LunaticSVT

BRENTWOOD – Ford and Ford powered competition cars will again be prominent in many categories at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July, with Grand Prix cars, sports and GT cars, racing saloons, and rally cars all taking part, along with Ford’s newest high-tech machine, the EGGbox gravity racer.

Vehicles entered by Ford will include a World Rally Championship Ford Focus to be driven by Ford of Europe vice president of product development Martin Leach, Ford’s WRC team drivers being occupied on the Safari Rally. Martin, who has ultimate responsibility for Ford’s World Rally Championship Programme, has substantial racing experience in Mazdas and other high powered sports cars. At last year’s Festival, Martin drove both the WCR Focus and one of the fearsome Cologne RS Capris.

Ford also plans to enter a newly-restored and very rare Ford GT70 rally car. This 1971 vehicle, one of only six built, has been in storage in a disassembled state for many years. Its Festival debut will be its first competitive appearance since the Seventies.

A large number of Ford-powered Formula One cars will be at the Festival this year, to mark several landmarks in the history of Grand Prix racing. Lotus will celebrating its 50th year and Williams Engineering its 25th, while a special effort is being made to source as many Tyrrells as possible as a tribute to legendary team owner Ken Tyrrell who died in 2001.

The Ford GT40 which Jackie Ickx drove to a historic victory over the Porsche team in the 1969 Le Mans 24 Hour race will be making another Festival appearance, while entries from even more Ford-powered sports-racing and saloon cars are yet to be confirmed.

The Ford Engineering Graduate Group (EGG), based at the Ford Technical Centre at Dunton, Essex, will be designing and building Ford’s entry in the Roadster category of Goodwood’s soapbox race. Ford of Europe engineering director, Malcolm Thomas, has identified the project as a practical method of encouraging Ford graduates to develop their skills with the range of vehicle design and prototype build systems available at Dunton. Specification details are currently a well-guarded secret, but it can be revealed that the graduates have chosen the name “EGGbox” for their gravity racer.

The current range of Ford vehicles will be on display in the Festival Exhibitors’ Village, with the emphasis on high performance models. As usual, the Ford display will be complemented with interactive displays and games for Festival visitors.

As in previous years, Ford will be supporting the Festival organisers with Ford Rangers and other Ford vehicles for use by marshals and officials over the Festival period, 12-14 July.