In what could be classed as as a dream day out for MotorMartin if only work hadn’t got in the way, over 21,000 Ford fans flocked to the home of British motorsport for the UK’s biggest Ford-only event, which understandably saw yet another year of incredible growth.
Ford Fair, now in its 32nd year, rather incredibly saw over 6,000 club cars on display, and marked some significant anniversaries including the 30th anniversary of the Sierra RS500 Cosworth – named the ‘Ultimate Cosworth’ on the eve of the show – and the 25th anniversary of the Escort RS Cosworth. In addition to the Cosworth anniversary feature, there were other birthdays being commemorated in special display areas. These included 15 years of the Mk1 Focus RS, 15 years of the Mondeo ST220 and 15 years of the Focus ST170 – yes, 2002 was a great year for fans of fast Fords. Fantastic.
Other star features included one of the very first public appearances of the new Fiesta, exhibited by Ford itself, while Ford’s UK MD, Andy Barratt was on hand to answer questions from the public.
Other star features included the GT40, GT 2005 and 2017 GT, in which lucky winners were able to enjoy a lap around Silverstone circuit, plus the 2017 GT going full pace round the circuit with Le Mans driver Harry Tinknell at the wheel, along with the the Live Action Arena, featuring a live performance from stunt driver Paul Swift, a J-Turn masterclass, bookable track time for show visitors and a dedicated Classic Zone, hosted by Classic Ford magazine in partnership with Burton Power.
Headline sponsorship for the event came from Ford specialists, mountune, while Hardrace, KSport, BC Racing, BC Forged Wheels, Sky Insurance, Meguiar’s and Goodridge were the other key sponsors.
New for 2017, Ford Fair also hosted the inaugural Fast Ford Awards sponsored by Sky Insurance. This special display formed part of the Fast Ford stand at the show, and included winners of various categories, such as Best Street Car, Best Engine Swap, Best Modern Ford and Best Old School Ford.
It’s been shared with MotorMartin that this year’s Show & Shine winners, sponsored by ValetPRO, were Danny Crane and his Ford Focus MK2 RS in first place, Jo Fowler and her Ford Focus ST in second and Michael Fern and his Ford Escort MK6 in third. The best club stand went to Simply Mustang, while the Sprint Test winners on the day were Josh Nash, Jonathan Trezins and Andy Murray.
The Ford Fair Concours Competition, sponsored by Meguiars, also saw some hot competition, with the following winners:
Concours: Class A Standard Cosworth:
1st place: Mark Barber
2nd place: Damien Hide
Concours Class B Standard Escort:
1st place: Roger Wilkes
Concours Class C Standard Fiesta:
1st place: Ed Owers
Concours Class E Standard Focus:
1st place: Simon Williams
2nd place: Chris Barlow
Concours Class F Standard All Other Fords:
1st place: Vas Lashley
Best in Show Standard:
Vas Lashley
Concours Class M2 Modified Escort:
1st place: Shaun Greatbatch
2nd place: Nicholas Lane
Concours Class M4 Modified Fiesta:
1st place: James Lafferty
Concours Class M6 Modified Mondeo:
1st place: Daniel Cramp
Concours Class M9 Modified All Other Ford:
1st place: Michael O’connor
2nd place: Glen Darwent
Concours Class N1 Novice:
1st place: Darren Peaman
2nd place: Damian Broesma
Concours Class V1 Vans:
1st place: Martin Kennedy
2nd place: Steven Gibson
Best in Show Modified:
Winner: Shaun Greatbatch
Ford Fair will return in 2018, but fans of the Blue Oval still have one more chance to celebrate their brand in style, with Ford Fest set to take place at the famous Santa Pod drag strip in Podington, Beds, on September 17th. For more info and advance tickets MotorMartin certainly recommends that you go to www.fordfestshow.co.uk.
Where will you go?