Resin models, hand-assembled and hand-painted, produced in limited and numbered editions.
Ford Escort WRC Rallye Catalunya 1997
- Scale
- 1:18
- Limitation
- 2000
- Vehicle type
- Coupé
- Brand
- Ford
- Year
- 1997
- Family
- Youngtimer
- Release date
- 12/2025
- Release year
- 2025
In his second season with Ford, two-time world champion (1990 and 1992) Carlos Sainz is once again aiming for the title. “El Matador” is counting on taking advantage of the new regulations introduced at the start of the season to clinch a third title. The World Rally Cars have been impressive so far this season. In Spain, Carlos Sainz is targeting victory on home soil after two second places (Monte Carlo and Sweden) and two successive retirements (Safari and Portugal). The start of the rally is full of surprises, with the new two-wheel drive kit cars outperforming the WRCs! Panizzi and Delecour's 306s are ahead of McRae, Mäkinen, and Liatti! Incredible. Delecour makes a mistake, but Panizzi leads the race for five special stages before getting a flat tire in the last stage on Friday. At Ford, the beginning of the rally is complicated. The worst was yet to come: Armin Schwarz retired in SS9 (broken drive shaft). Sainz suffered the same problem a few stages later but managed to make it to the parc fermé on Saturday. He dropped to 12th place. Sunday was marked by a magnificent duel between Tommi Mäkinen (Mitsubishi) and Pierro Liatti (Subaru). Gilles Panizzi returned to the podium with his 306, just ahead of McRae who punctured. Carlos Sainz managed to get back into the top 10, almost 10 minutes behind the winner, Mäkinen. With a fastest time just after his mechanical failure, El Matador still showed that the Escort WRC had what it took to compete for the win.
