Old Skool Ford Drag Challenge
Central Show shook to the sound of screaming Ford engines as the Old Skool Ford drag racers hit the Santa Pod strip for round two.
As we welcomed the arrival of Summer last month, 21 classic Ford owners descended on Santa Pod for round 2 of the Old Skool Ford Drag Challenge and a very quiet Central Show.
The Tarmac was sticky and the sun was shining but you could almost see the tumbleweed in the empty fire-up lane which enabled the racers to go round and round virtually all weekend, some of them getting in 20-plus runs!
We welcomed back Paul Margetts in his Cossie-powered, bubble-arched Mk1 Escort. The Welsh racer departed very early on in the 2015 season due to breakages but following a full rebuild he was back with a renewed enthusiasm and ran a respectable 10.85 on low boost — definitely one to watch this year. Also returning to the strip for the first time this season was Barry Payne and his freshly-painted Mk1 Mexico, sporting a new Quaife six-speed sequential gearbox, the 2.1 Pinto pushed him over the line at 11.71 and 11th place for this round. Father and son duo, Geoff and Scott Relph continued their battle for family dominance. Geoff in his ST170-driven Mk1 Cortina on throttle bodies running 14.48 and Scott in his stock-looking 2-litre Black Top Zetec Mk1 Fiesta on bike carbs running a superb 13.95 shows that respect for your elders stops at the lights on race day.
Top places for this round were attained by three local racers. First place went to Iain Hogg in his Mk1 Escort running a 13.63 closely followed by a brace of Anglias — Mark Dodson in the estate version running 14.40 and Jake Wray in the saloon running 14.27 (adjusted handicaps give these final placings).
As I write this, it’s just four weeks until our favourite event of the year, Classic Ford Show. These guys and girls may work together in the pits but out on the strip they are mavericks, each with their own mission and mindful of the Top Gun mantra, “I feel the need, the need for speed!”