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Fiesta crews ‘fired up’ for Epynt Challenge

Posted on Monday, 20 August 2007 11:32AM by

Registered crews of the Vodka Kick supported Fiesta SportingTrophy UK will start round six of the series next Sunday, 26 August, when they return to a tarmac surface for the second and last time this year taking on the notorious Epynt military ranges for the Mewla National Rally. When not hosting the rally, the area is a live firing test range for the British Army so crews will be especially careful not to stray off the tarmac road.

The roads have long been recognised as some of the most daunting tarmac stages in the UK and nerves of steel are required at the best of times. The event will cover 89 competitive miles over 13 stages and the 15 registered crews will start from the Royal Welsh Showground complex in Builth Wells with the service area located in the heart of the action on the military ranges complex.

Eighteen-year-old Jonathan Greer from Carryduff, Northern Ireland, will lead the Fiesta SportingTrophy field away. He will once again be co-driven by Jonny Hart as he aims to increase his lead in the overall championship. Greer, who is also competing in the Irish series, will be hoping his experience from the predominantly tarmac based championship will help him add a third victory to his tally in the UK series so far this season.

Alastair Fisher, 19 from Enniskillen, will start the event behind Greer and will be once again co-driven by Paul Morris. Fisher currently lies 31 points adrift of the overall lead after Swansea Bay and will be counting on Morris’ considerable experience of the ranges to close to the gap on the championship leader.

Tom Walster, 20 from Nottingham, returns to the series after crashing out from the lead of round five, the Swansea Bay Clubman Rally. Walster, who will once again be partnered by co-driver Tim Sturla, will be aiming to finish as high up the leader board as possible following his second non-finish of this year’s championship. He led the first tarmac round, the RBS International Manx Rally, until the last stage before a fuel pipe came loose and forced him into retirement. With two ‘dropped scores’ available in the series, Walster must now count all his event finishes for the overall championship result. With two firsts and a second in his tally, he remains firmly in contention for the series win.

Elfyn Evans, 18 from Machynlleth and co-driver Richard Edwards will also be hoping for a good result in an effort to close the five-point deficit to Walster in the overall standings. Evans performed very well on the RBS International Manx Rally earlier in the year, setting three fastest FST times on his first attempt of the event, finishing third overall behind Greer and Fisher.

Adam Gould, 20 from Bristol, will line up fifth Fiesta on the road and will have the experienced Scott Martin on the notes once again. Gould currently sits in ninth place overall after five rounds having only scored on two rounds so far this season, third on the Malcolm Wilson Stages and second in Swansea Bay last month. Gould will be reunited with his own car for this event, having used fellow competitor Richard Archer’s car on the Swansea Bay Rally as his own was still being repaired.

Liam Regan and Mark Ammonds will begin the event behind Gould. Regan, 19 from Belfast, is currently fifth overall in the championship standings having displayed a consistent improvement of pace throughout the season. He currently lies three points behind Evans and will be pushing hard to put him under pressure.

Max Utting, Richard Archer, James Everard, Bobby Mitchell, Barry Greer, Richard Parry-Jones, Rory Hall, Eduardo Valdes and Clive Hilton round off the Fiesta entries for what promises to be an immense battle throughout the field.

All registered crews will be competing for a prize fund of £23,400 over the course of the year, with the winner of each round taking home £750, down to £75 for eighth position.

At the end of the season, the winner will be presented with a Ford Fiesta ST road car and the top-two, plus a ‘wildcard’, will be given the opportunity to compete head-to-head with drivers from all over the world at the FST International Shoot-Out for an opportunity to win a years work experience with the BP FORD World Rally Team. In addition, Steve Perez, Managing Director of Global Brands Limited, the team behind the Vodka Kick brand has offered the opportunity for a driver from the FST series the chance to compete on a UK event in his own Ford Focus WRC – an incredible opportunity for any young driver.

Championship leader Jonathan Greer said:

“I’m just going to see how the first couple of stages go and see from there. There is no point in taking any risks in a place like Epynt. I have to keep the championship in mind.”

Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total	Posn
Jonathan Greer	25	18	30	20	30				123	1
Alastair Fisher	0	20	25	25	22				92	2
Tom Walster	30	25	0	30	0				85	3
Elfyn Evans	16	0	22	22	20				80	4
Liam Regan	12	11	20	18	16				77	5
Max Utting	6	14	16	16	18				70	6
Tom Curtis	18	22	14	0	14				68	7
Fraser Jones	14	30	0	14	0				58	8
Adam Gould	22	0	-	0	25				47	9
James Everard	4	16	0	11	13				43	10

For further information on the Fiesta SportingTrophy UK, please contact UK series co-ordinator; Ciara Conlan on cconlan@m-sport.co.uk