2010 Kick Energy Fiesta SportTrophy UK (FST UK) Championship leader Elfyn Evans got one step closer to claiming his third FST title last weekend, on the Isle of Man
International Rally. Evans took his fifth consecutive win of the season around the treacherous island lanes, which also marked the debut victory for the Fiesta R2 in the FST UK championship. With two rounds still remaining Evans only needs to score two points to put the championship crown out of reach of nearest challenger John Boyd.
With thick fog and damp roads greeting the crews as they arrived at the famous TT Grandstand for the start of the event tyre choice would prove critical over the drying roads with each of the three FST UK crews opting for a different tyre choice. The event started with a three quarter of a mile sprint starting from the Grandstand. Evans, 21 from Machynlleth and co1driver Andrew Edwards took little time adapting to their new Fiesta R2 setting the fastest time on stage one. 0.8 seconds behind Evans was John MacCrone 21, from the Isle of Mull. MacCrone and co1driver Stuart Louden were making their debut on the Isle of Man but after an impressive outing on the Jim Clark, the pair were confident they could challenge Evans for the win. With regular co-driver Andy Richardson only just been released from hospital following their crash on the previous round, 18 year old Peter Taylor from Carlisle had Paul Hughes calling the notes on the Isle of Man. Taylor’s service crew had had a race against time to rebuild the car due to the substantial damage sustained in the crash, their efforts were rewarded however with the Muc-Off Motorsport Cleaning – best presented car award.
With SS2, Dog Mills, cancelled, Evans increased his advantage over MacCrone on SS3, Druidale. Evans completed the five mile stage six seconds quicker than his Scottish rival to hold a slender seven1second lead at first service with Peter Taylor third. At first service Evans was happy with the new car but still felt there was more to come as he fine1tuned the cars set up to suit his style of driving. MacCrone had enjoyed the opening loop of stages but was left to rue an over cautious tyre choice. Taylor was happy with his performance over the opening loop of stages, opting for a cautious approach on the event rather pushing too hard. The changes made to the set up of his Fiesta R2 obviously had the desired effect as Evans further increased his lead over SS4 and SS5, Slieau Whallian 1 and Corlea 1. Evans posted a time of six minutes 26 seconds on SS4, eight seconds quicker than MacCrone before going on to post a time 15 seconds ahead of the Scotsman on SS5.
Taylor continued his steady start to the event and rebuild his confidence in the Fiesta R2. SS6 was also cancelled due to a crash at the head of the main field, giving all the remaining crews the stage bogey time.
At the half way point of day one, Evans led MacCrone by 33 seconds with Taylor a further minute behind. At second service Evans reported to be happy with the balance of the Fiesta R2 although felt there was still more time to come as he got to know the car better. MacCrone was happier with his tyre choice for the second loop of stages and was starting to get the hang of the demanding Manx stages which are not dissimilar to his local Tour of Mull event. Taylor was more than happy with freshly rebuilt R2, reporting the car to be better than ever and felt he was driving well within himself.
On SS7 and SS8, Staarvey and The Cronk 1, MacCrone and Stuart Loudon started to show the pace they had had on previous round. MacCrone was just eight tenths of a second behind Evans on stage seven and just under two seconds behind on stage eight. Evans was still unbeaten at the head of the field despite co1driver Andrew
Edwards’ advice not to push too hard and risk going off. Evans further increased his advantage on SS9, Tholt1y1Will to head into the final loop of stages with an already comfortable lead of 45 seconds over MacCrone.
The final loop of stages of day one included two runs through the town centre of Castletown. Evans was once again fastest on all four stages despite MacCrone’s best
efforts the young Scotsman could do nothing to match the pace of Evans and his new Fiesta R2. As well as his battle with MacCrone in the FST UK event, Evans was also locked in a tight battle at the head of the R2 class field. The top five in ‘class’ R2 had been trading places all day with little more than 30 seconds covering them at the end of the day, with Evans third, just a second and a half behind Matti Rantanen in second.
MacCrone was pleased with his efforts at the end of day one, despite suffering from a cold. Taylor was also pleased to make it to the end of the day despite missing the centre section from the front bumper of his Fiesta R2 after pushing a bit harder than intended over one of the island’s many crests. The start of day two was every bit as bleak as day one as the crews arrived at the TT Grandstand to re1start the event. However early reports were that the morning’s stages were graced with bright sunshine so, despite the low cloud and wet roads at service, all the crews headed out for the first loop of stages with slicks fitted. Evans quickly re1asserted himself at the head of the field posting the fastest time on each of the opening three stages. MacCrone, still suffering with a cold, posted the second fastest time on stages 14 and 15, The Cronk 2 and Glascoe. MacCrone would become unstuck on stage 16, Tholt1y1Will 2, however suffering two punctures and dropping one
minute to leader Evans.
With a now sizeable advantage over MacCrone, Evans could afford to relax and cruise to the end of the event. Evans however was still in a close battle for overall honours in R2 and was keen to avoid getting sucked into a battle with the other R2 cars and jeopardise his chances of the FST UK victory. MacCrone was happy with pace he had shown in the opening two stages despite losing out on stage 16 with a puncture. Despite the dry conditions, Taylor had struggled with the fog on the higher parts of the stages and felt he could have pushed harder than he had done. Evans further extended his lead on SS17, Slieau Whallian 2, to over one minute ten
seconds. MacCrone broke his Isle of Man duck on SS18, Corlea 2, beating Evans by just under ten seconds to end the Welshman’s run of stage victories on the event.
Evans felt he had been too cautious over the stage allowing MacCrone to claw back a few seconds. MacCrone however un1did his good work on the following stage, having missed a roadside kerb in his notes, MacCrone clipped it sending the car up on two wheels before landing on the driver’s side. He lost less than a minute in the accident, spectators, including one of his own sponsors, were quickly on hand to get the car back on its wheels and away again with only cosmetic damage.
With just two stages remaining Evans held a lead of over three minutes from MacCrone, with Taylor holding third a further four minutes behind MacCrone. The final two stages included a second run over Staarvey and also Baldwin Classic, which finished infront of the TT Grandstand providing the spectators a chance to get close to the action without having to venture out to the stages. Evans won the final two stages, taking his tally for the event to 20 stage wins from a possible 21, netting him his fourth Castrol Hard Charger Award of the year. Evans won the final stage by over a minute from MacCrone who chose to take a measured drive to the finish to avoid a repeat over his earlier off.
Taylor finished the event a comfortable third and achieved his aim of finishing the rally without any problems. Each of the three crews took home a share of the £1850 Kick Energy supported prize fund while Peter Taylor scooped the Muc1Off Motorsport Cleaning Best Presented Car Award and Elfyn Evans won the Castrol Hard Charger Award for most stage wins on the event.
Event Winner Elfyn Evans said: “It’s great to come here and score the debut victory for the R2. I’ve really enjoyed learning the new car and to come away with the win is the icing on the cake.”
– Credit: M-Sport.