FEATURE / COFFEE BREAK WITH LEE EDWARDS

13/01/2025 Off By admin

Xlerate catches up with the man behind the V6 Escort that’s been turning heads on social media over the past few seasons.

WORDS BY DAN MORRIS | FEATURE PHOTO BY ANDREW SCOTT

When you think of an Escort in UK rallying, your mind automatically goes to the ubiquitous Mk1 or MK2s that, despite being fifty years old, remain the most commonly used car in British rallying.

Over the past few seasons, Lee Edwards’ much rarer MK3 Escort has become a firm favourite with spectators on both closed roads and single-venue events. Its distinctive sound, combined with Lee’s on-the-limit driving style has made it a true crowd favourite and one to watch. On the run-up to our opening event of the season, The Showground Stages, we caught up with last year’s winner to talk about the origins of this special car, his motorsport journey, and his plans for the year ahead.

PHOTO BY ROB SAYER

Lee’s story begins on the familiar path that many rally drivers and Co-drivers have followed, a start in the world of road rallying.

“I originally started out navigating on road rallies around 2005/6. A few years later, I was eager to have a go at driving myself, so I built a Peugeot 106 XSi. We had a successful few years in the 106, steadily climbing up the classes until I turned it over whilst running course car on an event.”

After the Peugeot 106 chapter came to an abrupt end, a new car was needed, and that’s when the MK3 Escort entered the picture.

“The Mk3 came as a replacement for the 106 to continue road rallying. However, about 12 months after purchasing it, the MSA at the time banned RWD-converted cars from competing in the lanes. Therefore, I changed direction and thought I’d have a go at stage rallying. My first stage event was at Weston Park in 2013. Year on year, I gradually developed the car. In 2021, we competed in the Protyre Asphalt Championship where we won the 2000cc class and the Escort Challenge class.”

The success of 2021 was a key milestone for Lee, but rallying is rarely without its challenges.

“Unfortunately, we had a bit of a knock in the car whilst competing on the Isle of Man, which then resulted in a full rebuild. Me being me, never wanting to stand still, I decided I wanted to take it up a level and go up a class. Unfortunately, the likes of a Millington Diamond or KGP engine are way out of my budget, so I took a bit of a gamble going down the route of the V6 Jaguar unit. It took a lot of thinking about, and some designing and manufacturing of one-off components, but we got there in the end, and I’m very happy with the result.”

PHOTO BY ROB SAYER

The rebuild wasn’t just about fixing the damage – it was about improving and refining the car into the event winning machine it is today. Lee gave us a quick technical breakdown of the car in its current specification.

“It’s running a 3L V6 Duratec engine built by Toovey Race Engines, paired with a Quaife sequential gearbox with paddle shift, an Atlas Axle 6-linked setup, and three-way adjustable dampers.”

Lee headed into the 2024 season, and despite a few bumps along the way, it turned out to be a year of solid results.

“2024 was a successful year for us. We managed to secure two overall wins (Showground Stages & AGBO) early in the year and then went on to do a few bigger events. Unfortunately, we went off on the Argyll Rally in Scotland quite early on. We then managed to secure two third-place finishes in class to round the year off on the Tour of Epynt and Hills Ford stages.”

PHOTO BY DAN MORRIS

Looking ahead, Lee is unsure of how he wants the 2025 season to unfold, but will be defending his two victories from last year.

“I’m not completely set on a plan for 2025 yet. I have signed up to the Protyre Championship, but I won’t be competing in all the rounds. We have the Builth and Agbo stages in sight and will hopefully be over to do the Manx in April. After that, we’ll just see how the year pans out.”

Thanks for speaking to us, Lee, and good luck this season – we’ll certainly be keeping an eye on your progress!