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FST Ireland heads for the Circuit

Posted on Friday, 26 March 2010 12:45PM by Callum Craw 2010 FST Co-Ordinator

The 2010 Fiesta SportTrophy Ireland championship heads to the town of Dundalk for Round 2 of the championship next weekend, the UTV Drive Circuit of Ireland Rally. The event takes place over Easter weekend, 2-4 April and is credited as being the second oldest rally in the world.

The event was first run almost 80 years ago and has seen its fair share of epic battles and even more famous names over the years. The likes of Colin McRae, Roger Clark and Paddy Hopkirk have all competed and won the Circuit in the past. The competitors on this year's FST event will be hoping to emulate some of their heroes on the legendary Irish stages. The FST event takes place on Day 1 of the full International rally and competitors will battle it out over 158 stage kilometres including one night stage.

Round 1 winner Stephen Wright and co-driver Paul McGee will be looking for a repeat of their dominant performance in Galway. The 20-year-old student from County Monaghan won five of the nine stages in Galway on his way to a comfortable 56-second victory. With a long seven week lay off between Rounds 1 and 2 Wright has kept himself "match fit" by competing on the first two rounds of the Northern Ireland Rally Championship taking a win and a third place finish to also lead that championship.

18-year-old Dara Leonard and from Omagh and co-driver Vinnie Boyd put in an impressive display to take second place at Round 1 in Galway. The youngster scored one stage victory on the event and would have finished closer to winner Wright had it not been for a broken driveshaft on Stage 5.

Desi Henry had hoped to challenge Wright in Galway but struggled with an underpowered engine. 20-year-old Henry and co-driver John Rowan will be hoping to put that experience behind them on the Circuit. They have also taken in the first two rounds of the Northern Ireland Rally Championship in preparation for the Circuit. With two second place finishes, Henry is currently third in the standings just a single point behind joint leaders Stephen Wright and Jonny Leonard.

Fiesta R2 driver Stephen Baxter (27) from Enniskillen made a fantastic FST Ireland debut in Galway until an accident on Stage 6 meant that he was unable to continue. Baxter scored three stage wins in the first five stages and held the lead going into Stage 6. Baxter and co-driver Karl Atkinson will be out to prove that it wasn't just beginners luck in Galway and put in a strong performance on the Circuit.

The 2010 Fiesta SportTrophy Ireland Championship supports the TROA Irish Tarmac Championship, competing over one day of the full International rallies. Kick Energy drinks support the championship that has a €2,500 prize fund guaranteed to the top eight FST finishers.

2010 Championship Standings after Round One

Position	Driver/Co-Driver	Points
1	Stephen Wright/Paul McGee	30
2	Dara Leonard/Vinnie Boyd	25
3	Desi Henry/John Rowan	22

2010 Championship Calendar

Date	Event	Prize Fund
5-7 February 2010	Galway International	1^st - €750
2-3 April 2010	Circuit of Ireland	2^nd - €600
1-2 May 2010	Killarney Rally	3^rd - €450
18-20 June 2010	Donegal Rally	4^th - €375
20-21 August 2010	Ulster National Rally	5^th - €300
2-3 October 2010	Cork 20 Rally	6^th - €225
		7^th - €150
		8^th - €75

For further information on the 2010 Fiesta SportTrophy Ireland please contact series co-ordinator Callum Craw on ccraw@m-sport.co.uk or visit www.fiestasporttrophy.ie