Fiesta SportTrophy Competitors Out to Tame the Bulldog
Wales, United Kingdom — Saturday 27 March will see the 2010 Kick Energy Fiesta SportTrophy (FST) UK and Fiesta SportChallenge (FSC) championships head to North Wales for Round 2 of the championship. FST competitors will tackle the first round of the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship (BRC), the Bulldog International Rally of North Wales. The event marks the start of the link up between the Fiesta SportTrophy and the BRC, which will see FST competitors support the full British Rally Championship. The first round of the BRC Challenge (BRCC), the Bulldog Challenge Rally, plays host to FSC competitors and marks the start of the FSC link up with the BRCC. The FSC championship will be decided over the first five rounds of the BRCC with competitors opting to compete on either the Manx or the Ulster Rally.
The Bulldog Rally has provided crews with the chance to compete on some of the best stages in the UK over its 50-year history and 2010 is no exception. With 100 stage miles, including two runs through the legendary Myherin and Sweet Lamb stages¸ both of which have featured in Wales Rally GB in the recent past, FST competitors will experience the best stages that North Wales has to offer. FSC competitors won’t be left out either, with 50 stage miles through North Wales’ finest stages..
13 Fiestas will cross the start ramp in Welshpool with six drivers competing in the FST and seven in the FSC. Elfyn Evans made a winning return to the Fiesta SportTrophy on the opening event, the Malcolm Wilson Rally. Evans and co-driver Andrew Edwards will be hoping to maintain their championship lead and put their local knowledge to good use on their home event. Irishman Matthew Cathcart finished a close second on his FST debut on the Malcolm Wilson Rally, with the 18-year-old pushing Evans hard throughout the rally despite limited testing in the Fiesta R2 prior to the event.
19-year-old Welshman Tom Watson and co-driver Paul Morris made a steady start on the Malcolm Wilson Rally to finish in third position. Watson will be out to build on this performance on the Bulldog and, having competed on the event in 2009, will know what to expect when the crews head for the first stage in Myherin. John Boyd and new co-driver Craig Wallace had a torrid time on Round 1 but still managed to make it to the finish in fourth position despite rolling the car on SS2 and suffering from an intermittent engine problem. Boyd will be looking to kick start his championship charge on Round 2 and put the problems from the Malcolm Wilson Rally behind him.
Jedburgh based 18 year-old Peter Taylor was another driver who endured a tough start to the championship on the Malcolm Wilson Rally. Taylor struggled with an electrical misfire throughout the event. Taylor and co-driver Andy Richardson will be hoping for some better luck on the Bulldog Rally.
2009 Scottish Junior Rally Champion John MacCrone makes his debut in the FST championship on the Bulldog Rally, driving the Rally Team Scotland prepared Fiesta R2. The 20-year-old apprentice joiner from the Isle of Mull won three championships in 2009 and will be looking to repeat that success when he gets his 2010 campaign underway next weekend.
Workington-based crew Jonny Cunningham and Richard Millener only put together a deal to compete on opening round of the Fiesta SportChallenge a week before the event. This didn’t stop them from taking a comfortable victory on their home event, a result they will be hoping to repeat in North Wales. Damien Smith, 28 from Silsden, and co-driver Frazer Hutchinson made an impressive start to their debut season in the Fiesta ST with second on the Malcolm Wilson Rally. The pairing will be out to go one better on the Bulldog Rally having posted two fastest stage times on the Cumbrian event.
From the seven crews competing in the FSC, two count the Bulldog Rally as their home event. John Pritchard and co-driver Chris Williams made a steady start on Round 1 finishing third with only a single day’s testing prior to the event. They will be hoping to emulate the success that Matt Edwards had driving the same car on the Bulldog Rally in 2009 where he won the FST and BRC Challenge event. After sitting out the 2009 season, Richard Parry-Jones and co-driver Sara Price made a welcome return to competition in their Gwyndaf Evans Motors prepared Fiesta ST. After initially struggling to get into a rhythm on the snow-covered stages, Parry-Jones recovered to eventually finished fourth on Round 1.
After competing on several national events in 2009, 20-year-old Alex Laffey from Market Harborough, made his FSC debut on the Malcolm Wilson Rally. Laffey and co-driver Daniel Swainbank put in a measured performance to claim fifth and their stage times were consistently improving over the duration of the rally. Dan O’Brien (17) from St Albans and Will Rogers also made a strong debut in the championship on Round 1 and also showed consistent improvement over the course of the event. Dan will be looking to continue this trend on the Bulldog, on what will be only his third event since graduating from Junior Rallycross. Jamie Brown (18) from Norwich was pleased to make it to the finish on the opening round of the championship having suffered so much bad luck during the 2009 season. Brown and co-driver Craig Burgess will be looking to build on this at round two and start to challenge further up the order.
The Bulldog Rally also marks the start of the 2010 FST Dealer Cup. The competition allows drivers to represent their local Ford dealer ship and is open to drivers in both the Fiesta SportTrophy and Fiesta SportChallenge. The results for the Dealer Cup will be taken at the end of the Challenge event. The winning Ford dealer will win a guided tour around M-Sport’s Dovenby headquarters, home of the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team.
The 2010 Fiesta SportTrophy UK championship has a £1,850 prize fund at each round and is guaranteed down to the fifth place finisher. The Fiesta SportChallenge also has a guaranteed prize fund for the top three finishers who share £850.
Championship partners Pirelli will once again be supporting the championship and with drivers from the Fiesta SportTrophy section of the series eligible for nomination to the Pirelli Star Driver programme – competition will once again be hotly contested.
VISIT THE WRS FORUMS AND DISCUSS – Click Here
End
Image Copyrights: Fiesta SportTrophy
Photo: Fiesta SportTrophy Competitors Out to Tame the Bulldog
Login
