On This Day

Tuesday 30th November 1976

43 years ago

Roger Clark became the first British driver to win a World Rally Championship (WRC) event when he triumphed at the 1976 RAC Rally with Stuart Pegg, driving a Ford Escort RS 1800. Clark passed his driving test in 1956, and immediately joined the Leicester Car Club, where he met Jim Porter, who was his co-driver for 20 years. Initially borrowing a Ford Model Y from his fathers garage, he made his rallying debut at club level in 1956 in a pre-WWII Ford Prefect. The car used number plate 2 ANR, which Clark retained throughout his career, and often used for later private entries. After moving to compete in a 1950s Ford 100E van, in 1960 Clark and Porter began being placed after switching to a BMC Mini Cooper.In this car they won the East Midlands Rally Championship (1961 and 1962),came fourth overall and a class win in the International Circuit of Ireland (1963),third in the Motoring News Championship (1963), and third in his first Circuit of Scotland (1963). This success led to a series of works drives. In 1963 he drove a Triumph TR4 for Spa-Sofia-Liege, and in the same year a Reliant Sabre in the Alpine Rally. In 1964, whilst experimenting privately with a Ford Cortina GT, Clark agreed a two-year works deal with the Rover Company, for which in 1965 the pair won their Monte Carlo Rally category in a Rover 2000. During this period he also made the first two of his five Circuit of Scotland wins in 1964 in his private Ford Cortina, and with combined results won the first of his four British Rally Championship in 1965. Roger drove for BL during the 1980 season where he competed in the iconic TR7 V8 but with limited success. In 1966 Clark and Porter signed to a works Ford of Britain deal, with the successful partnership lasting 15 years. Ford of Britain lead the Ford of Europe rallying team, sponsored by Esso Uniflo, with Clark initially signed into a three-driver team all using the Ford Cortina GT alongside Vic Elford and Bengt Soderstrom. Under their customised contract, the company initially supplied Clark and Porter with improved chassis, body and full works blue-printed engines, which Clark then had built into rally cars in his own workshops. In 1968 Clark switched to the car that he was most associated with, the Ford Escort RS, which he rallied in works form until 1979, and then privately until he retired in the 1980s. Clark and Porter won British Rally Championship titles again in 1972, 1973 and 1975. His most notable successes came in the RAC Rally, the UK's biggest rally race. But as Porter was contracted to work for the rally organisers, Clark was forced to hire-in co-drivers for each of his wins. Clark won twice, in 1972 with Tony Mason, and then again - with the cars now sponsored by Cossack Hairspray, and hence coloured red - in 1976 with Stuart Pegg when it was part of the WRC, a feat that would not be emulated for over fifteen years. Clark and Porter also won the Acropolis Rally in 1968, the Circuit of Ireland in 1970, and the Scottish Rally on six occasions, among a total of 40 national and international victories. In 1973, Clark led the East African Safari Rally by over an hour, when forced to retire at the halfway stage with a disintegrating car. As part of his later extended works-deal with Ford, Clark was contracted and paid as a development driver, for which he was asked to rally unusual models.These development excursions included rallying a Ford Zodiac in Eastern Europe, a Ford Capri in the Tour of Britain; and a Ford Escort attached to a Sprite Alpine to compete in the RAC and Caravan Club organised Caravan Rally of Great Britain, centred around Silverstone Circuit. His autobiography co-authored by Graham Robson reflected his skill - on any surface - to make the Ford Escort "dance" sideways through corners, like his world-class Scandinavians equals Hannu Mikkola and Bjorn Waldegard, entitled Sideways . . . to Victory. Clark died from the effects of a stroke on 12 January 1998. A bronze statue of Clark was later erected in his memory at Mallory Park, Leicestershire, England.