Hirvonen to rally new Mk2 Escort

Ford’s lead WRC driver Mikko Hirvonen could go head to head with team boss Malcolm Wilson in Escort Mk2s in historic rallying this season.

Hirvonen, normally found at the wheel of a Ford Focus World Rally Car, has commissioned Escort specialist Mark Solloway to build him a period Mk2, complete with 240bhp BDG engine. The Finnish ace intends to use the car in competition when his WRC schedule allows.

“Being a Ford maniac, I’ve always said it’s the best car there has ever been,” said Hirvonen (above). Wilson, an Escort driver in the 1970s, already has the Mk2 he used to win last November’s Roger Albert Clark Rally.

“It’s a great honour that they chose us to build the car,” said Solloway, who has now built nearly 40 Escorts at his Historic Rallysport operation in Carmarthen.