheeky and almost ducking and diving image , and were dominant on track and stage. Escorts won all the rallies and often beat the Camaros etc on track,FF1600 was just huge (and wonderful , as it still is ) and the DFV won nearly every Grand Prix . HIgh profile ? Not 'alf...
Some great memories there Coppice Foreign marques like Alfa and BMW were way too pricey , and apart from Mini Coopers , other British marques were mainly as outdated old tut- hardly anybody drove an MG . Ford had a blue collar , racey , cheeky and almost ducking and diving image , and were dominant on track and stage. Escorts won all the rallies and often beat the Camaros etc on track,FF1600 was just huge (and wonderful , as it still is ) and the DFV won nearly every Grand Prix . HIgh profile ? Not 'alf...
At about the same age as you I was a BARC member and used to marshal at Croft quite often. The old man was car mad too - Ford through and through - and used to take me over in his Mk 1 Lotus Cortina. It was a special factory order in red (‘Sunset’ I think) with gold stripes à la Alan Mann Racing/John Whitmore ETCC.The FordSport events were very well attended at Croft (I remember sitting in awe in a GT40 in the paddock and the guy fired it up for me. Just about wet myself
) Naturally I had all the FordSport stuff - rally jacket, blue binder for the magazines with the distinctive S logo, and FS keyring, decals etc. Happy days eh!Escort3500 said:
coppice said:
Ford had a huge motorsport presence in the 70s. I joined BARC as a teenage marshal in 1970 and in the West Yorkshire area attended lots of shows and events organised by Ford. As well as Fordsport days at Croft , there were rally shows and forums at the Leeds dealer , Tate, and to hear talks by the likes of Stuart Turner and Marku Alen was a big thing .Most older folk I knew in BARC had Fords - from Cortina GTs via Mexicos to Caprl 3 litres , even a Cortina Savage.
Foreign marques like Alfa and BMW were way too pricey , and apart from Mini Coopers , other British marques were mainly as outdated old tut- hardly anybody drove an MG . Ford had a blue collar , racey , cheeky and almost ducking and diving image , and were dominant on track and stage. Escorts won all the rallies and often beat the Camaros etc on track,FF1600 was just huge (and wonderful , as it still is ) and the DFV won nearly every Grand Prix . HIgh profile ? Not 'alf...
Some great memories there Coppice Foreign marques like Alfa and BMW were way too pricey , and apart from Mini Coopers , other British marques were mainly as outdated old tut- hardly anybody drove an MG . Ford had a blue collar , racey , cheeky and almost ducking and diving image , and were dominant on track and stage. Escorts won all the rallies and often beat the Camaros etc on track,FF1600 was just huge (and wonderful , as it still is ) and the DFV won nearly every Grand Prix . HIgh profile ? Not 'alf...
At about the same age as you I was a BARC member and used to marshal at Croft quite often. The old man was car mad too - Ford through and through - and used to take me over in his Mk 1 Lotus Cortina. It was a special factory order in red ( Sunset I think) with gold stripes à la Alan Mann Racing/John Whitmore ETCC.The FordSport events were very well attended at Croft (I remember sitting in awe in a GT40 in the paddock and the guy fired it up for me. Just about wet myself
) Naturally I had all the FordSport stuff - rally jacket, blue binder for the magazines with the distinctive S logo, and FS keyring, decals etc. Happy days eh!spack said:
Escort3500 said:
coppice said:
Ford had a huge motorsport presence in the 70s. I joined BARC as a teenage marshal in 1970 and in the West Yorkshire area attended lots of shows and events organised by Ford. As well as Fordsport days at Croft , there were rally shows and forums at the Leeds dealer , Tate, and to hear talks by the likes of Stuart Turner and Marku Alen was a big thing .Most older folk I knew in BARC had Fords - from Cortina GTs via Mexicos to Caprl 3 litres , even a Cortina Savage.
Foreign marques like Alfa and BMW were way too pricey , and apart from Mini Coopers , other British marques were mainly as outdated old tut- hardly anybody drove an MG . Ford had a blue collar , racey , cheeky and almost ducking and diving image , and were dominant on track and stage. Escorts won all the rallies and often beat the Camaros etc on track,FF1600 was just huge (and wonderful , as it still is ) and the DFV won nearly every Grand Prix . HIgh profile ? Not 'alf...
Some great memories there Coppice Foreign marques like Alfa and BMW were way too pricey , and apart from Mini Coopers , other British marques were mainly as outdated old tut- hardly anybody drove an MG . Ford had a blue collar , racey , cheeky and almost ducking and diving image , and were dominant on track and stage. Escorts won all the rallies and often beat the Camaros etc on track,FF1600 was just huge (and wonderful , as it still is ) and the DFV won nearly every Grand Prix . HIgh profile ? Not 'alf...
At about the same age as you I was a BARC member and used to marshal at Croft quite often. The old man was car mad too - Ford through and through - and used to take me over in his Mk 1 Lotus Cortina. It was a special factory order in red ( Sunset I think) with gold stripes à la Alan Mann Racing/John Whitmore ETCC.The FordSport events were very well attended at Croft (I remember sitting in awe in a GT40 in the paddock and the guy fired it up for me. Just about wet myself
) Naturally I had all the FordSport stuff - rally jacket, blue binder for the magazines with the distinctive S logo, and FS keyring, decals etc. Happy days eh!
Celebrity Capri Race: The centerpiece was a "Pro-Celeb" race featuring 16 identical Ford Capri 3000E (Executive) models. All cars were finished in black with red coach lines and black vinyl roofs.
Drivers: The field included legendary racers such as Graham Hill, Emerson Fittipaldi, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, and Frank Gardner.
Results: The celebrity race was won by Dave Mathews.
Format: Grid positions were decided by a tombola-style draw from a drum on the starting grid.
Drivers: The field included legendary racers such as Graham Hill, Emerson Fittipaldi, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, and Frank Gardner.
Results: The celebrity race was won by Dave Mathews.
Format: Grid positions were decided by a tombola-style draw from a drum on the starting grid.
TaurusMexico said:
I'm surprised that the FordSport Springalex steering wheel centre hasn't already appeared on these pages !
Edited by TaurusMexico on Monday 2nd February 10:27
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