Or Hannu even. After Vic Elford left at the end of 1966 Ford lacked a really top long term tarmac driver throughout the Cortina/rwd Escort era. Piot, Staepelaere etc ran programmes with Escorts but they never employed a top tarmac star to lead or jointly lead the team and this surely hindered Escort development on tarmac. Some team drivers (including Roger Clark in 1967) were given outings in UK racing to improve tarmac rally skills.
Waldegard nearly won the 1979 Monte Carlo Rally in the Alan Wilkinson developed tarmac-optimised Escort but ice and snow were a factor. We never saw one of those cars (which sailed close to the wind and maybe a bit beyond regarding Group 4 regulations, just like the Fiat opposition) in the hands of a tarmac specialist on a dry World Championship tarmac rally. An indication that the championship was more gravel-orientated then than now.
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