Peak Performance

With stunning mountain roads on his doorstep, Craig Gosby wanted something fun to drive and this 530bhp, Syvecs-managed Focus RS ticks all the boxes.

- Davy Lewis

I’m sat minding my business in a picturesque layby in south Wales. To my right is an epic view over the valley, with the odd errant sheep wandering onto the mountain roads. Suddenly the peace is shattered as a motocross bike flies across the road in front of me, before riding up what appears a near vertical incline. It’s quickly followed by another dozen or so mud-caked lunatics. The sheep don’t look impressed.

The mountain roads around Maesteg are a petrol heads’ paradise. If you had to design somewhere to really test both car and driver – the kind of twisting, hairpin-infested black top that snakes up and down vertiginous mountain roads with breathtaking scenery – then this would be it. Which is why I’ve arranged to meet the owner of this rather fine Focus RS here.

As a regular at Castle Combe events, I’ve got to know the Welshford crew pretty well. These guys are passionate about their Blue Ovals and always bring a strong contingent to events, so much so that I’ve almost become Fast Ford’s unofficial south Wales correspondent!

As a loyal member of the club, Craig Gosby loves his Fords and his Focus RS has to be one of the most immaculately presented examples in the country. But this is no trailer queen, because with a hefty 530bhp and Syvecs management, it also packs a hell of a punch.

“I originally had a Focus ST that was running about 300bhp,” recalls Craig, ‘But my dad had a Mk2 RS at the time, so I needed to get one.” He spotted this immaculate, 12-thousand-mile example at a dealer in Farnborough and quickly snapped it up.