Classic Small Ford Supplies - Ford RS Owners Club Australia

Print Post PP:255003/10053
JAN—MAR 2012
CELEBRATING
30
YEARS
www.rsownersclubaust.com.au
1
CLUB OFFICIALS
NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President
Secretary
Treasurer
Magazine Editor
General Committee
Membership Sec.
Merchandise
Brett Shields
0422 926 400
[email protected]
Owen Shield
0450 285725
[email protected]
Mark Hockey
0419 661 170
treasurer@@rsownersclubaust.com.au
Stephen Roser
0427 814 804
[email protected]
Stuart Neal
0410 703 843
[email protected]
Wayne Champion
0417 496 484
[email protected]
Tom Chaplin
(02) 4944-4144
[email protected]
Events Coordinator Sue Shield
0415-494-314
Webmaster
Arthur Thornton
0408 477 435
[email protected]
[email protected]
Ford RS Owners Club (Australia) Inc
P.O. Box 4309
Homebush South
NSW 2140
www.rsownersclubaust.com.au
The views and opinions expressed in these pages are not necessarily those of the editor or
officers of the Ford RS Owners Club Australia (Inc). The Ford RS Owners Club of
Australia (Inc) does not necessarily endorse advertisements that appear within this
newsletter.
2
CONTENTS
Page 12
Page 14
Page 32
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 11
Page 12
Page 14
Page 17
Page 18
Page 22
Page 24
Page 26
Page 28
Page 31
Page 32
Page 34
Page 36
Page 38
Page 39
President’s Report
Membership Sec Report
Secretary’s Report
From the Editor
ACT Muster
For the Enthusiast
Queensland Report
Victorian News
Capri Registrar
Sports Scene
Escortasauras
Focus RS
Profile
Small Ford Sunday
Sierra RS500
Out and About
Thirty Years of RSOC
Merchandise
Classifieds
Coming Events
REGIONAL CO-ORDINATORS
ACT Region
Clayton McCoy
[email protected]
NSW South Coast
Stuart Neal
0410 703 843
[email protected]
Queensland Region
Jon Cornell
0420 833 520
[email protected]
Victoria Region
Frank York
0418 365 712
[email protected]
HISTORIC / CONDITIONAL REGISTRATION
NSW Plate Registrar Robert Ramsey
(02) 6571-1045
[email protected]
3
PRESIDENTS REPORT
2012 is an important year for the RS Owners Club of Australia. The club was
founded 30 years ago and we will be holding a 30th Anniversary Show and
National Concourse later in the year to celebrate. Planning is under way and
we are hoping to have cars and members attend from all over Australia. There
will be special guests, historic racing cars and, of course, a large display of RS
cars competing for the honour of winning a National Concourse trophy. The
event promises to be memorable and a must attend for any RS enthusiast. Details will be released in the coming months.
The Committee has recently appointed Sue Shield as the Events Co-ordinator.
Sue previously had a long involvement with the Capri Car Club and worked
on many of its events, including Capriciation in 2009, and she brings a wealth
of experience to the role. Sue will be the contact person for members enquiring about, or wishing to organize, events.
On 5 March 2012 the club will be holding a track day at Wakefield Park, the
first in NSW for quite some years. David Thomas of Driving Adventures will
manage the event and provide instruction to those hoping to sharp their skills.
David puts on a great day, and I hope to see many members taking the opportunity to test the legs of their favourite RS in a safe and controlled environment. Places are limited so book early. Details can found on the Events page
of the website.
In early February the club will be attending the annual Small Ford Sunday in
Melbourne. This show is always a highlight of the year, with a great collection of small Fords of all varieties. The NSW members are planning to convoy down the Hume to attend and I encourage all members to support the club
and the show.
I am also pleased to report that the club continues to travel well. Memberships
are up, the bank balance is healthy (for a car club) and the club‟s website and
Facebook page are very popular. All of these positive things are testimony to
effort contributed by members who give up their time to make the club a success. That said, we can always use more help, particularly to organize the 30th
Anniversary Show and National Concourse, and I know Mark Hockey would
love to hear from any member who would like to become involved.
Brett Shields
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MEMBERSHIP
SECRETARYS REPORT
Hello to you all and since this is the first issue of 2012 I should also say Happy
New Year!
Plenty of new memberships have been received over the last couple of months,
particularly from Victoria and Queensland in addition to the ones regularly
coming in from New South Wales. We even had a couple from South Australia.
Welcome guys and gals! I look forward to meeting you in due course and hope
that you find your membership with the RSOCA enjoyable. Perhaps we‟ll see
you and your cars out at some of the upcoming runs.
There has been lots of member activity on the RSOCA Facebook group so
don‟t forget to check that out as well. It‟s a nice complement to your membership! Search for the RS Owners Club Australia group.
In between processing new memberships and renewals, I have also been busy
organising membership records and have created a new database to help track
renewals. This means no one will be able to escape me! Renewal forms will be
sent out on a monthly basis and means we will have a better and more accurate
picture of the member base.
New members since the last issue of the club magazine are: Dave Luff, Danny
Mischok, Tristan Moser, Peter Derges, Mark Fenech, Mark Howson, Stathi
Messaris, Dan Brown, Peter Jacobs, Michael Butterworth, Thoung Pham, Eddy
Burke, Giovanni Inserra, Andrew Glanville, Ji m Morton, Daniel Reynolds,
Adam, Linguroski, Neil Rosewarne, Paul Bowler, Shane Sommerville, Colin
Giufrre, Scott McGregor, John Tregea and Tristan Jones.
Once again, welcome and don‟t forget to spread the word about the club to
your fellow RS owners and help us take this club to the next level! The more
the merrier!
Wayne Champion
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sECRETARYS rePORT
Hi all and welcome to 2012. I hope you all have had a
pleasant holiday period. Hopefully Santa has stuffed your
stockings full of RS Ford bits.
Well this year looks to be a great one with plenty of events happening all over
the country. We now have a new Events Co-ordinator, Members will start to
get updates of coming events to make sure they know what‟s going on in their
area. There are some great events happening, starting with Small Ford Sunday down in Victoria.
This year is the 30th birthday of the club, with a big event in the planning
stages. We will let you know more as it is set in concrete but it‟s shaping up
to be great.
Well I hope to see you all
out at an event this year, so
dust those cars off, charge
the batteries and get them
out in the sun.
Cheers
Owen Shield
REGISTRARS
Escort RS Mk1
Escort RS Mk2
Capri RS
Cosworth RS
Focus RS
Wayne Champion
0417 496 484
[email protected]
Peter Cox
0425 355 742
[email protected]
Owen Shield
0450 285 725
[email protected]
Graeme Knight
0416 234 501
[email protected]
Stathi Messaris
0412 526 432
[email protected]
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FROM THE EDITOR
On a number of occasions I have had people say to me that they know how hard it is to
get enough articles and other contributions together for a Club magazine. To be honest
the biggest and most time consuming problem that I have had with the last couple of
issues is trying to squeeze everything in. The RSOC Australia is very active so we have
plenty of events to report on. The Club has thirty years of history while the Rallye
Sport marque goes back even further and thankfully is very much alive today. As a
consequence there is always plenty that can go into an issue of our Rallye News.
In recent years I have had a bit of a hand in helping out with the magazine but taking
on the role of Editor has opened my eyes to the effort involved to put the whole thing
together. I am grateful for the work that past Editors Mark Hockey and Glenn Bryant
have put in to produce Rallye News over the years. It has meant that I had a good quality publication as a starting point, with lots of sharp ideas already incorporated into the
look of the magazine. There are a number of members who contribute articles on a
regular basis and this is truly appreciated. You may have noticed the names Jon Evans,
Russ Wise and Tom Chaplin appearing at the bottom of many reports and articles in
recent years. I also need to thank Tim Solly and Peter Burt for the time and effort they
have put into providing various pieces of artwork for Rallye News.
Having said all that though, we still need plenty of input from Club members. We need
to ensure that we can report on all things RS from all around Australia and cover as
many of the RS models as possible in each issue. If you are now feeling inspired to put
something together for the next mag the Deadline is 20th April.
Stephen Roser
SAFETY SERVICE CENTRE
EFI Specialists, Brakes and Clutches
All Fords from Anglias to Zephyrs
Contact Mark Dilanian—Proprietor
Phone: 02 9451 4761
Email: [email protected]
1 Currie Road Forestville NSW 2087
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aCT Small Ford
Muster Oct 2011
The annual pilgrimage to Canberra for the National Capri & Classic Small Ford Muster has been run and won with all entrants having an absolute cracker of a time. RSOC members in attendance for the 2011 event
included Russ Wise with the RS3100, Stephen Roser with his Blue MK1 RS2000.
Mark Dilanian with his Olympic Blue RS3100 and Owen Shield in a somewhat downgraded MK1 Escort 1300 (word had it that he was saving his RS3100 for the shorter
trips, being only recently imported from the UK it was not yet accustomed to the longer
distances that we need to travel to attend events). Other notable RS cars in attendance
at the muster included the Green RS3100 of Ted Ellis from Geelong and a local ACT
Blue Focus RS.
The event was conducted under the ACT Small Ford Owners Club (ASFOC) banner
and co-ordinated by Phil & Kathleen Revill and their hard working team from the ASFOC. The traditional meet
and greet was held at Rydges
Eaglehawk on the Friday evening with plenty of great nibbles and drinks to settle one
in for the weekend ahead.
Saturday saw a great breakfast out in the winery district
behind Canberra at Homestead Café, from here David
Yates as Chief Observation
Run organizer gave instructions to all entrants and
waved them on their way in
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what turned out to be a 100km driving challenge around Canberra and district. As it
turned out the challenge was magnified by the traffic in Canberra for the Queens visit
which coincided with the muster activities. The observation run‟s theme it seemed was
to visit every church within the Canberra district; one magnificent church well worth a
look inside if you ever get to Canberra is the Braddon Anglican Church. The annual
fete at St John‟s Church at Ainslie had the Observation Run small Fords battling for a
parking space to find out which past Prime Minister used to worship here (Mr. Rudd).
From there it was into Molonglo Reach on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin for the
BBQ lunch and set up for the Show N Shine. There were around 35 Classic Small
Fords on display with the numbers going to the MK1 Capri‟s (12), Soft Top Capri (11),
MK1 Escort (3), MK1 Cortina (2), MK2 Capri (1), Consul Capri (1), MK2 Escort (1),
MK2 Cortina (1) and MK4 Cortina (1). The Vermillion Fire GT V6 of John Bos was
voted Peoples Choice winner, weather it was due to John‟s bribery of his fellow Victorians or the fact that it was presented
with the bonnet open to display the immaculately presented engine bay with
the triple Weber‟s we can only surmise.
While there were no Focus RS‟s registered for the event a local ACT Blue
Focus RS did turn up in the car park at
the Show n Shine, this was soon spotted
by Stephen Roser and Steve Anderson
who went out and had a look over the
RS and a talk with the owner, Clayton
McCoy.
Full marks must go to the ACT Small
Ford Owners Club for the support that
they coined in for the event, with trade
stands from Shannon‟s, SMCKA Performance, Aquarius Motor homes and
Meguiar‟s who all contributed to the
prizes and trophies. The Aquarius Motor home on display was the latest from
the US with all the mod cons and a
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price tag to match, most of all it was powered by a Ford V10, 6.8 litre dual fuel monster. A guided tour was the order of the day.
As in past Musters the Saturday evening Dinner & Trivia night was well attended
with around 58 patrons. The room was again decorated with the trophy winning cars
from the afternoons Show n Shine to reinforce the Classic Ford theme. Again there
were winners and losers in the trivia stakes with a local Canberra table taking out the
winner‟s prize. The trivia evening wound up around 11pm, however, with the bar
remaining open there were a few very passionate Small Ford owners ably led by
Owen who continued to expound on the virtues of the RS Fords until well after midnight.
The Sunday saw a well prepared buffet breakfast at Rydges and following that an
assembly of around 40 Classic Fords for the Dice Run to Murrumbateman Country
Club for lunch. The Dice Run covered around 100 km‟s from Rydges Eaglehawk
back into Queanbeyan and out to the western edge of Canberra onto Coppins Crossing and through the Winery region of Murrumbateman to the lunch venue. This run
required 5 points where the dice were rolled and the score added to your run sheet,
the car with the highest total of the dice was the trophy winner. Luck was again on
the side of John Bos with a high
score of around 58 out of a possible
90.
The event wound up around 2pm
and travelers were on their way
home. Be prepared for next years
Muster with the dates already set
for 26 to 28 October 2012, looking
forward to seeing more RSOC
(Aust) members with their RS‟s at
the 2012 event.
CheeRS.
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For THE ENTHUSIAST
The Story of the RS FORDS—DVD Review
It is not very often that someone produces a world class DVD on the story of the RS
Fords up until now. Titled “The Story of the RS FORDS”, this DVD released by
Duke Marketing of the Isle of Mann UK explores the history of the Rallye Sport
Fords from the early Escort Twin Cam right through to the latest Focus RS500, in
both road and Motorsport forms.
The footage includes great insight interviews by the likes of Mike Morton, Stuart
Turner, Tony Mason, Malcolm Wilson and Fords latest heroes Mikko Hirvonen and
Jari-Matti Latvala. Also Included is footage from shows of the Central RS Owners
Club.
If you have read great books like “Boreham” the
40 year story of the Ford dream factory, or “Rallye
Sport Fords” the inside story, as well as other great
books on the RS Fords, then this DVD will fill in
all the gaps with never before seen footage of this
era. A very comprehensive DVD, which explains
the legendary RS badge, it runs for 114mins a must
for any Ford RS enthusiast.
Tom Chaplin
Factory Original Sporting Mk1 Escorts - Book Review
A new hard back book on Mk1 Escorts has just arrived on my desk. It‟s called Factory Original Sporting Mk1 Escorts by Dan Williamson and published by Herridge
and Sons Ltd. It seems to be a long time since such a comprehensive, detailed and
well photographed publication has hit the book shelves and you won‟t be disappointed with this coffee table book.
Dan‟s research and attention to detail has produced an interesting and very readable
book and along with Simon Clay‟s excellent photography they show all of the varieties of these fascinating AVO vehicles. All models and variations including Australian Twin Cams seem to be covered and the text is interesting and informative. This
is book is a must have for any Ford Escort enthusiasts and makes a great read for
anyone who enjoys great cars.
Move over Graham Robson, there is a new expert author on
Ford Escorts.
Copies of the book are available direct from the publishers at
www.herridgeandsons.com or call them on +44 1409 281 990
Jonathan Evans
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QUEENSLAND REPORT
Hello from Queensland!
Well since taking on the RSOC in Qld quite a lot has been going
on. We have increased membership & began arranging semiregular meets & runs. A great bunch of guys (& girls!) who all
seem to get along fine & enjoy the passion for the performance blue oval!
The Shailler Park Gang!
It‟s rare to find a mint RS car locally...let alone three!!! Paul Chapman contacted me
last year with an enquiry to join the RSOC, owning an immaculate black three door
Cosworth & living close by was a real bonus, his car truly is a superb example taking
the award for best car at the small Ford show in Kedron late last year. Paul recently
arranged a run to Springfield (no not that one...Doh!) which was a huge success...well
done Paul!
Then we have Peter....immaculate three door cosworth number two! Purchased recently
from Jason Stocks, a Ford maniac who lovingly pampered the moonstone blue cossie
for years prior to Peter purchasing it. Peter has returned the car to near standard condition & I have to say he‟s done a superb job...well done Peter! While I‟m on the subject
of Jason I have to bring it to the clubs attention that he has unfortunately been drawn to
the dark side...you guessed it, he‟s bought a Holden!!! It is a Monaro but still a Holden!! He has had some serious stick as a result of this purchase....the car is now on carsales! (replacement Cossie on its way??)
Last of the gang....John Alderson, again from Shailer Park
recently purchased my Auralis blue Escort Cosworth. I
visited him recently to drop some spares off & was surprised to see he had three Mk1 Escorts in his shed!!! Hoping to see John & his family out & about with us this
year...look after the Escos!
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Shows.
Now I appreciate Australia is a pretty large place...recently we had a run down to
the Parramatta show & what a time we had!! We really do need to start spreading
our wings a little more boys...the Sunday runs are great, as are the BBQ‟s at Aarons
place, but there‟s nothing quite like a road trip! I know we all have family commitments etc etc etc....BUT if it‟s at all possible let‟s make the effort & drive the
28000000000 kms for a show!!!! We all have a great time & talk about the on route
elements (Aaron!) that make it all worthwhile!
Please take a look on the website to see the events & let‟s try get a few more cars in
attendance!
As always if you have any ideas for a run, meet, track day etc etc, please let me
know & we‟ll make it happen! I‟m off to service the Cossie now prior to the Melbourne show.....see you all there!!??
CheeRS
Jon Cornell.
13
VICTORIAN NEWS
High Performance Driver Training and Track Day
January 7th, 2012
The RSOCA with the assistance of “Driver Dynamics – Advanced and Precision Driver Training‟ delivered an opportunity for members to drive
our cars free from the gaze of the ever present Mr Plod in January of this year. “Driver
Dynamics” hosts a number of days annually at different circuits around the country, so
this provided the perfect vehicle for the RSOCA testing the waters with this sort of club
day.
Up till now, our newest Ford RS car was probably 30 years old, and the member / owners even older; however the 2010 release of Fords latest RS model has brought new,
fresh and young blood to the club, as well as new, modern and high tech RS cars. There
is no doubt however that these days cater for all types of drivers and all sorts of cars.
Even if you run your Escort or Sierra at one of these days, you are bound to learn
something, and have some fun along the way.
However it is these new members that expressed a strong desire for the club to organise
such a track day, where they could stretch the legs of their new Focus RS‟s whilst at
the same time, receive some driver tuition from experienced race drivers, in an environment that was safe and secure. With the event promoted nationally through our web site
and through the club magazine, it was anticipated that a large number of cars may potentially turn up. With total bookings limited to 50 cars it was a case of “first in best
dressed”. In the end, a number of members were successful in having their entries registered.
Other cars present on the day included a Lamborghini; several BMW M‟s; some hot
Nissans; a racing Group C Torana L34; an AMG Mercedes; a number of hot Holdens; a
Renault Clio Sport; and a
Porsche 911 GT3. I‟ve
probably missed a few, but
these are the ones that stick
in my mind. Considering
the exclusivity of the Focus
RS, we had the most
„common car‟ at Sandown
on the day, with four pristine examples. Two of these
were ultimate green, and
two were Frozen White in
colour.
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The weather forecast promised a hot sultry day with the chance of a late afternoon
storm. With eyes to the sky all day, we were lucky to wrap things up long before any
rain fell. It was warm all day, and none more so than when we were wearing our helmets in the cars.
After the compulsory driver briefing first thing in the morning, the participants were
divided into three groupings, based on their expressed level of competence on a race
track. Group 1 were pure novices, whilst group 3 consisted of drivers with regular track
day experience. Group 2 consisted of those that had some experience, but were too shy
to say they were experts! That was us. Next up was a “track walk” where the Instructors pointed out the dangers of the track and talked us through each of the significant
corners of the track. This was most useful.
The format for the day was simple. Each group, which consisted of about 15 cars, had
20 minutes of track time to do whatever they liked. Drive fast was the key. With so few
cars on the track at any one time, you were assured of having plenty of space between
cars. There was no „door handle to door handle‟ racing to be had.
The key for a successful day was to start slow, learn the track and the abilities of the
new Focus RS, and get faster as the day progressed. Confidence levels rose during the
day as the Focus RS impressed quite a few people, including the Instructors. The Focus
RS is quick, quiet, steady, and very competent on a race track. My car was often spotted with one wheel in the air through tight corners, and on accession, even with two
wheels in the air as I braved the rumble strips and short cut as many corners as was
advisable to maintain speed, straighten out the road, and get the best lap times.
With 50psi in each tyre, the Continentals performed well and there is really only negligible wear that suggests I‟ve driven the car fast and hard through corners. Brakes were
superb and no fade or drama was experienced all day, even here at Sandown which is
known to be hard on brakes because of the high speeds attained on the front and back
straights.
15
At the end of the day, I‟d used a full tank of fuel and had driven fast for just over 230
kilometres. I haven‟t worked out the fuel economy, but even so, I don‟t think it is too
bad really ! One tank of fuel for a great day of fun.....that‟s what petrol is for !!!!
The day was fully catered and there was no shortage of drinks, water and food. The
organisation was superb, and ranged from friendly Instructors thru to the First Aid people, Flag marshals and Recovery people. The day also presented an opportunity to take
passengers around the track during one session held immediately after the lunch break.
This presented a great opportunity for kids, wives and others to ride in the cars and see
Sandown at maximum attack.
Towards the end of the day, a few attendees had left the track, having had enough for
one day. What this meant for those remaining was that there was more track time. For
us however it seemed to coincide with all Focus‟s running out of fuel. We all had
enough to get us to the closest Filling Station, but not enough for a few more high
speed laps.
With that, late in the afternoon, we said goodbye and headed our separate ways again.
The consensus was that this had been a great day and each of us had enjoyed the opportunity to stretch the legs of the Focus RS‟s.
I hope the club runs more of these days as we continue to cater for all members varied
interests. The next gathering for us in Victoria will be the Small Ford Sunday on 5 th
February, and then the biggest Ford gathering in the known universe, the All Ford Day
at Geelong on the 19th February. Hopefully I‟ll see you there.
CheeRS for now.
Frank York
16
CAPRI REGISTRAR
G'day, well I‟m still on the hunt to find them all, but the leads and
info on these cars is slowly drying up. I have details of 47 of the 50,
I can confirm that more than half are still out there tucked away in
safe places.
I have started to look at getting some bits
made for these cars as parts are hard to
find, I have some engine bay sticker kits
in the works, which will include the headlight stickers and the wiring stickers. If
anybody has found a brake rotor that replaces the front ones, please let me know
as they seem to be a bit like rocking
horse. If any members have a friend that
has a RS3100, please get them to get in
touch with me as some records we have
BBECND25135 at the Classic Throttle
are quite old.
Shop, NSW in 2008
Anyway hope to see you all soon.
Owen Shield
17
SPORTSCENE
Thirty years of motorsport development came under the spotlight when two Ford rally
cars – separated by three decades of racing technology – were put to the test by British
champions Gwyndaf and Elfyn Evans.
1996 British Rally Champion Gwyndaf and 2010 Junior British Rally Champion Elfyn
came together as part of the Ford Centenary Tour. They may be father and son but they
were fierce rivals when they went head-to-head on a remote one-mile long rally stage in
The Snowdonia National Park.
The Ford Centenary Tour is visiting Ford dealers, Ford plants and taking part in special
events all over the UK before culminating at the Goodwood Revival on September 1618.
Gwyndaf drove a Viking Motorsport 1980 Ford Escort Mark 2, the iconic car of the late
1970s and early 80s in which many of the sport‟s greatest names, including Roger Clark
and Colin McRae, honed their skills. Elfyn, Gwyndaf's 22 year-old son, sat comfortably
in a 2011 Ford Fiesta R2 - car of choice for the World Rally Championship Academy.
The pair took turns handling the powerful vehicles and there was some surprise when
Elfyn, one of British motorsport's brightest young talents, admitted to being stunned by
the physicality of driving the iconic Ford Escort Mark 2 with its 285bhp, two-litre engine.
“It‟s a real driver‟s car – the back end kicks out easily and with no power steering it‟s
much harder work than I am used to! Certainly with my Fiesta you don‟t have to worry
about the clutch and it is more predictable – it pretty much goes where you point it.”
And after powering the 165bhp
Ford Fiesta R2 rally car – prepared
by Gwyndaf's own GEMotorsport
in Dolgellau - around the stage,
both drivers agreed how far Ford
has advanced its rallying pedigree.
"It is so much easier compared to
the brute of the Mark 2,” said
Gwyndaf. “The difference is a combination of the development of the
chassis, the steering, the brakes, the
tyres and the suspension, which
means modern technology just eats
up this kind of terrain.
18
“They are both wonderful pieces of rallying technology of their time,” he said, “but I
do know that every time I get out of the Escort I have a big grin on my face… and that
sums it all up.”
Ford Media Release
Focus ST-R
As the all-new Focus ST road car makes its global production debut, Ford is giving a
European welcome at the Frankfurt Motor Show to a special motorsport counterpart –
the race-tweaked, production-based Focus ST-R.
Despite its close resemblance to the Focus ST road car, the Focus ST-R is purpose-built
for the track by Ford Racing in North America as a fully-prepared competition car. It
features a powerful 2.0-litre EcoBoost engine, FIA regulation roll cage, uprated brakes
and track-tuned suspension. It will be available to teams soon, starting in North America, to race in a variety of series.
The all-new Focus ST-R has been crafted by engineers at Ford Racing – with technical
support from Ford‟s Global Performance Vehicles group – to allow it to compete in a
huge variety of series, including Grand-Am ST, World Challenge TC and Canadian
Touring Car Series. Ford also hopes teams will race the car in key European motorsport
series and major national events such as the 24 Hours of Nürburgring.
Its linkage to the new Focus ST road car is no accident.
“From the beginning, the Focus and new Focus ST were designed to be driver's cars,”
saidJost Capito, director of Global Performance Vehicles and Motorsport Business
Development.“The road-going Focus features best-in-class brakes, handling and pow19
ertrains and thedesign and functionality of the various vehicle systems have helped us
to develop a global technical specification for teams wanting to race the new Focus
cost effectively. Ford Racing in North America has taken this effort and developed the
new Focus ST-R and is a perfect example of how a great production car inspires a competitive race car for enthusiasts.”
Initially homologated for American and Canadian touring car racing, Focus ST-R will
be available to order from Ford dealers in North America by seasoned hardcore professional drivers, amateur racers and track day enthusiasts as well. Ford‟s vision is to
broaden availability to additional regions in the future. “We‟re thrilled to be taking the
Focus ST-R from concept to reality for motorsport enthusiasts initially in North America and potentially around the world,” said Jamie Allison, director, Ford Racing. “The
previous turn-key race cars we developed for North American racing have been hugely
successful, so we are hopeful that the ST-R will be the first such vehicle for global series and as a direct result of the company's global platform strategy and our technical
support program for motorsport applications of Focus and Fiesta models.
“This is a competitive turn key race car that will allow our customers to compete successfully in multiple series around the world with minor modifications. And it
shows the on-going alignment of Ford Racing with our Performance Vehicles development group.”
“Because the Focus ST-R is a production-based road race car, it features stock body
panels and production parts where possible,” added Allison. “People who buy one will
get will get a fully prepared race car that will only need communications equipment
and the customer's decals to go racing. We've already had significant interest in this
vehicle from numerous established race teams."
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For North American customers, the Ford Focus ST-R is the latest in a long-line of turnkey race cars offered by the company including the Mustang FR500C, Mustang
FR500S, Mustang Cobra Jet, Boss 302R and Boss 302S. The ST-R offers clear links to
the Focus ST road car. Development work on the Focus ST-R will also result in a range
of Ford Racing parts to be made available to racers and enthusiasts around the world.
Focus Role in Ford’s Global Motorsport Strategy
The Frankfurt debut of the Focus ST-R is part of an aggressive motorsport presence for
Ford, as its strategy to support motorsport development across its core global vehicle
platforms gains traction. Ford is applying engineering and development expertise for
vehicles like Focus ST-R to spur success in competition similar to that being enjoyed
by the Fiesta in RallyCross and the X Games.
“Just as we are developing performance cars from our vehicle platforms with global
customers in mind, we‟re taking the same platform approach with motorsport,” said
Capito. “The intent is to leverage our central motorsport engineering expertise to get
competitive hardware in the hands of private teams and racers all around the world, and
the Focus ST-R is the latest proof.”
The global Focus race car development – a major plank in Ford‟s new global motorsport strategy – is based on international S2000 regulations. Focus ST-R adds momentum to the new Focus motorsport story launched by Team Aon in the British Touring Car Championship.
Both the Team Aon Focus BTCC car and the new Focus ST-R are evidence of a Ford
strategy with global ambitions to help privateers to be competitive on all levels.
Ford launched its global
motorsport development
program last year. At its
core is technical support
for privateers who
chose to compete with
global Ford vehicles
with access to affordable, globally competitive hardware.
“We're delighted with
the early success Team Aon has achieved with the new Focus in the BTCC and we are
looking forward to seeing the ST-R on the track soon in global race series," Capito
said. "We expect to see the ST-R competing for wins on a global scale, extending the
rich racing and rallying heritage Focus has already gained both on tarmac and on dirt.”
Ford Media Release
21
ESCORTOSAURS
My wife Donna, two boys, James and Lachlan and I have just returned from a 24 day
outback Queensland road trip in search of extinct creatures on four legs and four
wheels.
Our adventure started from our new home
on the Sunshine Coast in sunny Queensland
and took us through Roma, Charleville,
Longreach, Winton, Cloncurry, Mt Isa, and
back home through Richmond, Charters
Towers, Rubyvale and Carnarvon Gorge.
Along the way, we learnt all about gas and
oil at the Big Rig, gazed at the stars at The
Cosmos Centre, spent a day at the Qantas
Founders Museum, took a bone jarring gallop through the scrub in a Cobb and Co stage coach after „smoko‟, it was then time to
head into dinosaur country and found the only recorded evidence of a dinosaur stampede on earth at Lark Quarry. Yes, dinosaur foot prints, but still no sign of the Escortosaurus or for that matter any of the RSosaurus family.
That afternoon on day 10, we travelled a further 123kms down a red dirt track to Opalton, home of the Queensland boulder opal. Opals were first discovered in this area in
1888. We fossicked around the old mines and found numerous small opals as sparkling
and colourful as the Escortosaurus once was I was searching for. Still not believing that
Escortosaurus‟s are no longer cruising this Jurassic area we headed back to our cabin
and there it was on the side of
the corrugated dirt road, covered in outback red bulldust a
perfect fossil of an Escortosaurus. Could we be just imagining this as an oasis in the
desert? It was the end of the
day, was this just an illusion?
We had travelled 2,300 kms of
typical Aussie roads and here
rested what I had come to see.
We walked over and carefully
circled the beast. It was all
there, the dogbone grin, narrow limbs that must have covered millions of outback
miles, a tail end that many
22
would have fell in love with, a side profile that only its parents would own up to. Yes,
it was an Escortosaurus, but closer examination of its DNA proved it not to be part of
the RSosaurus family. The front shoulders were too narrow, the eyes were not quite
right, the structure of its rear end was missing radius arms and its heart was certainly
not as powerful as it‟s RSosaurus relation.
We pushed on to the Australian Age of Dinosaurs where the world‟s largest collection
of Australian dinosaur fossils are stored. Maybe here we will at least find remnants of
an RSosaurus? How could it be that something emerging from the 1970‟s to 2011 was
extinct and evidence of creatures from millions of years ago is still found? We had to
keep searching as my thirst was not quenched by a mere Escortosaurus.
Just maybe a RSosaurus would be spotted on our
drive to Kronosaurus Korner in Ricmond or on
our way to Carnarvon Gorge. But no luck on the
rest of the journey home. However, we did spot a
truckload of Fordosaurus‟s heading to Townsville.
These beasts were noted for their muscle and are
not as agile as their RSosaurus cousins. They
travel in pairs tucked away like kangaroos carrying their joey before being unleashed to race
around a bitumen track watched by many admirers.
So in conclusion, here in Queensland, Australia after 5,230km‟s of searching, the
RSosaurus is not evident, including one of the rare 315 new breed Focus‟s. I have been
informed that a few examples do appear from
time to time when a steep road is closed to
the public or a trophy is on offer for the most
glamorous RSosaurus at a show.
I have included some graphic evidence of our
findings to show what was unearthed during
our adventures.
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FOCUS RS
Pioneer Head Unit
I have had several people ask me about upgrading the standard radio unit in the RS.
The Pioneer Avic F20 BT is one option, and includes full DVD,CD, Sat Nav, Ipod and
Radio functionality. This one looks neat, at around $3k installed. There will no doubt
be other options available but this might just be enough food for thought.
I have installed the new head unit and early impressions are that it is cool. It has so
many features, including GPS, Radio, DVD etc, plus extras like route planning, fuel
usage, calculator, Bluetooth for phone etc etc. The GPS even has speed camera warnings !! One downside is that I have lost digital radio reception, and the use of the steering wheel controls, but that may be a small price to pay. The old unit can slot straight
back in anyway. No wires were cut or any changes made behind the dash.
I didn't even think about buying a UK Ford unit. Maybe I should have at least enquired,
but I think this one looks nicer anyway.
cheeRS,
Frank York
The Unforgiving Focus RS Wheel Nut
Some of you may or may not be as fussy as I am when it comes to cleaning the Focus
RS. With me each time the Focus RS comes back from a club run or car show (it is not
used as a day to day drive) it is wheeled into the workshop and placed onto axle stands,
after a good wash outside. This makes it easier to take off the wheels and a lot easier to
clean them off the car. The rear wheels seem to get the dirtiest with tar chips etc, as the
front ones are always plastered with brake dust.
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I have encountered problems taking off the wheels, “Just undo the wheel nut I hear you
say”. For those of you that have never taken off the wheels, you may strike a problem
that I have encountered several times before I overcame the problem. With the power
and speed the cars wheel nuts will tighten up a lot more than the 130Nm that is recommended when tightening the wheel nuts.
I have found after buying at least 5
new wheel nuts that you must use a
certain style of socket, a long sixsided one, this will hold the wheel
nut much more securely than a conventional socket with the multiribbing inside it, if the wheel nuts
are very tight this multi-ribbed
socket will often spin on the nut cap
rounding off the edges. You see the
nut comes in two parts, the outer
part that shows is 19mm and is just a cap pressed onto a steel nut
underneath which is 18mm, and the cap cannot be removed before
loosening.
If you round one off you will have to punch a hole in the centre of
the cap then carefully without damaging the wheel drive a screw
driver down between the steel wheel nut and the inside of the cap,
this will split the cap and allow you to pull the cap off with a pair
of pliers, enabling you to then use an 18mm socket to undo the
wheel nut.
With the wheel nuts being so tight you may also encounter problems trying to loosen the locking wheel nut. Be very aware of the
locking wheel nut‟s socket slipping on the nut if the insert inside
the locking wheel socket slips and rounds off. Heaven only
knows how you would get the nut off without damaging the
wheel.
All four of mine slipped once on loosening, I replaced them with
four new proper wheel nuts, this is OK if you do not use the Focus
RS as a daily drive and parking it in a public place. As for a warranty claim on wheel nuts this is a very grey area.
On that note always state when at your Ford dealer or at a tyre
retailer that under no circumstances is a rattle gun to be used on
your Focus RS wheel nuts.
Tom Chaplin
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PROFILE
The opportunity arose earlier this year
to have a quick chat with Emma
Wicks and hubby Chris from RSOC
(UK). They had visited Australia to
catch up with friends in Queensland
and have a quick look at Sydney and
Melbourne.
Emma is the Regalia Manager and
that is a big operation within the UK
club. For a large show they will hire a
truck and load it up with the regalia
and marquee on Friday night. Setting
up and selling the stock takes up all
their time, with maybe just a chance to
have a quick look at the cars at some
stage over the weekend. Then they load up after the show, unpack it once they‟re back
home and maybe get to sleep before midnight. I have to say it seems the work / fun
ratio is heavily skewed to the former.
Despite the amount of work involved Emma is quite enthusiastic about it and is always
looking into the viability of new stock lines whilst having to consider cash flows etc. It
was interesting to hear that their „retro‟ gear, featuring the Mk2 logo had sold very
well, whilst one of the biggest selling item they have is the club hoody.
On the subject of cars Emma scored an Escort RS1600i as a hand me down. These are
a great looking car with their RS stripes and Motorsport style wheels but they are also a
quite significant little homologation special. The 16i was eligible to run as a Group A
tourer with a number of serious mods
above and beyond what was found on
the XR3 road car. Emma‟s car was
looking a bit tired so was given a resto
in time for it to be used as their wedding car. Sadly, some time later, the
car was badly damaged in a road accident. I have seen a photo of it after the
accident but couldn‟t use it in the
magazine because I feared we might
cop an R rating for Violence and Horror. The good news is that the latest
resto is progressing well.
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Chris is a Cossie man
and his Escort Cosworth
does the show season
each year then gets
safely tucked away over
winter. It is during this
period of hibernation
that the Escort usually
gets an upgrade, be it
wheels, brakes or some
shiny bits.
It was nice to meet
Emma and Chris, find
out about their activities
within RSOC (UK) and
chat with them about all
sort of things related to
the Club and Ralle Sport
cars in general.
www.smckaperformance.com.au
We specialise in performance and reproduction parts for Ford Escort including
Lotus Twin Cam, RS2000 and RS1600, Ford Cortina mark 1 & 2 and mark 1, 2
and 3 Ford Capri models.
Our product range includes new reproduction body panels, steering components, suspension, rubber seals and interior trim for Escort, Cortina and Capri.
We also stock Zetec conversion kits and Sierra Type 9 5 speed gearboxes.
Phone Stephen McKay
0413 389 332
27
SMALL FORD SUNDAY - VIC
This year‟s Small Ford Sunday was another huge show with lots of cars and plenty of
variety. The weather has given us some variety over recent years too, from a hot and
dusty event not so long ago to last‟s year cooler day with one short but heavy shower.
This year we were treated to strong winds which sadly meant a majority of cars had
their bonnets closed for most of the day.
From big horsepower Cosworths to not so big horsepower early side-valve Fords there
was something that would have appealed to most enthusiasts. Fords from the 60‟s and
even the 50‟s could be found as could a number of the latest Focus RS. There were
some special RS models to be found and plenty of other surprises were waiting
amongst the rows of small Fords.
Gordon Douglas had this tasty Escort
Cossie on show.
A genuine RS1600 caught
Shane Meaney‟s attention.
Michael Hemmerling and Peter Cox boosted the Cosworth numbers.
28
John Hodder‟s Focus RS.
Steve Riley and Mark Barrow swapped
tales about their Escort Cossies.
Mike Conway‟s Escort is a very high spec
rally car.
Wayne Champion was a van man this
weekend.
This German RS2000 has been hidden
away for two decades.
Focus ST170 was first Euro hot hatch
Ford to come Downunder.
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RS3100 needed major surgery to bring it
back to life.
Phil Showers contested the Biante series
in this BDG powered Mk1.
Escort collectors John Haddon and
Wayne Champion.
The first Ford to use the Escort name.
Mk 3 Cabrio is a rare sight in Australia.
Escort Cossie. Big turbo & small turbo. Visual
clues tell which is which but they are subtle.
30
SIERRA RS500
It is time to celebrate the 25th anniversary
of the Sierra RS500. The limited run of
five hundred „sporting evolution‟ versions
of the Sierra RS Cosworth laid the foundation for a seriously quick and very successful touring car. Here was a Sierra that
was built with a clear focus on motorsport. This meant the RS500 was deliberately designed with features that would unlock more performance on the race track but compromised it somewhat as a road car.
However this didn‟t mean that the dealers struggled to sell them. A number of things
made the RS500 a very collectible member of the Rallye Sport family. The unique
components, the direct link to a winning race car and the name all helped. Ford‟s Motorsport guru, Stuart Turner made an interesting comment in his book “Twice Lucky”.
“The really clever bloke was the
one from Marketing who suggested calling it the RS500; for
a time people were even paying
above retail price to get their
hands on one.”
Giving it the RS500 name reminded enthusiasts that there
were only five hundred built
and made sure it would always
be remembered at the stand out
model in the Sierra range. The
name says it all.
31
OUT AND ABOUT
Our December run to the Eling Forest Winery
brought members together from several different departure points. The Sydney contingent left from
Heathcote. Here a collection of new Focuses and oldschool RS‟s met up before setting off on an interesting drive that Mark Hockey had mapped out for us.
The Canberra contingent of Clayton, Chris and Neil
left the capital and headed north while Stuart Neal
made his way there from Wollongong.
On arrival at the winery we
initially parked the cars under
cover in a large shed in case
there was any hail headed our
way. Conversation before and
during our meal was largely
about our cars. No surprise
there but the chat evolved into
two separate streams. The Focus boys talked chips and Kevlar while those with oldschool cars discussed how they got their hands dirty on mechanical aspects, like carbies.
After we had finished our very nice meal, and with the weather no longer making any
threats, we parked the cars on the grass for a photo session. This became an interesting
exercise in logistics as the cars were lined up in numerous ways, based on model, year,
colour and any other combination we could think of.
32
Classic Small Ford Supplies
The spares specialist for all 1960 to 1980 Capri Cortina Escort
Maintain Restore Modify Race
Rally
Our stock includes new, used & reconditioned components for bodies, engines, gearboxes, diffs etc. We buy all Capri , Cortina and Escorts continually
including part, job lots or complete vehicles.
Factory 1 rear of 11 Lincoln Street, Minto, NSW 2566
Hours: Mon-Fri 8am to 5pm, Saturday by prior arrangement.
Phone (02) 9603 5333
33
30 YEARS
As the Club celebrates it‟s 30th Anniversary it‟s interesting to look
back at past events and see what members were around then and
what cars have come and gone. The 10th Anniversary celebrations
at Ford‟s Broadmeadows plant is an interesting case.
Glenn Bryant and his
immaculate RS3100 are
still very much a part of
RSOC (Australia).
Arthur Thornton had his RS500 at
Broadmeadows and he has been
bringing it to events in recent times.
Peter Cox is still a very active
member but his German Mk2
RS2000 is no longer around.
34
Phil Eden brought his
Mk1 RS2000 to the 10th
Anniversary National
Day. Both have been out
of the Club for many
years.
Michael Hemmerling
brings his RS500 to
events these days.
Twenty years ago he
owned this German Mk2
RS2000.
Mark Albert and this
RS3100 are no longer
to be seen at RSOC
events.
Jac Nasser was Ford Australia boss 20 years ago. Jac
was never a Club member
but we were delighted to
have his Sapphire displayed
at the 1992 National Day.
35
CLUB MERCHANDISE
RS71 RSOC Windscreen Banner $15.00
RS41 Chrome RSOC Key Ring $15.00
Cosworth Head Key Ring Red RS43 Blue
RS42 $16.50 each
Retro Club Stickers RS50,51,52 $4.00 each
RS stickers RS60, 61,62,63 $ 4.00
RS70 R/N Magazine Binder $15.00
Contact Tom Chaplin 02 64944144 or [email protected]
Order form at www.rsownersclubaust.com.au
36
Postage & Packaging
Extra
WEAR THE COLOURS
RS22 Polo Dark Blue $ 45.00
RSOC Vest Dark blue
$35.10+12.00 P+P
RS21 Polo White $45.00
RS31 Baseball Caps White RS30
Blue $16.50 each
RSOC Fleecy dark blue
RS40 RSOC UK 30th Anniversary
key Ring $7.50 each
RSOC Glass Coaster $6.00
each or 4 for $20.00 Only
available at club events
37
Y—
ORDER YOURS TODAY—
WEAR THE COLOURS
CLASSIFIEDS
For Sale
Original CK49 Twin Cam Escort, 1972
Compliance, garaged since 1985 CAMS
Log Booked 1986, eligible for Improved Production, Historic Group NC ,
Targa, Touring Car Masters, driven 500
klms since 1986. Car comes complete
less seats and door trims. Orig L Block
motor complete and assembled, gearbox same but not in car. All
ancillary parts included. Comes with various spares, replaced
over last 5 years, F &R Windscreens, F& R W/screen rubbers,
new door seals, new lower control arms, new ball joints, new
front panel, new F&R wheel bearings, new fuel pump, Bilstein
strut inserts, new 032 Yokohama tyres. Set up for circuit racing,
can still be road registered. Same owner last 26 years.
Offers around $20,000. PH 0418 972 972
“ We can come to you or you can come to us” Mark Hockey
27 Years Auto Care Experience!
Based in Sydney, NSW
38
Proprietor
and Club
Member
COMING EVENTS
April
1
1
“Club Plates” Run (NSW)
Vic Autumn Drive Yarra Valley
Robert Ramsey
Frank York
“Club Plates” Run (NSW)
British Ford Day (NSW)
Robert Ramsey
(02) 6571 1045
Ettamogah Pub, Rouse Hill
“Club Plates” Run (NSW)
Robert Ramsey
Vic Winter Drive Melbourne
“Club Plates” Run (NSW)
All Ford Day (NSW)
Frank York
0418 365 712
Robert Ramsey
(02) 6571 1045
Eastern Creek Raceway
(02) 6571 1045
0418 365 712
May
6
19
June
3
(02) 6571 1045
July
1
1
29
August
5
“Club Plates” Run (NSW)
Robert Ramsey
September
2
Muscle Car Masters
9
“Club Plates” Run (NSW)
30
All Ford Day (Qld)
Eastern Creek Raceway
Robert Ramsey
(02) 6571 1045
Kedron Park, Brisbane
October
7
“Club Plates” Run (NSW)
7
Vic Spring Drive and Dine Day
14
RSOC 30th Anniversary
26-28 Classic Small Ford Muster (ACT)
Robert Ramsey
Frank York
Lidcombe, NSW
Canberra
November
4
“Club Plates” Run (NSW)
18
Forgotten Ford Sunday
Robert Ramsey
(02) 6571 1045
Parramatta Park, NSW
December
2
“Club Plates” Run (NSW)
Robert Ramsey
39
(02) 6571 1045
(02) 6571 1045
0418 365 712
(02) 6571 1045
PRIDE PASSION PERFORMANCE
Www.rsownersclubaust.com.au
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