Back in 1967-1968, when the Trans-Am series was really starting to come into its own here in the USA, there was an equally as interesting story brewing over in England. Called Rallycross, it was a type of racing that took place on dirt tracks and that had elements of road racing, rallying, and desert racing all rolled into one. We dug up some cool video showing a Mk1 Ford Escort hauling ass around a course, tail out and dirt rooster tails flying!
The neat part of the story of Rallycross is the role that television played in its rise to fame. If there are some forms of racing that were really made for TV this is one of them. The whole concept was born from the mind of a television producer who made a network special around the first ever event. More than 8 million people tuned in to watch, a fantastic number for 1967, and a hit was born. That first special morphed into an entire series and Rallycross exists today. The compact track, wild action, sideways pitch of the cars most of the time and winter racing schedule all added up to ratings gold.
The car featured in the video is a first generation Ford Escort packing a 1.5L twin cam Lotus four banger. These were awesome little engines that were free revving and made great power for their small size. As you can see, it shoves the Escort around the dirt track with aplomb. This looks like too much fun!
