Wilson happy to see the FST UK series growingThe second season of the FST UK will kick off with the Malcolm Wilson Stages, based at the M-Sport headquarters in Cockermouth, in the heart of the English Lake District.
22 registered competitors will tackle the 45 stage
miles in the classic stages of Comb, Wythop and Grizedale with even more competitors looking to get last minute entries from the organisers of the event, as 26 drivers have registered for the eight round series.
The championship will once again be supported by Chesterfield-based Global Brands Limited, through their hugely popular ‘Vodka Kick' brand. VK Managing Director, Steve Perez, is an enthusiastic ally of the FST series and will once again offer the series a prize of a fully assisted drive on a UK gravel rally in his own Ford Focus WRC. In 2006, the prize was won by Simon Hughes, who went on to make maximum use of the opportunity and win the Red Kite Stages in January.
In 2006, the competition for the inaugural title was immense, with the first and second positions overall being decided by less than one second on the final stage of the final event of the championship – a superb achievement. As well as the drivers returning to the series for their second year, there is a strong group of new competitors, making a winner for the first round in Cumbria almost impossible to predict.
Among the strong contenders is series returnee, Colin Greer. Colin, 26 from Beith, Ayrshire, will be in a new car built by his own GreerSport team and will be looking to repeat the form that helped him lead the Swansea Bay event in 2006 before mechanical problems intervened.
Tom Walster, 20 from Nottingham, will also be returning to the series. Tom's pace grew over the final rounds of the 2006 series with his best result being second on the Park Systems Rally. As a member of the MSA British Rally Academy in 2007, Tom will be using the same Fiesta ST that he campaigned on the Wales Rally GB in December 2006.
Northern Irish driver, Jonathan Greer, 18 from Carryduff, is another to return to the series in 2007. Jonathan's best result in 2006 came with an excellent second on the Swansea Bay Rally, backed up with third on the Park Systems Rally. Jonathan will have added competition in 2007 from his older brother, Barry who will be entering the series for the first time.
Adam Gould, 19 from Bristol, will also be contesting the FST UK series for a second time. Adam finished eighth in the 2006 series and is looking to improve on this result in 2007.
Adam has been working closely in association with former British Rally Champion driver, David Higgins, and will continue to receive training and support as he has been selected for the MSA British Rally Academy.
Of the new drivers to the championship, Elfyn Evans, 18 from Machynlleth, Mid-Wales hails from a family well experienced with the Ford World Rally Team. Elfyn's father, Gwyndaf, was himself a former ‘factory' driver with the Ford team. Elfyn comes to the FST from the highly competitive Formula 1000 series.
Alistair Fisher, 18 from Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, is another driver with rallying success in his blood. Alistair is the nephew of four-times Irish Champion driver Bertie Fisher and will have a busy year as he is competing in both the UK and Irish FST series in 2007.
By far the furthest travelled of the competitors in the 2007 series will be Eduardo Valdes from Chile. Eduardo has been living in the UK for the past three months to acclimatise to the conditions that he is likely to experience in Cumbria. Eduardo will be calling on all the experience of his Silverstone based team under the direction of highly regarded competitor Bill Gwynne.
All the registered crews will be competing for a prize fund of £23,400 over the course of the year, with the winner on each round taking home £750, going 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 one ‘Wildcard' from the series will be given the opportunity to compete head-to-head with competitors 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.
Malcolm Wilson, M-Sport Managing Director
“It is great to see the support for the FST UK series growing into the second year. The championship developed into a fantastic battle in 2006 and we are delighted to see some of the best young drivers in the UK back out again to fight for success. Our intention with the car was to provide something that would be good fun to drive and offer young drivers a chance to show their speed. There are now eleven championships for the Fiesta ST around the world and we look forward to another great year in 2007”
Fiesta SportingTrophy UK Schedule
3rd March 2007, Malcolm Wilson Rally - Cockermouth, Cumbria
21st April 2007, Pirelli National Rally - Carlisle, Cumbria
11th/12th May 2007, Manx National Rally - Douglas, Isle of Man
2nd June 2007, Severn Valley Rally - Llandrindod Wells, Mid Wales
21st July 2007, Swansea Bay Rally - Swansea, South Wales
26th August 2007, Mewla Rally - Builth Wells, Mid-Wales
29th September 2007, McRae Stages Rally - Perth, Scotland
20th October 2007, Bulldog Stages - Oswestry, Wales.
M-Sport
