Fast Ford April 2021

INTRO WELCOME Finally, things are starting to look up. There seems to be light at the end of the Covid tunnel and while some shows may have been forced to postpone, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it won’t be too much longer before we can all get back out and start enjoying our cars again. It’s been too long – my own Focus RS has been sat unloved for months, and only covered a few hundred miles in 2020. But after being sat idle for so long, it needed a bit of TLC to get it back up to speed again, which inspired our ‘Post Lockdown’ feature on page 70 – a 20-point checklist for things to look out for when getting your Blue Oval ready for action again…

WHAT IS THE MOST ‘FUN’ FORD YOU’VE OWNED? “My Cossie was fun, but unreliable. My Mk3 RS is fun, but expensive if it goes wrong. The most ‘care-free’ entertainment came behind the wheel of a Puma-engined Mk5 Fiesta, or Fast Ford’s Mk6 Fiesta ST project car - both of which were ragged hard every singe day and always made me smile.” JAMIE, EDITOR “When it comes to fun I immediately think of hooliganism, and RWD. My Sapphire Cosworth has been comically fun at times, but the award must go to my old 24v drift Saph. So many good times, such as the British Drift Championship, Ford Fair shows and even driving though central London in a stripped, caged and fully-liveried nut-case of a car!” ADE, PHOTOGRAPHER “It would have to…

FIESTA ST FORGING AHEAD It runs 12-second quarters, and the goal is 500bhp – on a stock block and standard internals... Words BEN BIRCH Photos ADE BRANNAN The Fiesta ST is becoming the modern fast Ford of choice for many old-school RS and Cosworth fans. The car’s popularity with those who enjoyed the halcyon era of Blue Ovals during the 1990s and 2000s seems to grow by the day, and Craig Howard – the owner of this example – can explain why. “I’ve had RS1600is, Escort RS Turbos, Fiesta RS Turbos and a Sapphire Cosworth, but the ST makes me feel like a teenager again. It gives me exactly the same buzz as the old RSs used to in terms of excitement and pure driving fun, but without any of…

TECH SPEC FIESTA ST ENGINE 1596cc EcoBoost, original block, crank, rods and pistons, Laird Performance S5T1 turbo, Sitech Racing Stage 2 inlet and exhaust cams, Sitech Racing custom fuel pump, Laird Performance 5Triple1 crossover and intercooler, Laird Performance Outlaw Yakuza 3in exhaust system and de-cat, Laird Performance ported exhaust manifold, Turbosmart dual-port BOV, Auto Specialists oil catch can, SiCo Developments V3 induction and cold-side pipe, NGK7 plugs, Nexus 4N mapping, JW Racing engine torque mount, Vibra-Technics fast road engine mounts POWER 405bhp and 300lb.ft TRANSMISSION Fiesta ST Getrag Ford Durashift B6 six-speed, dual-mass flywheel, Stage 2 competition clutch, SiCo Developments short shifter SUSPENSION Fiesta ST factory dampers, Eibach Pro -35mm lowering springs, BAF Motorsport K-brace BRAKES Front: Fiesta ST callipers with 278x23mm discs, PBS Pro Race pads and Goodridge brake…

DRIVER SPEC CRAIG HOWARD AGE 39 JOB IT business development manager FIRST FORD Fiesta XR2 3 FORDS IN YOUR DREAM GARAGE? S1 Escort RS Turbo, Fiesta RS Turbo, Sierra RS500 FAVOURITE THING ABOUT YOUR FORD? The ‘dentist drill’ turbo FAVOURITE FORD SHOW OR EVENT? Ford Fair TRACK DAY OR SHOW & SHINE? Track day SIERRA RS500 OR FOCUS RS500? Sierra RS500 WRC OR BTCC? BTCC LESSONS LEARNT FROM THIS PROJECT? Make sure your wife knows everything about the project WHAT’S NEXT Watch this space… THANKS “Ross Laird at Laird Performance, Simon Smail and Nik Beswick at Sitech Racing for creating this monster, and of course my wife Emma for supporting me with this crazy build”…

WHAT'S NEW NEWS See what’s going down in the world of fast Fords... LOSS OF A LEGEND We were shocked and saddened to hear of Hannu Mikkola’s death on 25 February; he was one of the greatest rally drivers of all time, and a real cult hero in Escorts from 1968 to 1980 – his victory alongside Gunnar Palm in the 1970 World Cup Rally from London to Mexico lead to Ford introducing the Escort ‘Mexico’ model. Hannu was 78 years old, and had been fighting ill health for some time. Nobody can have known him better that Stuart Turner – his team boss at Boreham for so long – whose affectionate reaction was: ‘One person did more than most to lay to rest the idea that Scandinavians were only…