Tak sobie grzebałem w necie i rozbawił mnie ten wywiadu z Vatanenem na temat Escorta. =] Szczególnie kawałek o zaporzyczeniu tylnego mostu z Capri =]
Foreword to THE WORKS ESCORTS – by Ari Vatanen
It’s impossible for me to write about the Escort, as an observer, in an objective and sterile manner. That would be an injustice to life. I’ll always carry a warm souvenir from my first love!
To get a sudden call from Boreham to Carelia, next to the Russian border, in 1975, had the same effect on me as if an amateur actor from a working man’s club in Maesteg had been invited to take a star role in Hollywood.
When I arrived at Boreham, I saw cars for Roger Clark and Timo Mäkinen – and on the side of the third car I saw my name. I had to pinch myself to believe that this really was me standing there. How could I get such a gift from life?
I can still hear in my ears the beautifully singing BDA engine. To rallying folks in a pitch black night at Kielder forest it sounded like the masterworks of Sibelius.
Otherwise, the Escort was a simple car. After all, a heavily accented order from Mick Jones: ‘Let’s beef it up’, was usually enough to cure any problem. If not – well, we had to resort to borrowing a back axle from an unsuspecting Scottish lady’s Capri. I can still remember her face in disbelief when her car was being jacked up.
For me, at this time, everything was a novelty, and I was discovering life – with Ford and the Escort. I always drove the Escort with the same enthusiasm as I live - flat out into each corner, and we’ll see what happens. Living to the full left no time for tactics, because life is not a game, and it cannot be rehearsed. The panel beaters got plenty of practice, though...
The Escort suited my style as a glove fits a hand. It was so easy to drive that it must have guessed what I wanted to do. Side numbers were usually the first thing that spectators saw of my Escorts. And I had a smile on my face.
I felt as if I was the painter, who expresses his joy of life by painting. At times I was overwhelmed by joy, and a brush did not stay on the canvas. Looking back now, those setbacks were not defeats. They gave more depth to my life, and they kept my feet on the ground. Humility helps us extend our hands to each other in a big rallying family.
It is a family which, for me, extends from white Lapland to black Africa. People often say to me : ‘Thank you for making the dreams which you have given us over the years.’ What can more gratifying than sharing our dreams with other fellow human beings ?
Ari Vatanen,
World Rally Champion 1981
Pospiech 
/ 2007-01-14 22:18:37 /
Vatanen zawsze był gawędziarzem co się zowie :) A Szkotka musiała mieć istotnie głupią minę, jak 35 lat temu nadziała się na modułowe pomysły chłopaków z Forda.
BTW. rajdowe Escorty Mk1 z poszerzonymi tylnymi błotnikami zawsze miały mosty z Capri Mk1, a w późnych [zwłaszcza wyścigowych] Mk2 upychano nawet mosty z Capri' 78 [zwanego gdzieniegdzie Mk3].
Pozdreaux.
KRK 4m 
/ 2007-01-15 00:17:34 /
Mi się najbardziej podoba ten fragment - "The Escort suited my style as a glove fits a hand. It was so easy to drive that it must have guessed what I wanted to do. Side numbers were usually the first thing that spectators saw of my Escorts. And I had a smile on my face."
Wroniasty / 2007-01-15 00:28:51 /
zgadzam się z przedmówcą nie ma to jak RWD =]
Pospiech / 2007-01-15 00:36:40 /
Jakby komuś sam tekst nie wystarczył :
ftp://ftp.capri.pl/user/mikeb4/Escort/rothmans.wmv
oglądać wieczorem/nocą ;-)
no i jeszcze zimowy klimat
ftp://ftp.capri.pl/user/mikeb4/Escort/Rajdowe/Winterfest.avi
nie ma to jak RWD i jak widać na drugim filmie FWD sie chowa głęboko ;-)
MikeB4 / 2007-01-15 10:01:52 /
Na "Britisch rally championschip 1970-2000 mam jak Ari ze zdefektowanym dyfrem podczas dojazdówki do os-u pożycza dyferek od przejeżdżającego drogą capri.
Mechanicy wymieniają dyfer(co prawda bez szpery)w przysłowiowe 10min na parkingu,i Ari może spokojnie jechać na następny os.
Piotrek Ł....vel Kankkunen / 2007-01-15 13:00:26 /