21st-May-21, 08:51 AM
As promised, the 2022 Scalextric Club car was announced in UK Slot Car Festival week. Sadly, we didn't get to inspect it up close at Gaydon, but here it - the MCD Ford Escort RS1800 'Black Beauty' as driven by Ari Vatanen on the 1982 Manx Rally. Those hints from the Scalextric team - of a short-term solution for rally fans - now make perfect sense!
Ari Vatanen had won the 1981 World Rally Champion driving an Escort for the privateer Rothmans Rally Team - albeit with heavy factory support from Boreham. Ford withdrew in 1982 and Vatanen - still under contract - was left without a drive in the WRC and unable to defend his crown. Instead he competed in the British Open Rally Championship, driving the MCD-prepared Escort alongside Phil Short for the first two events and then Terry Harryman for the final three - the Manx being their final outing...
Vatanen thrilled crowds and gained huge respect throwing the out-classed Escort around the forests and roads of the British Isles. Eventual champion Jimmy McRae has this to say in AutoSport...
Quote:Put simply, Ari is the quickest bravest rally driver there is. The press wrote off the Escort, but it can still be a competitive car and if Ari is in a good mood - or if his wife has just had a baby and he is on cloud nine - there is no touching him. I don't think there is an Escort that has ever, ever gone as quick as Ari did on the Manx. OK it ended in an accident but the way he motored that car was mind boggling.
Widnes-based MCD Services prepared Vatanen's Escort for the British Open Championship, with cars and parts from the Boreham stores. Pirelli supplied the tyres and the 2 litre BDA engines were taken care of by David Wild in Essex. In Vatanen's hands, the RS1800 had a fine final season - competing for podiums throughout the year, including an astonishing second place at the Swedish Rally in a David Sutton RS1800. By why did Vatanen stick with Ford? Well, there was a sense of loyalty - and the promise of a new world-beating Group B Escort under development. Alas that project collapsed and Vatanen moved to Opel, starting with the 1982 RAC.
The Scalextric Mk2 Escort is a bit of an ugly thing in my eyes - especially compared to the SCX model of the earlier 1975-79 RS1800 rally cars. However, the 81 and 82 Escorts looked slightly more 'boxy' and have pronounced flared rear wheel arches that matches the Scalextric car's shape quite well. The 3D rendered image shows a 'FORD' badge on the front, rather than the blue oval - and only the top pair of auxiliary lights are necessary for the Manx car. God-forbid, this really needs to be a left-hand drive Escort for Ari, with Harryman sitting on the right. But overall, I'm delighted - not perfect, but it's Ari Vatanen's Black Beauty.
The only way to nab your Escort is to pay out £40 to join the Scalextric Club: scalextric.com/community/scalextric-club There is an Rest of the World (ROW) option for £56, but no EU membership at the moment - although hopefully this will change sooner rather than later. I guess there's always the option of using a UK address.
This is what you get...
- A Club exclusive slot car and 2022 catalogue (dispatched January 2022)
- 10% discount on cars and accessories at uk.scalextric.com (only on UK website)
- Exclusive slot cars throughout the year.
- A welcome note and regular product updates sent via email, plus competitions throughout the year.
Well, that's me successfully renewed for another year and waiting patiently for January. In the meantime, here's the ITV coverage of the 1982 Manx Rally - over to you Dickie Davies...