FreestyleXtreme Magazine Issue 10 | Page 114

#throwback:

Colin McRae’s Ford
Escort Mk2

“He is the biggest inspiration to me
and he definitely influenced me to
be the rally driver I am today.” Ken
Block told us.

114 | FreestyleXtreme.com

McRae didn’t just want to build
a standard Escort rally car, but
the fastest and most technicallyadvanced Mk2 Escort in the history
of rally. Loaded with carbon fibre
and fitted from wheels to roof
with the best parts on the market,
McRae and DJM Motorsport
built a super-light, manoeuvrable
and incredibly fast rally car. The
Escort was around 300kg lighter
than the average WRC car, and
modifications like custom-built
independent front and rear

© DJM RACE PREPERATION

suspension, meant McRae could
get speeds of up to 125mph on
the insanely rough rally stage
roads. The finished car really was
a work of art, and, like Block’s,
the product of a vision, built with
love, passion and countless hours
of work.

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Ken Block’s eyes were first opened
to the thrill of RWD rally cars, when
he drove a replica of McRae’s 1978
Escort Mk2 at the Colin McRae
Memorial Rally, and the desire to
drive one of his own was born.

Colin McRae might be best known
for dominating the world of rally
in his Subaru Impreza, but the
Scotsman also had a deep-seated
passion for the Ford Escort and in
2003, decided to go back to his
roots and build a Ford Escort rally
car for a bit of fun. Colin’s Escort
inspiration predominantly came
from his father, five-time British
Rally Champion, Jimmy McRae.
Jimmy raced Ford Escorts around
many a forest rally stage in the
‘70s, whilst an impressionable
young Colin looked on in awe.

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T

HIS YEAR,
INTERNATIONAL
DRIVING superstar
Ken Block unveiled
his latest car build:
a 1978 Ford Escort Mk2 RS.
After speaking to Ken about his
new ride at the 2015 Gymkhana
Grid final at Santa Pod, it quickly
became apparent to us that
Block’s inspiration for this car was
heavily, if not entirely influenced,
by the racing legend and ultimate
hero of Block, Colin McRae. We
thought this would be a good time
to look back on one of the golden
moments of rally: McRae driving
his Mk2 Escort.

We look back at the
time the Scottish rally
legend built one of the
coolest RWD cars ever
made.

McRae raced the Mk2 Escort
over the later years of his life,
competing at events such as the
Scottish and Pirelli rallys in 2006
with co-driver Nicky Grist. Racing
this iconic car clearly gave McRae
a feeling he could not get with the
top WRC cars.
“The faster you go, the lighter and
more responsive it becomes. It
gives me a real buzz,” Colin told
Classic Ford Magazine. T