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Back to school: Ford gives out free Focus RS driver training

31 August, 2016

We’ve all seen the videos of people running out of talent in their brand-new Focus RS, and we’ve all seen the media hype around how Ford irresponsibly produced a vehicle with a ‘drift’ button. Ford has responded to the flurry of mixed reports and media hype with its own solution: driver training. 

Dubbed the RS Adrenaline Academy, Ford USA is now running the driver training at Miller Motorsports Park, in Utah. It’s a free course, and owners of the latest RS are able to attend a small classroom briefing, then they’re out on the track learning about each individual mode the RS now has — especially the drift mode. 

With the courses now being held in America, we’re hoping they’ll make their way down to New Zealand. If the drivers in America are having issues sliding off the road, it’s likely to happen here too. 

Lunch with… Jim Palmer

16 April, 2025

In the 1960s, Hamilton’s Jim Palmer won the prestigious ‘Gold Star’ four times and was the first resident New Zealander home in the New Zealand Grand Prix on five consecutive occasions. He shared the podium with Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Bruce McLaren, Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Denny Hulme, Jackie Stewart, and Chris Amon. The extent of his domination of the open-wheeler scene in New Zealand will probably never be matched or exceeded. Yet he’s always been modest about his achievements.

NZ Classic Car magazine, May/June 2025 issue 399, on sale now

13 April, 2025

Who would have thought it would become such a worldwide motorsport star when Ford introduced the humble Escort in 1967?
Its popularity, particularly in Mark 1 form, is now of iconic status. Our cover story for this issue is on a 1968 Ford Escort Mark 1, Alan Mann Racing Tribute. We talked with the owner of this very special Escort, finished in tribute also to the owner’s father.
“Most children love speed, and motorsport typically comes courtesy of a parent, and Elliott is no different. His engineer father, Mark, had a love for motorcycles and going fast; however, when children came along, he swapped two wheels for four, in the form of two Ford Escorts.
Little did Mark know it at the time, but the humble Escort was about to weave its way into the family fabric once and for all.
After emigrating from London to New Zealand, Elliott recalled one evening when he was 14 being invited to tag along by his father, helping a friend convert an Escort road car into a racing car. This was the pivotal moment when Elliott remembers the motorsport bug taking over. He knew he had to have his own one.”