12:17 pm, August 28, 2020
A long standing Ford dealer has been given the thrill of his life to mark his 70th birthday in a classic Ford GT40.
Tim Norton was handed the keys to Ford of Britain’s original GT40 and an empty runway by the brand’s managing director Andy Barratt.
Posting video footage of the thrilling ride on LinkedIn, Barratt said it was a great way to reward an ‘amazing dealer’.
Tim Norton Motor Services is a family run Ford dealer based in Oakham, Rutland. Norton has run the business for 38 years.
Andy Barratt and Tim Norton
Barratt said: ‘At Ford we truly value our dealer partners, they represent us directly with our customers and they are guardians of our reputation.
‘Tim started his career as a Ford apprentice, but for many years has been one of our most trusted dealers.
‘He has just had a milestone birthday, so as he does with his customers day in, day out – it was our chance to thank Tim, with a big item on his bucket list: An empty airfield, and a racing GT40.
‘Thank you so much for the amazing job you do for us, and once again – Happy Birthday!’
Norton told Car Dealer he had thoroughly enjoyed the day and was ‘extremely grateful’ that Barratt had arranged something so special for him.
‘It was a fabulous day,’ he told Car Dealer.
‘I loved driving the GT40 – it was amazing. And I can’t thank Andy enough for organising the day. I know he is incredibly busy at the moment with all that’s going on so for him to organise a day like this for me was just fantastic.’
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