MILLINGTON MK2 ESCORT

Pete Rayner’s been rallying Escorts for nearly 30 years, but thanks to son, Scott and Millington power, this well-travelled Mk2 may be his best one yet.

With monster Millington Diamond power, a Tractive sequential ’box, and outstanding levels of prep courtesy of his son, Scott, it’s no wonder Pete Rayner is smiling all the way to the next Tarmac rally stage.

Running a full-on, class and event-winning Mk2 rally car is never going to be the cheapest hobby in the world, but Pete Rayner from Essex has proved you can compete in an ultra-quick top-spec Escort — including taking it on annual ‘vacations’ to the islands of Jersey and Barbados — without completely breaking the bank. None of this would be possible, however, without a shrewd choice in engine and running gear manufacturers… and the clever idea of raising his son, Scott, to be a genius rally builder and mechanic, who looks after the car at home and on events. That’s helped a lot.

“I worked with a guy in the early ’80s who had a BDA Mk2,” Pete begins, “and was hooked on the cars and the sport from then on. It would be nearly eight years, until 1988, before I could afford my own car and start competing, though. This car is now my fourth Mk2 and I’ve done many more than 200 events in what will soon be 30 years on the stages!”

Diamond life

Pete’s latest Escort has been with him for the last five years, but has been through a lot of changes in that time. “It’s an ex-Nick Woodman car,” he says, “and came to me with a 300 bhp Duratec under the bonnet, but that engine went bang at Epynt not long after. So a rethink was in order and with some research, the obvious pick for a new engine came down to a Millington Diamond. Many people recommended this route and I’ve never regretted taking it.