Pritchard swaps to modified Escort Mk2

Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally champion Jason Pritchard is relishing the chance to drive a top-spec modified Ford

Escort Mk2 on Wales’ first closed-road rally – Rali Bae Ceredigion – next month.

The car belongs to ex-wales rugby player Scott Williams, and is a brand-new build complete with a 2.5-litre Millington engine and a paddleshift gearbox.

Pritchard admits he will be “in at the deep end” due to his lack of experience in this kind of car.

“When he [Scott] first built one [an Escort] a few years ago, I went to Pembrey and had a little spin it, a couple of miles, and that’s all the experience I have of a modern-spec Mk2,” Pritchard told MN.

“We were always going to do the event [but] it took me by surprise when Scott just sent me a message and asked if I’d be interested in using his car. It’s not every day that somebody offers you a car, especially a car like that, so I was more than happy to drive it for him!”

Pritchard owns a Mk2 Escort, but his is an historic-spec car that he has taken to three British Historic titles. He also owns a Ford Focus WRC and a Fiesta S2000, and reckons the modified Escort will be more similar to those two machines.

Up first for Pritchard is the Mewla Rally this weekend, where he has the chance to reassert himself at the top of the Asphalt championship standings: “The main aim for this year always was the Roger Albert Clark Rally at the end of the year, but obviously you’ve got to do something before November. We’ll see what happens on the Mewla, and if we get a good result there we’ll go to Otterburn.”