MOTORSPORT By Tony Brunskill

Last updated at 10:55, Saturday, 22 November 2008

That was more like it! Barking twin-cam exhausts from classic Ford Escorts, a growling Ferraris engine in the Lancia Stratos and the Boxer rasp of Porches all at flat out speed in the echoing forests.

Lotus blossoms: Bob Bean and Malcolm Smithson in their Ford Lotus Cortina

It was a real evocation of the golden era of rallying before the point and squirt 4x4 world rally cars ended the true sideways action we loved in the rear-wheel days of Timo Makkinen and Roger Clark, camaraderie and fun.

So it was fitting that the rally I was marshalling on was the Roger Albert Clark Rally, a re-creation of the fabulous Lombard RAC Rally which in the 1970s was an arduous and testing 2000-mile plus rally taking place from forest stages from south to the north of the UK and in which there were no stops for three nights.

Co-drivers were literally that and took turns at the wheel, mainly on the long road sections, when the driver grabbed some kip before the next stage: it was a true test of car and crew against the elements and prior to global warming were usually ice and deep snow!

One such Lombard forest stage in which I was manning a corner was Graik which had not been used for many years, so the surface was brilliantly smooth as a baby's whatsist to allow the brave crews to go flat out.

It was perfect and the glorious noise was occasionally joined by the wonderful smell of Castrol R filling the still and frosty night.

The car which sounded the fittest of all was not surprisingly the Stobart VK M-Sport Pirelli Ford Escort Mk2 RS 1800 driven by team principal and M-Sport boss, 52 year-old Malcolm Wilson who had lost none of his aggression at the wheel nor any of his skill because he was not only fast, he was very neat and tidy.

Such attributes he did not often display when he was rallying professional in the 1980s as Malcolm was an extremely fast driver in the 'win or bust' mould but maturity has resulted in a loss of the red mist!

Malcolm built an enormous lead of six and half minutes in the early stages of the rally ahead of his nearest rival, the young Irish driver Martin McCormack, also driving a ubiquitous Escort Mk as the rally entered the legendary Border forest stages.

At one point Martin whittled down Malcolm's lead to 56 seconds but disaster struck on Stage 21 when his Escort went wide and struck a rock which smashed the Ford's track control arm and ended his chance of closing the gap.

That gave Malcolm another huge lead ahead of the next contender, the experienced David Stokes in his Escort Mk2 who finished the rally over six minutes behind the winning Stobart Escort and a very happy Malcolm Wilson.

First published at 05:17, Friday, 21 November 2008
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk