WHY THE Mk2 IS A NATIONAL HERO
Motorsport is always about what is coming next, the latest development and shaving off the fractions of a second, be that on the Tarmac or in the forests. It is odd, therefore, that the Ford Escort Mk2 is the competition machine that will never die. Reporter Luke Barry explores the appeal of rallying’s rearwheel-drive icon this week and discovers that it has a lure for drivers which remains undimmed some 45 years after it first hit the European roads.
The key element that makes the Escort such a lynchpin of the national scene is the fun factor for those behind the wheel. When the Ford is going sideways, it provides a grin for the one at the controls and it provides a thrill for the spectating fans. And now, even after all this time, new and exciting versions are being created by engineering firms up and down the land. The story of the Escort is not over, not by a long chalk, and there are more chapters to be written. Barry’s excellent feature begins on page 20.
Deputy Editor Graham Keilloh speaks to Richard Attwood, one of the gentlemen of motorsport and a highly underrated driver. The 1970 Le Mans winner and Formula 1 podium finisher tackles the Motorsport News readers’ questions and recalls an era where the threat of injury was ever-present and the cars required an equal amount of bravery and a heavy right foot. Attwood’s thoughts begin on page 16.
Elsewhere, our columnist-at-large David Addison discusses the complicated landscape which is affecting national motor racing at the moment with some events being forced to be run behind closed doors while others can throw the gates open.
The Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone was run behind closed doors, for example. That has become the norm for grand prix racing recently, but it still a crying shame that fans couldn’t get their annual fix. While Formula 1 organisers have done a great job in rejigging the schedule for 2020, there has to be a very real concern for the remaining races as a second wave of the coronavirus sweeps through Europe. The next race in Spain, for example, is looking, at the moment, highly unlikely, and the quarantine requirements could scupper many of the other planned events on the already decimated roster.
The situation across motorsport is still very fluid, and this is nothing like the normal circumstances that the world is desperate to return to.