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Post by Carl on Jan 25, 2019 23:58:14 GMT
John Charles, I recall your earlier comment and have no doubt you are correct that the flared arches are from the extended wheelbase Ford Transit Van, but I still prefer they derive from Sophia Loren.
 Saluti, Carl  |
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Post by mikael on Jan 26, 2019 4:33:11 GMT
Carl,
I agree that those Escorts were like pieces of art; and I think the color scheme of Erik Høyer's specimen – in Ford-blue-and-white, with thin golden stripes, and gold-and-chrome wheels – was well-nigh perfect.
Here's another photo from 1972:
On another website ( www.theroaringseason.com/showthread.php?160-AWA-Escort (*)) I learned that this particular car (of Erik Høyer) raced in 1972 in the "up to 2000cc" Group 2, using an 1800 BDE engine. In 1973 it was entered in the "up to 1300cc" Group 2 with a 1300 BDH engine. Hence it competed, in 1973, with cars like the NSU TT, as the following photo shows:
(*) The history of the car is actually really interesting. Apparently, it was later used in rallies by Roger Clark, for finally to end up in New Zealand! See again:
www.theroaringseason.com/showthread.php?160-AWA-Escort
This website says that the car was actually owned by Ford UK; Ford Denmark only had it on loan.
At that time, in the 70's, there were no 100% professional racing drivers in Denmark, but I have later read that Erik Høyer was as professional as one could possibly be at that time, on a national level. Thus he was not salaried by Ford Denmark (and Castrol Denmark); but otherwise, they paid everything related to his racing. It was probably Ford Denmark that decided on his step-down from Group 2 to Group 1.
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JC,
Thank you very much for the story about the British Touring Car Championship. The name of Gerry Marshall I remember well, as he was often noted in Scandinavian motor magazines. (The Scandinavian journalists were impressed, I think, by his Vauxhall racing cars).
Returning to the Escort, on the website where I found the photos of Erik Høyer's Mk. I RS 1800 (fordcc.dk) there is a link to an article in “The Sun” which tells that the original Alan Mann Racing Escorts now are sold with unbelievable price tags. Seen in this light, Gordon Murray's project makes a lot more sense!
Here's the link:
www.thesun.co.uk/news/uknews/2995665/classic-ford-escort-auction-sale-price-250000-2/
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Post by chrisb on Jan 26, 2019 11:23:15 GMT
I loved the rallying escorts especially the Mk2's in the British forests - sideways with a gorgeous sound with such great drivers as Bjorn, Ari and Hannu together with the late and missed Roger Albert Clark, and his Cossack hair!
it is interesting how Mk1/11 Cortina's and Escorts were basically throwaway pieces of Dagenham but the price they fetch now is really far-fetched, in saying that I would love a Mk2 - great cars
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Post by charleselan on Jan 27, 2019 14:12:08 GMT
John Charles, I recall your earlier comment and have no doubt you are correct that the flared arches are from the extended wheelbase Ford Transit Van, but I still prefer they derive from Sophia Loren.
Saluti, Carl Carl, those curves are in all the right places, that lady was simply astonishing. JC |
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Post by charleselan on Jan 27, 2019 14:21:25 GMT
Carl,
I agree that those Escorts were like pieces of art; and I think the color scheme of Erik Høyer's specimen – in Ford-blue-and-white, with thin golden stripes, and gold-and-chrome wheels – was well-nigh perfect.
Here's another photo from 1972:
On another website ( www.theroaringseason.com/showthread.php?160-AWA-Escort (*)) I learned that this particular car (of Erik Høyer) raced in 1972 in the "up to 2000cc" Group 2, using an 1800 BDE engine. In 1973 it was entered in the "up to 1300cc" Group 2 with a 1300 BDH engine. Hence it competed, in 1973, with cars like the NSU TT, as the following photo shows:
(*) The history of the car is actually really interesting. Apparently, it was later used in rallies by Roger Clark, for finally to end up in New Zealand! See again:
www.theroaringseason.com/showthread.php?160-AWA-Escort
This website says that the car was actually owned by Ford UK; Ford Denmark only had it on loan.
At that time, in the 70's, there were no 100% professional racing drivers in Denmark, but I have later read that Erik Høyer was as professional as one could possibly be at that time, on a national level. Thus he was not salaried by Ford Denmark (and Castrol Denmark); but otherwise, they paid everything related to his racing. It was probably Ford Denmark that decided on his step-down from Group 2 to Group 1.
---------------------------------------
JC,
Thank you very much for the story about the British Touring Car Championship. The name of Gerry Marshall I remember well, as he was often noted in Scandinavian motor magazines. (The Scandinavian journalists were impressed, I think, by his Vauxhall racing cars).
Returning to the Escort, on the website where I found the photos of Erik Høyer's Mk. I RS 1800 (fordcc.dk) there is a link to an article in “The Sun” which tells that the original Alan Mann Racing Escorts now are sold with unbelievable price tags. Seen in this light, Gordon Murray's project makes a lot more sense!
Here's the link:
www.thesun.co.uk/news/uknews/2995665/classic-ford-escort-auction-sale-price-250000-2/
Mikael, That Mk 1 Escort is just an absolutely beauty and amazing to think it also became a rally car used by Roger Albert Clark. Eric Høyer sounds as though he was a very good driver with a long and illustrious career in Denmark. Gerry Marshall was iconic in the British Club racing scene mainly driving Bill Blydenstein's Vauxhall's which ranged from production based models like the Firenza right through to the outrageous Super Saloons like "Baby Birtha" etc. Marshall was known for his flamboyant crowd pleasing style, and he was a very big lad to boot. Later on he raced very competitively in Historic racing, a real character. The prices being asked for these Ford models now are extraordinary, but I believe a lot of this is to do with the fact that thousands were lost to the dreaded rust, hence they are in relative short supply. JC |
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Post by Carl on Jan 29, 2019 20:58:49 GMT
Mikael, You recently wrote: "At that time, in the 70's, there were no 100% professional racing drivers in Denmark, but I have later read that Erik Høyer was as professional as one could possibly be at that time, on a national level." Were restrictions placed on racing in Denmark after the horrible tragedy at LeMans in 1955? The progress of safety in racing was incremental at best and more often glacial until recent decades and it was compared by some to ancient Roman bloodlust.
- Carl |
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Post by René on Jan 29, 2019 23:00:46 GMT
I know many of us on here are big Gordon Murray fans so I’d thought I’d let you know about a series of YT videos I’ve been following..... Basically, Gordon Murray is having a renowned car builder / restorer build a modified Mk1 Ford Escort for Gordon’s personal use and the company are documenting the build in detail on YT. The company are called Retropower and I think there have been 7 videos in the series so far.......it’s rather excellent I think and gives an insight into all the little touches Gordon wants.......I must say, the chap has impeccable taste! They are doing an outstanding job of the car so it’s well worth a look if you think it’ll be of interest 👍. Link below: Typically, I'm a bit late to the party on this thread, but it is a goodie. I've also been following that YT series, they are a bit slow in coming out, but the quality of the work the Retropower Garage guys do, and the quality of the video's they produce is extraordinary. The glimpses of the other cars in their workshops are almost worth the watch on their own, If I'm not mistaken the reason that Gordon Murray said for wanting an Escort is that it is a car he's always liked, and it fits in his collection of sub-1000kg cars. The bit I find a curious about the project is that he's keeping it pretty simple apart from a custom designed Independent Rear Suspension system. I guess the power and torque of the Cosworth Duratec engine would overwhelm a live axle rear end, but surely it would also fundamentally change the handling characteristics of the car. And the handling is what the Escort is most famous for. On the subject of awesome YT car build series, are all the Racers already fans of these series? Bad Obsession Motorsports - Project Binky - Putting a Toyota Celica 4WD power train into a BMC mini - Funny as heck, and obsessive levels of engineering, and tea drinking. V8Stealthbeetle - (Rob will like this one) South African Jean Fourie has developed an aluminium sheet chassis that engineers an Audi V8 and transmission under a VW Beetle body - Mid engined with BMW suspension and brakes. Toms Turbo Garage - Project Thunderbolt - which as engineered an LS3 V8 and transmission into an NB series MX5 - a beautiful piece of engineering - 525bhp in a 1100kg car, that still looks like a stock MX5! Jim, thanks for the Youtube links. Project Binky is absolutely fantastic and hilarious!  Still have to watch the other stuff but I'm sure that's fun too. Great stuff! |
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Post by mikael on Jan 30, 2019 6:30:46 GMT
Mikael, You recently wrote: "At that time, in the 70's, there were no 100% professional racing drivers in Denmark, but I have later read that Erik Høyer was as professional as one could possibly be at that time, on a national level." Were restrictions placed on racing in Denmark after the horrible tragedy at LeMans in 1955? The progress of safety in racing was incremental at best and more often glacial until recent decades and it was compared by some to ancient Roman bloodlust.
- Carl Carl, that accident had, as far as I know, no real influence on motor racing in Denmark. I think that the absence of fully prof. drivers were (and are) due to the smallness of the country, and due to the lack of an automotive industry. The car- and motorcycle-importers simply didn't/don't have the money to support any driver 100%. In the 60's and 70's the Danes had a, say, pragmatic view on motor racing and accidents. To mention an example, there is the accident in an F3 race at "Ring Djursland" in 1967 where the American driver Douglas Revson (younger brother of Peter Revson) was killed, along with the owner of the circuit, Jens Christian Legarth. In a book about "Ring Djursland" that I have, it is told that, after the accident, the speaker announced, in spite of the havoc just next to him: "As soon as the track is cleared we are ready with the next heat!" It was tough business! And the following race, scheduled to take place a fortnight later, took place as planned. When the widow of Legarth (who was also seriously wounded herself in the accident) was asked what she was going to do with the circuit, she answered that she would continue to keep it in business. "You don't shut down a factory just because of a fatal accident there, do you?", she is quoted in the book of having said. The show must go on ... A tough lady! The accident is described in the homepage of "Ring Djursland" (in Danish):
I have run it through Google translate. It goes as follows (lightly edited - some awkward English may still remain): On the weekend of 29-30 July 1967, Ring Djursland opened its gates to its largest race so far, run on a new course of a length slightly more than 1,200 meters. Immediately after the passage of the "Referee's Tower", the cars did not continue straight down towards "The Stairs" as they do today, but turned left, where a small piece of asphalt led them to "The Depot Corner", from where they continued down towards "The Forest".
At the same time, a field of high-quality drivers was present. The sports car class thus had the participation of cars like Lola T70, Ferrari Dino and Porsche 906, while the field of drivers in the Formula 3 class was probably the best ever seen on a Danish circuit. Thus, Felday Engineering had Derek Bell in one of their cars, Ecurie Crio Tournesol's two Matra MS5's were run by Philippe Vidal and Jean Pierre Jabouille (who had Jacques Laffite as his mechanic), while Francois Cevert participated in an Alpine A310 [this should probably read A270]. Likewise, there was also participation of factory cars from De Sanctis and Pygmee.
It was Jean Pierre Jabouille who dominated the events. The later Formula 1 race winner won both heats in the Saturday's race, and he was also in the front of the first of three scheduled heats on the Sunday, where it rained so heavily that many puddles formed on the asphalt. Jørgen Ellekær and Douglas Revson had a hard fight down in the field, and when they had to lap Ray O’Connor, some confusion arose because of the poor visibility. The trio's cars collided and immediately took direction of the inner circle, where they hit a number of officials, including circuit owner Jens Christian Legarth, who had been standing very close to the track edge with a blue flag to signal to Ray O’Connor that he would be overtaken. Jens Christian Legarth was hit by Ray O’Connor's car, which dragged him along under the car for a long distance, and when the car finally stopped, it lay on top of the track owner who, with a smashed chest, was killed on the spot. Douglas Revson was hit by wreckage from the starter's podium, which was made of cement well rings, and he suffered severe injuries from which he later died. Another five persons were severely injured in the accident. It was Jens Christian Legarth's wife, Annie, the race leader Henry Krogsøe, the starter Bent Salling, as well as the two officials Hans Granberg and Gunnar Jørgensen.
The accident was the most serious in the history of Danish motor sports, and in many ways one can say that Ring Djursland has never really recovered from the accident. It was not just a track owner that had been lost in the accident. Jens Christian Legarth was also one of Danish motor racings's major entrepreneurs and idea-makers who had not only "the courage of the mind" but also the will to carry out things.
Despite the severe loss, the activities at the Ring Djursland continued. Already a couple of weeks after the accident, TT races were run on the track and in the fall, Jyllands-Ringen's Erik Fagerdal was hired as organizer of a car race, where, on his own initiative, a number of improvements were made for better safety. The widow Annie Legarth continued to run the circuit. The emphasis was more on the standard car classes. This was due to the fact that the sports cars these years had a hard time in Denmark. The Formula Vee class never really became a hit, Formula Ford was still in the waiting for its breakthrough, and only a handful of Danes were active in the Formula 3 class. Nevertheless, one single Formula 3 race took place in 1968. Ronnie Petersson totally dominated this events and won all five heats at the circuit's Petit Race, where Jørgen Ellekær, as best Dane, could only manage an eighth-place.
(© Copyright Djurslands Motor Klub Autosport.)
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Post by charleselan on Jan 30, 2019 18:09:00 GMT
Mikael, That is a superb bit of historical documentation, and deeply saddening as well thanks to that terrible accident. It does sum up very clearly the attitude in those times to such tragedies, just move on and keep the show on the road. Very different times with a different mind set that many more recent generations cannot fathom or understand. The Formula Three entry that you have documented was a very strong one and I remember very clearly (as if yesterday) all those names and teams. At that time Jean Pierre Jabouille was very quick and it is amazing to think it took so long for him to get his F1 chance with the Renault team. Derek Bell in the Felday Brabham was also a star that year, the Felday team belonging to former British Hill Climb Champion Peter Westbury, a fine driver in his own right. Here is one for the officiandos, what is the connection between Peter Westbury and Jim Clark?  JC |
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Post by Jamie on Jan 30, 2019 20:55:41 GMT
Mikael, That is a superb bit of historical documentation, and deeply saddening as well thanks to that terrible accident. It does sum up very clearly the attitude in those times to such tragedies, just move on and keep the show on the road. Very different times with a different mind set that many more recent generations cannot fathom or understand. The Formula Three entry that you have documented was a very strong one and I remember very clearly (as if yesterday) all those names and teams. At that time Jean Pierre Jabouille was very quick and it is amazing to think it took so long for him to get his F1 chance with the Renault team. Derek Bell in the Felday Brabham was also a star that year, the Felday team belonging to former British Hill Climb Champion Peter Westbury, a fine driver in his own right. Here is one for the officiandos, what is the connection between Peter Westbury and Jim Clark? JC Hi John, Jim drove the Felday 4 wheel drive sports car, is that the link your thinking of? |
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Post by mikael on Jan 31, 2019 5:01:48 GMT
While being aware that I have moved quite a bit away from Gordon Murray’s Mk 1 Ford Escort, I would just like to complete the previous post by adding that the owner of "Ring Djursland" was, in fact, a very young man, only 26 years old at the time of the fatal accident. In the early 60's he was himself a competent Formula 3 driver, but after a serious accident (in Hungary, in 1964 or 1965) he decided to stop his own career and concentrate instead on constructing and running his own circuit, which opened in the fall of 1965. So it was really a strange twist of fate that he should be killed as merely a spectator - on his own circuit - by a runaway Formula 3 car, the category which he was so fond of. (He was the adopted child of Danish (childless) nobility; according to the newspaper article from where the picture below is taken, he inherited the large manor house "Søholm" in the background - as well as a large piece of land - as an 18-year old.)  Jens Christian Legarth |
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Post by charleselan on Jan 31, 2019 15:42:16 GMT
Mikael, That is a superb bit of historical documentation, and deeply saddening as well thanks to that terrible accident. It does sum up very clearly the attitude in those times to such tragedies, just move on and keep the show on the road. Very different times with a different mind set that many more recent generations cannot fathom or understand. The Formula Three entry that you have documented was a very strong one and I remember very clearly (as if yesterday) all those names and teams. At that time Jean Pierre Jabouille was very quick and it is amazing to think it took so long for him to get his F1 chance with the Renault team. Derek Bell in the Felday Brabham was also a star that year, the Felday team belonging to former British Hill Climb Champion Peter Westbury, a fine driver in his own right. Here is one for the officiandos, what is the connection between Peter Westbury and Jim Clark? JC Hi John, Jim drove the Felday 4 wheel drive sports car, is that the link your thinking of? Excellent Jamie, but as a fan I would expect nothing less . Jim drove the Felday as a one off at the 1966 Guards Trophy meeting at Brands Hatch, winning the 2 litre class in Heat One, but unfortunately retired in Heat Two. I believe he really liked the car, especially the 4 Wheel Drive which was fantastic in the wet. The car had a 2 litre BRM V8 motor, which was a typically enlarged version of the old 1.5 litre F1 engine, and the 4WD was something passed on from Peter Westbury's Hill Climb days. Without checking my facts I am not certain if the 4WD system used was of Westbury's design or did it come from BRM's own system that they had employed on another car used by the very successful Hill Climb Champion Tony Marsh. The amazing thing about Jim Clark was his interest in driving all sorts of cars; JYS has since stated that he was astonished at some of the cars Jim had a go in, and that he himself wouldn't have gone anywhere near some of them. Jim Clark wasn't only the greatest ever, he was quite unique. Here he is driving the Felday BRM 4WD.  |
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Post by Jamie on Jan 31, 2019 17:28:37 GMT
While being aware that I have moved quite a bit away from Gordon Murray’s Mk 1 Ford Escort, I would just like to complete the previous post by adding that the owner of "Ring Djursland" was, in fact, a very young man, only 26 years old at the time of the fatal accident. In the early 60's he was himself a competent Formula 3 driver, but after a serious accident (in Hungary, in 1964 or 1965) he decided to stop his own career and concentrate instead on constructing and running his own circuit, which opened in the fall of 1965. So it was really a strange twist of fate that he should be killed as merely a spectator - on his own circuit - by a runaway Formula 3 car, the category which he was so fond of. (He was the adopted child of Danish (childless) nobility; according to the newspaper article from where the picture below is taken, he inherited the large manor house "Søholm" in the background - as well as a large piece of land - as an 18-year old.) Jens Christian Legarth m Going off on these sort of tangents is always welcome, fascinating stuff....thank you Mikael. |
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Saluti, Carl 
