The ex-John Fitzpatrick
1971 Ford Escort RS1600 Group 2 FIA Competition Saloon

• Ford works car built for John Fitzpatrick
• Originally built by Broadspeed Engineering
• Significant in-period racing history
• 1971 British Saloon Car Championship front runner
• Long-term highly detailed restoration completed in 2022 (bills available)
• Beautifully restored and in outstanding condition
• Very large history file including an illustrated photobook
• V5C Registration Certificate

In early 1971 Ford Motor Company commissioned Ralph Broad's Broadspeed Engineering to build a competitive Escort race car for John Fitzpatrick's assault on the 1971 British Saloon Car Championship. Ford provided 'MEV 34J', an RS1600 road car registered on 5th April 1971. The Ford Cosworth BDA 16-valve engine from the RS1600 was bored out to 1,700c (later 1,800cc) and received dry-sump lubrication and Lucas mechanical fuel injection. Transmission duties were handled by a ZF five-speed 'dogleg' gearbox.

Sponsored by Castrol Motor Oils and entered by Team Broadspeed Castrol, the Escort carried the 'registration' number 'RS1600' and was finished in Ermine White with red and green 'Castrol' stripes – a now iconic look.

Fitzpatrick competed in the 1971 British Saloon Car Championship with great success and won some races outright as well as scoring many class wins, often defeating the V8 Camaro's of Brian Muir and Frank Gardner. Fitzpatrick was contracted to race a German entered-RS1600 rather than 'MEV' for the Spa 24-hour race in July 1971, so drivers Mike Crabtree and Trevor Taylor stepped up and took the wheel of 'MEV 34J'. The latter is pictured in action in Graham Robson's book, The Works Escorts (1977/1984, page 109).

The final race of 1971 - at the BSCC meeting at Brands Hatch - saw 'Fitz' crash the Escort heavily when contesting the lead with Gardner's Camaro. Famously, the Escort had been pre-sold and was bound for New Zealand to be raced by Jim Richards, a deal that had to be unwound. It is assumed that Ralph Broad sold the remains of the 'Fitzpatrick' car after Brands Hatch (on file is a press advertisement offering it for sale with or without engine!). Rally entry lists and period rally photographs show 'MEV 34J' on rally stages in private hands during the 1970s. A succession of owners and various modifications followed, including a 1990s entry in Thunder Saloons.

In 2015 the current owner was looking for a Broadspeed or works Escort to race, and narrowly missed the opportunity of the 1970 Ford works car, 'EVX 256H'. The vendor of 'EVX' revealed the location of the 1971 car, 'MEV 34J'. A deal was done in 2016.
It transpired that Roger King of GPRM Ltd (now Stellar Motorsport) had been the purchaser of 'EVX'. Roger had been a young engineer at Broadspeed during the Ford years and was now starting the full restoration of the recently purchased 'EVX' at his workshops. King agreed to take on the restoration of 'MEV 34J' alongside his own car.

Extensive bodyshell and sheet-metal work to exacting original detail was carried out, often referencing 'EVX' and a library of 'shell only' photographs of 'MEV 34J' from Ford's own archive. All the period suspension was either restored or machined freshly from billet. A new 1,800cc correct-specification fuel-injected BDA engine was built by Alan Sherwood and dynamometer tested at nearly 275 horsepower. Martin Jones built a new ZF five-speed gearbox; a bespoke motor sport wiring loom was made; Bilstein springs and dampers installed; AP Racing brakes fitted; and the wheels shod with Dunlop racing tyres, all as it should be. The concours quality paintwork was undertaken by XK Engineering (Coventry); hand-painted graphics followed and the car was road and track ready by early 2022.

A successful outing in the 2024 Circuit des Remparts at Angoulême has been the car's only post-rebuild competitive event and it now presents in very smart condition in every area, shaken down and described as ready for Peter Auto, Modena Cento Ore, Tour Auto or any number of other Historic race series globally.

A huge file of in-period and rebuild history is included in the sale together with an FIA Historic Technical Passport (valid until 31st December 2035) and copies of numerous publications and reference books featuring the car and its racing career, both in-period and post rebuild.