Two competitors from the Kick Energy Fiesta SportTrophy UK (FST UK) and Fiesta SportTrophy Ireland (FST IE) championships have been awarded ‘wildcard’ nominations for the Fiesta SportTrophy International Shootout, which will take place on 17 and 18 November at M-Sport in Cumbria.
The UK wildcard entry has gone to John MacCrone (20) from the Isle of Mull. The 2009 Scottish Junior Rally Champion made his debut in the FST UK series this year, and finished a credible second overall. MacCrone remained the closest challenger to champion Elfyn Evans (21) throughout the season and the talented youngster has proven his speed throughout the season, consistently improving his pace on each event to finish the season 38 points adrift of Evans.
In Ireland, the wildcard nomination goes to Damien Smith (28) from Silsden in North Yorkshire. Having completed Ulster Rally in this year’s FST Ireland championship, the driver adapted well to Irish Tarmac roads on his debut event outside of England. Smith’s impressive performance this year has rewarded him with the FST Ireland wildcard.
The winner of the FST UK series was 21-year-old Elfyn Evans and the young Welsh driver will automatically be entered into the Shootout. Joining Evans in the Shootout is 20-year-old Stephen Wright, the recently-crowned winner of FST Ireland.
Other competitors will include some of the world’s most impressive young drivers from FST championships in Belgium, Italy, New Zealand, Russia, Sweden, Turkey and Finland, as well as from the FST International series. They will compete in a series of physical and psychological tests as well as an assessment of their media skills before embarking on the final driving challenge the following day.
The top five contestants will then be interviewed by M-Sport Managing Director Malcolm Wilson OBE and BP Ford Abu Dhabi driver Mikko Hirvonen. The overall winner will be awarded with a year’s contract to work at M-Sport with the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, where they will have the chance to experience working in a number of different areas of the company, travelling to the European WRC events, attending press functions and driving at PR events. The winner will also get the chance to test the award-winning Ford Fiesta S2000.
Kick Energy FST UK ‘wildcard’ John MacCrone (20) said:
“We’ve had a mixed year with some mistakes and mechanical problems, but also some great events and fast times. To be awarded a ‘wildcard’ for the Shootout is just brilliant and a real high at the end of a difficult season. I would like to thank Richard [Moore, Team Manager] and the whole team, they’ve put in so much effort during the year. And, of course, our sponsors – none of this would have been possible without them.”
FST Ireland ‘wildcard’ Damien Smith (28) said:
“I’m really happy to have been nominated for the Shootout – I’ve been putting a lot of effort into my personal fitness this year so hopefully this will pay off when it comes to competing against the other entries. It should be a great opportunity and a valuable experience to see how I perform in the tests and against the foreign competition. I am really looking forward to the challenge and will be prepared for anything!”
– M-Sport.