Five Fiesta R2s travelled to France for the fifth round of the Fiesta SportTrophy International (FSTi) series this weekend which saw British pairing Harry Hunt and Sebastian Marshall seal their second victory of the year in the seven-round championship. Hunt and Marshall’s victory at the three-day event now means that they are leading the series by three points to Bader Al Jabri and Stephen McAuley.
Team Abu Dhabi driver Khalil Al Shaikh (27) was unable to start his second FSTi event for personal reasons, but the newly-located event saw the remaining four Fiesta R2 crews tackle the championship’s second all-Tarmac event of the year.
The newly-located event was formerly a French Championship round which was last run in May 2009 and kicked off with a ceremonial start at Place Kleber – the largest square in the centre of Strasbourg on Thursday evening.
Friday consisted of a repeat loop of four stages totaling 145.86 km based south-west of Strasbourg in the Haut-Rhin region. The opening stage, Hohlandsbourg (SS1 and SS5), was a 9.5 km test set up in the hills of the Vosges area which was followed by a 16.9 km test in the famous Goldert vineyards (SS2 and SS6). Grand Ballon 1 (SS4 and SS8) was a 24.5 km stage which climbed to the Grand Ballon ski resort reaching 1424 m and completed the morning and afternoon loop.
The second full day of action featured eight stages covering 149.22 km which were based south-west of the service park in the Bas-Rhin region. With rain overnight, the stages had become extremely slippery and covered in thick mud. The longest stage of the rally on Saturday, the 35.48 km Pays d’Ormont (SS11 and SS15) challenged the FSTi crews with the amount of mud that had been dragged onto the stage by the WRC front-runners.
The final day of Rallye de France was based in the northern region of Alsace and featured a repeat loop of a short city centre Super Special Stage over 4.20km (SS17 and SS20) followed by a longer 24.70 km stage which was cancelled due to large volumes of spectators on the stage.
Harry Hunt won the Muc-Off Best Presented Car Award at this weekend’s Rallye de France.
Harry Hunt (22) & Sebastian Marshall (22)
FSTi final position: 1
The British pairing of Harry Hunt (22) and Sebastian Marshall (22) racked up their second victory in the FSTi series this weekend, despite getting off to a bad start when their gear linkage sheered half way through Stage 2, locking in fifth gear and subsequently burning out the clutch. Having made a quick fix after the stage finish, Hunt was able to change gear three times in the 22.33 km of Stage 3, spending the first 2 km of the stage in first gear, the next 6 km in second gear and the final half of the stage in third gear. This became increasingly tricky for the final uphill section. Making a better fix after the stage, the 22-year-old unlocked more gears, but took it it easy on the gear shift for the morning’s closing stage, although the patched-up gear linkage broke again just 4 km from the end of Stage 4, where the car was once again stuck in fifth gear.. A limited ‘Remote Service’ at Mulhouse followed, in which Hunt’s team had just 15 minutes to fix the gear linkage, although the young Englishman still had to contend with a burnt out clutch for the repeat afternoon loop.
On Friday afternoon’s opening stage, Hunt drove cautiously and with constant use of the clutch. He had lost nearly four minutes to Riedemann and Al Jabri and therefore decided not take any unnecessary risks. However, Stage 8 proved nerve-wracking, as Hunt slipped off the road and onto a grass verge, very close to a ten foot drop. At the evening service that followed, the clutch was changed along with the gear rod and brakes. He was third in FSTi series after a dramatic first day and had selected his tyres well, leaving him with a good choice for the following two days.
At the end of Stage 10 on Day 2, Hunt moved into second position, as Al Jabri lost time with a puncture, despite losing time behind a slower car ahead who failed to see Hunt in his mirrors 1.5 km from the end of stage. Catching the same car 12 km into Stage 11 delayed the Briton, although he succeeded in overtaking him half way into the 35.48 km Alpine test. The bad luck struck again just 3 km from the end of the stage, where he picked up a puncture and had to drive cautiously to the finish line before he could change the tyre, losing around seven seconds in the process. He completed the second day of rallying second in FSTi.
Saturday afternoon did not fare well for the British pairing as they overshot on a corner 1 km from the end of Stage 13, losing approximately 15 seconds. Another junction was overshot on Stage 14 just 2 km into the stage, where they later picked up a puncture 4 km from the end of the stage, costing them around one minute. As a result of two poor stages, Hunt picked up the pace on Stage 15 and produced a storming fastest time in FSTi, good enough for second place in the J-WRC field of more powerful cars. Stage 16 also fared well for Hunt and the young Briton pulled into the end of Day 2 leading the FSTi after Christian Riedemann’s retirement in that stage stage.
Day 3 saw much improved weather conditions and Hunt welcomed a relatively uneventful day of rallying, although Stage 18 did test him when he drifted wide on a muddy section and spun. The Rallye de France marks Hunt’s second victory in the FSTi series this year and launches the young Briton back to the top of the championship standings.
FSTi winner Harry Hunt said:
“I’m really happy to win after two recent two non-finishes. I didn’t come here expecting to win; I knew I’d be there or thereabouts, but Christian [Riedemann] was so quick. Bader [Al Jabri] was also quicker than I expected. I’m disappointed for Christian, especially after his team worked so hard to get the car back on the road last night. We all had our problems on this rally, so I’m pleased to not only get to the end, but also to take the victory.”
Bader Al Jabri (25) & Stephen McAuley
FSTi position: 2
Team Abu Dhabi crew Bader Al Jabri (25) and co-driver Stephen McAuley claimed their fourth podium finish at Rallye de France this weekend. The opening loop on Friday morning proved challenging for the young Emirate as the stages were made slippery by the mud that had been dragged into the road. Al Jabri drove cautiously for the first four stages, but reported he was happy with his pacenotes so would push harder for the repeat afternoon pass. When Al Jabri pulled into the Remote Service at Mulhouse, he was leading the series by 15.5 seconds. However, all that changed on Stage 7 when the Emirate overheated his brakes on a downhill section which dropped him into second position behind Riedemann. The brake issue continued for the day’s remaining 24.12 km stage and the Emirate finished the day second overall, 25.2 seconds behind Riedemann.
Al Jabri encountered a fresh challenge on the second day of Rallye de France as he tackled wet Tarmac for the first time. On Stage 10, Al Jabri hit a rock hidden in a cut , resulting in a puncture. The crew had problems changing the tyre and they lost over five minutes, dropping him into third position behind Hunt. During Stage 11, Al Jabri missed the apex of a tight hairpin and lost over ten seconds trying to get back on course. The earlier puncture had knocked the Emirate’s confidence and he adopted a more cautious driving approach for the morning’s final stage, pulling into Service third overall.
For the afternoon, Al Jabri spun 4 km from the end of the 35.48 km Alpine test. Spectators helped to push his Fiesta R2 back onto the road and Al Jabri clung onto third position. Al Jabri took advantage of Riedemann’s electrical misfife on the final stage of Day 2, moving back into second place at the end of the day.
Day 3 was shortened with the cancellation of Stage 19, and Al Jabri encountered no major dramas during Sunday’s three stages; the young Emirate even racked up his fourth stage win of the event on the final 4.20 km Super Special Stage.
The Emirate’s 22 points haul after this weekend’s Rallye de France has now launched Al Jabri into second position in the FSTi overall standings and only three points adrift of the current series leader, Harry Hunt.
61 – Christian Riedemann (23) & Josefine Beinke (18) – Fiesta R2
FSTi position: DNF
Fresh from victory at ADAC Rallye Deutschland, Riedemann had a trouble-free morning during the opening four stages of Rallye de France. The 23-year-old pulled into the Remote Service at Mulhouse second overall, 15.5 seconds behind Bader Al Jabri. After a win on Stage 7, Riedemann took the lead from Al Jabri by 3.4 seconds, but was had begun experiencing brake problems. Riedemann produced his third stage win of the day on Stage 8 and pulled into the end-of-day Service leading the FSTi series, 25.2 seconds ahead of Al Jabri.
Saturday started well for Riedemann as he noted that Stage 9 reminded him of his home stages in Germany, with 90 degree bends followed by long straights. The German reported that the ends of the straights on Stage 10 were very slippery, so approached them with caution. However, he enjoyed Stage 12, as there was little in the way of slippery mud on the corners due to the large stones keeping the preceding rally cars from cutting and dragging mud onto the road. He pulled into the midday Service leading the FSTi series and confident about the repeat afternoon pass. However, Saturday afternoon did not live up to his expectations, as he was forced to stop half way through Stage 16 with an electrical misfire. He retired as a precaution, losing ten minutes to SupeRally penalties, and team worked hard to fix the car ready for competition again the following morning.
Day 3 was again filled with bad luck for the young German, as the final 4.20 km stage of the day saw Riedemann stop on the stage with suspected cooler failure, dashing the young German’s hopes of a second consecutive points finish in the series.
After this weekend’s Rallye de France, Riedemann currently holds fourth place in the FSTi overall championship standings – ten points off claiming third position from Victor Henriksson.
Majed Al Shamsi & Allan Harryman
FSTi final position: DNF
Majed Al Shamsi had a torrid time of it at the Rallye de France. Day 1 began badly on Stage 2 when his Fiesta R2 slipped off the road and became beached on an Armco barrier which had already been damaged by two previous cars. The marshals did not allow the Team Abu Dhabi crewto seek spectator assistance, although this was eventually overcome, albeit with a delay of four minutes. Stage 4 witnessed a continuation of this issue, with damage caused on Stage 2 resulting in a broken driveshaft just 1 km from the end of the stage. The disappointed pair had to retire thereafter, incurring a 25 minute SupeRally penalty.
Al Shamsi returned to Rallye de France under SupeRally regulations on Saturday, but was cautious on the opening stage as he had never competed on wet Tarmac before. The Emirate’s luck ran out, however, on Stage 10 he was forced to retire from the event with engine woes. After an unlucky end to the sixth rounds of the FSTi championship, Al Shamsi is placed fifth in the overall championship standings and only one point behind Riedemann.
The championship’s penultimate round which is run by M-Sport and supported by Pirelli will next take place at RACC Rallye de España, 22 – 24 october.
– Credit: M-Sport.