VIN: the RAS Sport Ford RS200 chassis 069
History of chassis 069
Chassis 069 was a left-hand drive RS200 registered C200 MNO. It became the second RS200 supplied to RAS Sport in Belgium which had used the rear-drive Porsche 911 SC RS as its primary special stage weapon in 1985. 069 replaced chassis 061 which had incurred heavy damage during an early season test session; while 061 was subsequently rebuilt (and sold to Ford Nederland), RAS Sport couldn’t wait for the refurb to be carried out and purchased the brand new 069 instead.
With backing from long-term RAS Sport sponsor, Belga cigarettes, 069 went on to become the most successful RS200 campaigned during 1986. In the hands of Robert Droogmans and his navigator, Ronny Joosten, the car contested nine events and won seven times.
In the European Rally Championship, Droogmans, Joosten and 069 collected four victories from five outings; they won the Ypres 24 Hour, Bianchi, Haspengouw and Valais events and only failed to finish on one occasion (the car’s final outing of 1986 on the Rallye du Condroz owing to suspension damage).
The Belgian Rally Championship also yielded a trio of wins; 069 won all three of its domestic outings with victories on the Circuit des Ardennes, Wallonie and Omloop van Vlaanderen rallies.
The only event that 069 failed to win where it went the full distance was the Dutch national Grenslandrally in October where Droogmans and Joosten had to settle for second place. They finished 99 seconds behind Stig Andervang / Anja Lieuwma driving... chassis 061.
Chassis 069 was subsequently retired from competition duty. The car was later acquired by property developer and Mondello Park owner, the late Martin Birrane. Now restored to its glorious 1986 colour scheme, 069 currently resides in the Mondello Park museum.
Notable History
Registered C200 MNO
RAS Sport, Belgium (Belga Sport)
07/03/1986 BEL Circuit des Ardennes (R. Droogmans / R. Joosten) 1st oa, 1st B12 class (#1)
09/05/1986 ERC Haspengouw Rally (R. Droogmans / R. Joosten) 1st oa, 1s B12 class (#3)
30/05/1986 BEL Rallye International de Wallonie (R. Droogmans / R. Joosten) 1st oa, 1st B12 class (#2)
27/06/1986 ERC Ypres 24 Hours Rally (R. Droogmans / R. Joosten) 1st oa, 1st B12 class (#5)
29/08/1986 ERC Bianchi Rally (R. Droogmans / R. Joosten) 1st oa, 1st B12 class (#1)
20/09/1986 BEL Omloop van Vlaanderen (R. Droogmans / R. Joosten) 1st oa, 1st B12 class (#1)
03/10/1986 NED Int. Debic Grenslandrally (R. Droogmans / R. Joosten) 2nd oa, 2nd B12 class (#2)
23/10/1986 ERC Rallye International du Valais (R. Droogmans / R. Joosten) 1st oa, 1st B12 class (#1)
08/11/1986 ERC Rallye du Condroz (R. Droogmans / R. Joosten) DNF suspension (#1)
Later sold to the Martin Birrane and displayed in the Mondello Park museum, Ireland
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: unattributed
