FST Ireland awards presented in Belfast
Competitors in the Fiesta SportingTrophy Ireland series descended on Belfast City last Saturday night for the end of year prize ceremony, which was held in conjunction with the prestigious TROA Global Group Irish Tarmac Championship awards night. The evening saw a large number of guests representing the series and it was a fitting end to the 2007 season.
A number of people collected awards on the night, which included Dublin Crystal trophies for the top-three crews, framed photographs for all winners and a selection of other prizes. The awards were presented as follows:
Dealer Cup – TP Topping, Enniskillen
TP Topping, sponsors of Alastair Fisher were awarded the 2007 Fiesta SportingTrophy IE Dealer Cup Award. Victor McManus was there to collect the prize of a framed photograph and an invite to the M-Sport facility, with a behind the scenes look at the way the BP-Ford World Rally Team, current world champions, works on a day-to-day basis and how the FST team runs the championship from the M-Sport base.
Karcher Best Presented Car Award – McGarrity Motorsport
As chosen by our technical personnel, McGarrity Motorsport were awarded the Karcher Best Presented Car Award for their attention to detail on Alastair Fisher and Conor Harvey’s cars throughout the season. The team won a Karcher K2 Jet Washing System.
M-Sport Team Award – David Greer Motorsport
The DGM service crew picked up the M-Sport Team Award for their tireless effort and organisation throughout the 2007 series. David Greer walked away with a selection of BP-Ford World Rally Team merchandise for the team.
3rd Overall Co-Driver – Shane Buckley
Despite missing the opening round of the championship, the Galway Rally, Shane guided brother Tadhg to two third and two fourth place finishes. Unfortunately, Shane was not present on the night to collect his award but sent his apologies.
3rd Overall Driver – Conor Harvey
Conor took two victories in the series this season on the UAC Easter Rally and the Killarney Rally of the Lakes. He led the championship from round two until a retirement on the first gravel event, the Cork Forestry, pushed him back to third overall. Despite a preference for a sealed surface, Conor showed great pace on the Lakeland Stages event in September finishing third, and was one of the three drivers with a chance of taking the title in Cork last month.
Spirit of the Championship Award – Conor Harvey
Conor also picked up the Spirit of the Championship Award for his positive attitude and pleasant demeanour throughout the season. He has always been amiable to FST staff no matter what the circumstances. Conor walked away with free registration to the 2008 Fiesta SportingTrophy IE series and a voucher from Allsports Logistics for a free ferry crossing to the UK.
2nd Overall Co-Driver – Jonny Hart
Jonny has partnered Jonathan Greer all season in both the UK and the Irish series, finishing second in the Irish championship and winning the UK version. A faultless performance from him over the season saw him take away a Dublin Crystal trophy and a framed photo.
2nd Overall Driver – Jonathan Greer
Jonathan scored wins on both surfaces by winning the Cork Forestry event and the Cork ‘20’ Rally, proving his ability as an all-round driver. After his result on the Cork ’20’ Rally, Jonathan found himself in a tie-break with Alastair Fisher for the overall title, Alastair pipping him to the post with his first place finish on the opening round of the championship, the Galway Rally. Jonathan won a Dublin Crystal trophy and a framed photo.
Castrol Hard Charger Award – Jonathan Greer
Jonathan also won the Castrol Hard Charger Award and walked away with a selection of Castrol merchandise for the highest number of quickest stage times over the course of the season. Jonathan was fastest Fiesta on 24 of the 57 stages that made up the series.
1st Overall Co-Driver – Barry McNulty
Barry has guided Alastair Fisher faultlessly to top-three finishes on all seven rounds of this year’s series. He scored maximum points on two events and had three second places to help him to the 2007 FST Co-Driver’s crown. Along with winning a crystal trophy and framed photo, Barry, as the winning co-driver, will also assist the BP-Ford World Rally Team on Rally Ireland in two weeks time. He will work with the weather crews on the stages relaying vital information back to the service area to assist the team with making accurate tyre choices.
1st Overall Driver – Alastair Fisher
Alastair has impressed everyone on the rally scene this year with his consistent, neat and tidy driving style and his positive attitude and wonderful personality. Victory on the Donegal Rally and the Lakeland Stages proved that Alastair is a capable pilot on both tarmac and gravel. Three seconds and two third places means he has finished on the podium on every round this season, a very commendable result in his first full year of competition.
Alastair walked away with a crystal trophy, framed photo and the keys to a brand new Ford Fiesta ST road car, which was proudly parked up on display outside the door of the hotel throughout the evening.
The Pacenotes Newspaper Media Award – Alastair Fisher
Alastair has strived to gain as much publicity as possible this year and the amount of media coverage in both local and national press has been admirable. The young Enniskillen man presented a well-prepared media portfolio and for that reason he was the recipient of the first Pacenotes FST Media Award, which was presented by Simon Mooney, editor of Pacenotes Magazine.
2007 Championship Co-Ordinator, Ciara Conlan said:
“It was a fantastic night and a fitting way to end the 2007 season. There were a large number of people there representing the series, from competitors to mechanics to sponsors. It was very nice to have everyone socialising together. I would personally like to thank the UAC for hosting such an enjoyable evening and to the events that made up the series this year. I want to offer them my sincere thanks for the effort everyone put in to making us feel very welcome.”