This is one of my favourite all time You Tube vids . Haven't watched it for a while and now very sad to learn that Simon is no longer with us. What a fantastic driver ...
A seriously skilled man who braked with his steering and steered with his feet.. Died in his element.. Just like his favourite powerplant, a true 'warrior' RIP brother..
Tam Mcrosin ....Ari Vatenen......Bojon Wieldagard.....Colin Mcrae.....Sir Roger Clark....Frank Kelly....Jimmy Mcrae...Ken Block.....Hannu Mikkola.....Jhua Kankkanann....the list of fabulous Escort drivers is long and colourful 👍
Block will crash escort. He can go so fast only in directed and many times trained scenes! In rally and even country cross he is weak. Latvalla or McKinley are best drivers while he is an actor.
Tam Mcrosin you couldn't be more wrong I know everthing about those old escorts they were my era and I had loads of them and built class C Thunder saloons in my youth but yeah your right....block is only good after 15 takes, he cant cut it on real rallyes......🖒
4:33 - That moment when Simon went SO HARD, that his 4 wheel power drift momentarily becomes a 3 wheel drift, because he torqued one front wheel off the ground !
RIP Simon....A true god among men in the Irish Hill Climbing scene!! Unlikely we will see another talent like that in the foreseeable future!! Everytime i saw that escort on full lock, sent shivers down my spine!! A tragic loss!! :(
Eire agri most of us...the vast majority of men on the planet don't have the talent to do what he did with those cars. The guys who disliked it are just assholes who refuse to give credit where it's due.
Hoping you meant Jimmy - not that arrogant twat of a son of his who killed 3 innocent people. Richard Burns was far better than McRae Jnr but rarely gets a mention.
Always mentioned this drivers ability when in the appropriate company. His driving ability was outstanding! Never realised that Simon had passed away, until watching this video tonight. Good Bless and rest in peace.
Kieser Mitchell I was at a local rally a few weeks ago and a fella we knew said that "don't you love seeing the Escorts and the old cars up the arse of those WRC cars" and it makes you think rallying can't be without a couple of 70's cars stuck in just for a bit of fun and sideways action... I leave with people to comment on what they think..
RIP Simon, A talent taken away to soon, Never got to see Simon in action but as the above video shows this guy had talent. Thinking of your family & many friends at this time.
Motorsport Ireland deeply regrets that competitor Simon McKinley of Naul, County Meath, has passed away following injuries received in a tragic accident that occurred at the Clare Motor Club Hillclimb today Saturday 25th April 2015. As a mark of respect the organisers, Clare Motor Club, have cancelled the remainder of the event. Motorsport Ireland and Clare Motor Club extend their heartfelt sympathy to Simon’s family and friends. Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this very sad time.
That's one Angry White Escort, I loved driving my seventy one two door, thank you so much for footage and link, I will definitely subscribe, cheers my Brother
Of all the videos on this youtube, i come back to this one time and time again. The first minute of this is just spellbinding...the control...the precision.....on the edge but in control. RIP Simon
Yes he was twice Connaught Competition Engines Irish Hillclimb & Sprint Champion driving his Lant Single Seater in 2010 and 2011. He occasionally comes out in the Escort and also his Cinquecento. He appears in most of the video reports on my channel VantagePointVideo
I'm getting on a bit,I've been there, seen it and done a fair bit of it ! and this man was probably the quickest and most skilfull driver I've ever seen in a 2wheel drive car ,and is very sadly missed.
Why is this Guy not very widely known....... How many other people do you see driving with such commitment .... Guy is an absolute master let alone his ginormous balls of STEEL
He is fairly well known in the circles of Irish motorsport.That said, I think he only placed second or third in 2007. So, yeah, there's someone madder than him out there. XD
peaweedea agreed, his name should be in every houshold that knows rallye. That being said...if you ever get the chance to talk to a truly talented driver...one who races for the love of driving & not for big $$ or fame...they'll be the first to tell you that they don't feel they have big balls. When the car is set up right and the two of them (car and driver) are meshing well together...there's no "need" for what we see as balls. It comes natural to the driver. This was told to me by an old man when I was a teenager. It may be absolute bs...but the man was some bigtime xc snowmobile racer here in the 70's and knew some of the rally greats...and that old man believed every word of what he was telling me.
