Background
Whilst Ford’s rallying history can be traced back to before the Escort, with cars such as the Anglia and Lotus Cortina, 1968 is the important year as far as blue oval rally fans are concerned, as this year saw the launch of the Mark I Escort. The Escort redefined rallying, dominating from its launch through to its replacement by the Mark II in 1975.
The RS1800 picked up the reins left behind by the Mark I. The first win for the Mark II came on the 1975 RAC rally, with an Escort also winning the event the following year for a fifth time. The Escort’s wins in the British Rally Championship were of even greater dominance as it secured 1st place in the championship for 8 consecutive years between 1971 and 1978.
1979 witnessed the Escort dominate the World Rally Championship, taking the Constructors and Drivers titles with wins on the Portuguese, Acropolis, New Zealand, Canadian and UK rounds, the UK for the eighth time in succession.
As Ford switched development to the new front wheel drive Escort, which would culminate in the aborted RS1700T project, Ari Vatanen entered a privateer Mark II Escort rally team in the 1980 and 1981 World Rally Championships and took the driver’s title in 1981, a feat not achieved before or since.
This car
This Escort MK2 is a tribute to the Escort Mk2 RS 1800’s driven in the early 1980’s by Robert Droogmans in Belgium and sponsored by Belga. In 1982, the well-known Belgian driver, after an unsatisfactory season with Tony Maslen’s Escort, decided to contact Jeff Churchill Motorsport to rent a car. The start at Rally Boucles de Spa turned out well (2nd place), but he retired in the Haspengouw Rally and Rally Ypres. With the support of the Belgian representation of Ford, he appeared at the Bianchi Rally (in the Ford/Belga livery). He was expelled from the first place due to a rule infringement. The last rally for Droogmans in this year was the Limburgia Rally with the support of Ford and in the typical Ford white-blue colours, where he won the rally.
In 1983, Robert Droogmans renewed his collaboration with both the Belgian sponsor Belga and Jeff Churchill’s team to compete in the Belgium Championships under the Belda livery.
Technical Specification
Engine: Vauxhall XE (C20XE) 2000cc ‘Red Top’, Four cylinder ,16V.
Induction system: Naturally Aspirated, Multi point Injection.
Transmission: 6 Speed Sequential gearbox.
Power output: 289bhp