The Fiesta SportTrophy International (FSTi) series will move to France next week for the second of three Tarmac rounds where five Fiesta R2 entries will battle it out for the top spot.
The seven-round series follows the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) calendar and the Rallye de France – Alsace is the fifth round of this year’s FSTi championship. Only 11 points currently separate the top four drivers and, with the series leader, Victor Henriksson (22), choosing to sit this round out, the stage is set for a thrilling battle to seize the top spot.
This year marks a big change for the French round of the championship, which moves from the island of Corsica to a new base in the Alsace region, near the German border. The event will kick off on Thursday 30 September and will feature a total distance of 1,233 km, comprising of 20 special stages covering 352 km.
Four drivers have the opportunity to take the championship lead at this rally – Bader Al Jabri, Harry Hunt, Majed Al Shamsi and Christian Riedemann – so the pressure is really starting to build for all competitors.
64 – Bader Al Jabri (25) & Stephen McAuley – Fiesta R2
FSTi position: 2
Team Abu Dhabi members Bader Al Jabri and co-driver Stephen McAuley have already claimed three podium finishes in this year’s FSTi series, achieving second place at the Vodafone Rally de Portugal and third position at both Neste Oil Rally Finland and ADAC Rallye Deutschland. Their strong performances have elevated the pair up to second in the overall championship standings, only five points adrift of current series leader, Victor Henriksson. Al Jabri favours Tarmac, so the young Emirate will be looking to take advantage of competing on asphalt in order to take the championship lead.
Bader Al Jabri (25) said:
“It’s been six weeks since we took third place at Rally Germany, so I am itching to get back behind the wheel for the Rallye de France. I have been lucky to finish on the podium at all the FSTi events I have participated in this season, so I am hopeful that I can keep up my good run on the asphalt in France. I am pleased to be in second place overall at the moment, but with only ten points separating the top three anything could happen and our focus will be on staying calm, driving accurately, and getting our Fiesta R2 home without any problems.”
128 – Harry Hunt (22) & Sebastian Marshall (22) – Fiesta R2
FSTi position: 3
The British duo is currently running third in the FSTi series, despite having to retire from previous rounds at Germany and Finland. Hunt currently lies tenth in the FIA Junior World Rally Championship (J-WRC), but aims to stop his run of bad luck as he has nominated France as a points scoring J-WRC round. The young Briton gained valuable experience driving his Fiesta R2 on asphalt when he contested Rally Bulgaria in July, but was forced to retire on the final day. He encountered more bad luck at his next asphalt event in Germany when he had to retire on the second day due to engine failure. This weekend, Hunt and Marshall are competing at Rallye Sanremo – the tenth round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) but next week Hunt will be looking to build on the valuable experience he has gained from driving the Fiesta R2 on Tarmac thus far to challenge for the top spot in the standings.
62 – Majed Al Shamsi & Allan Harryman – Fiesta R2
FSTi position: 4
Majed Al Shamsi and Allan Harryman got off to a flying start this year as the duo took victory at Vodafone Rally de Portugal in May. However, the Team Abu Dhabi crew were less fortunate at Neste Oil Rally Finland when they were forced to retire on the final day due to a loss of oil pressure on their Fiesta R2. Al Shamsi’s experience on Tarmac was limited to 2009’s Rally de España, but after a strong performance at the recent ADAC Rallye Deutschland where he finished second overall, the Emirate could prove tough competition to beat. Al Shamsi is just one point off snatching third position in the FSTi series and will be looking to produce a strong performance in France and is another driver who could well find himself leading the championship after the rally.
61 – Christian Riedemann (23) & Josefine Beinke (18) – Fiesta R2
FSTi position: 5
Christian Riedemann and Josefine Beinke recently claimed their first FSTi victory at ADAC Rallye Deutschland, which launched the young German duo into the top five of the overall championship standings. Riedemann was also nominated as the Junior World Rally Championship (J-WRC) guest entry in Germany, where he finished an impressive fourth overall. Earlier in the season, the 22-year-old looked to have promising finishes in both Portugal and Finland, but disaster struck on both occasions on the final day, leaving the German with two DNFs. After Riedemann’s recent strong performance in Germany where he led the FSTi by over nine minutes, the Tarmac specialist is a strong favourite to win in France and will be aiming to snatch the championship lead from Henriksson.
63 – Khalil Al Shaikh (27) & Killian Duffy (27) – Fiesta R2
FSTi position: 8=
Khalil Al Shaikh and Killian Duffy make up the final crew in France. The Team Abu Dhabi duo competed in their first FSTi round last month in Germany where they finished an impressive fourth overall, despite having very little experience of driving on Tarmac. Prior to Germany, Al Shaikh had been building up his rally experience over the past two years competing in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship. After his strong performance at ADAC Rallye Deutschland, the 27-year-old will be aiming for a podium finish this weekend.
FSTi drivers will be competing for an all-expenses-paid test in M-Sport’s Ford Fiesta S2000 with BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team driver and 2009 World Championship runner-up Mikko Hirvonen, with the chance to discuss the test with the flying Finn and M-Sport Managing Director Malcolm Wilson OBE. A prize fund is also available from which the winner of each rally will receive a €1,500 M-Sport voucher.
As in previous years, the series winner plus one ‘wildcard’ will be put forward to the FST International Shootout to compete against drivers from other FST championships around the world in order to win a year’s contract to work at M-Sport with the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team.
Of the seven counting rounds, the best points from five rounds will count towards the championship standings. This will allow those drivers who have completed the full season to drop any low scores, but will also assist those drivers who are only able to compete on an event-by-event basis to score highly overall if they achieve good results on an occasional basis. Scoring for 2010 will be as per FIA scoring, but with one point awarded for each stage win in order to reward drivers for demonstrations of outright pace.
Teams will also be competing for the Muc-Off Motorsport Cleaning Best Presented Car Award, which will be offered on each event and the winning team will receive a Muc-Off prize pack.
– Credit: M-Sport.