Sunshine Brings Fords Out In Force

BEAULIEU, UNITED KINGDOM – May 9, 2013: Participants at this year’s Simply Ford event, held in the grounds of the National Motor Museum on the 5th May, enjoyed the first hot weekend of the year with clear blue skies and day-long sunshine. The event is now in its fourth year and a firm fixture on the Beaulieu calendar.

A bumper number of over 1,400 people joined the event with 700 Ford cars, from early models to custom and modern classics, on display in the Beaulieu parkland. The event this year celebrated the RS badge with a number of Owners’ Clubs from South London and Kent to Swindon and Bristol, taking centre stage on the main Arena. In addition, there were a number of trade stands selling Ford related parts and accessories.

Judith Maddox,Beaulieu’s Event Manager said: “The lovely weather brought Ford owners out in force and it was lovely to see such a wide variety of cars on show, from early Model As to the latest Ford Focus.”

The Ford Heritage Collection again supported the event, bringing along a Ford GT, an Escort Cosworth WRC and a Sapphire Cosworth as well as the Ford Supervan 3 which has a top speed of around 150mph. The Supervan is built on a Ford C100 race car chassis and was originally powered by a mid-mounted Ford-Cosworth 650bhp ‘HB’ F1 engine.

A People’s Choice trophy was awarded to David Pritchard from Westbury in Wiltshire for his pristine 1996 541hp Escort Cosworth. David is a member of the Bristol RS Club and is a regular attendee at Simply Ford.

The Best RS trophy was presented to Jonathan Bryant of Yate, Bristol for his 1983 Ford Escort RS1600I. Jonathan has given the car a complete make-over since purchasing it over eight years ago, after rescuing it from the overgrown hedge of its previous owner’s home!

The prizes were presented by Ivan Batholomeusz and Colin Gray from the Ford Heritage workshop.