Maxol E85 FST series gets to grip with Galway
The first round of the 2008 Ford Ireland supported Maxol E85 Fiesta SportingTrophy championship took place last weekend on the Safety Direct Galway Rally. The rally, based in the city of Galway on the west coast of Ireland, saw some of the worst driving conditions in recent history as Fiesta competitors had to battle the elements and the conditions around them to finish the 96 kilometres of competitive stages.
The event started badly for all Fiesta competitors as accidents in the main International section of the rally meant no FST competitors recorded a time on SS1 or SS2. Organisers battled with both the weather and the high number of incidents that occurred throughout the field to try and get the stages cleared as soon as possible. However, as in 2007, the conditions meant stage cancellations and delays were inevitable.
The bad conditions however made tyre choice easy as all competitors went for a cut version of the Pirelli RE tyre. Series sponsor and control tyre supplier Pirelli were clearly the tyre manufacturer to have in these conditions as first, second and third overall in the International rally also opted for Pirelli tyres. This went to prove that in Galway, power really is nothing without control!
The first competitive stage of the rally was SS3 and fastest time on this stage fell to 2007 FST champion Alastair Fisher, (18) from Enniskillen and his co-driver Barry McNulty. Engineering student Fisher set a super competitive time, 16.6 seconds faster than Welshman Elfyn Evans (18) and his new co-driver Gareth Roberts on their first visit to Ireland. The time set by Fisher would have been good enough for 11th fastest in the International Rally and a superb fourth fastest in the National series.
SS4 saw fastest time once again go to Fisher with a time 18.3 seconds faster than 2007 event winner, Tadgh Buckley from Ballyhaunis with brother Shane Buckley co-driving. Third fastest on the stage went to the second visiting Welshman Meilyr Evans (18) and his co-driver Andrew Edwards, just one tenth of a second slower than Buckley. However drama was to unfold as, despite setting fastest FST time on the stage, quick enough for 13th fastest in the International and sixth in the National event, Fisher was in trouble. One and a half kilometres from the end of the stage the crew had broken a driveshaft leaving them with only one-wheel-drive with two stages still to go.
Fortunately for the 2007 FST champion, SS5 was cancelled by an accident and so all the crews moved to the final stage of the event.
Conditions had improved considerably for the final stage of the event and it is a testament to the strength of the Fiesta that Alastair Fisher was able to complete the stage and drive back to the rally finish with just one-wheel drive. In fact their time of 10.56.2 would have been fast enough to have lead class N3 on the International event, an incredible achievement.
The fastest driver on the final stage taking the win on the event and a cheque for 750 EUR was Elfyn Evans and co-driver Gareth Roberts. They finished the stage 15 seconds faster than second placed driver Buckley who went on to finish third in the overall standings, just 14.4 seconds behind Fisher who survived to finish second overall.
Fourth in the overall standings was a great result for second Welsh crew, Evans and Edwards who reported a sharp learning curve on the treacherous stages.
Fifth went to Barry Greer (20) from Carryduff, Northern Ireland and co-driver John Lemon. Greer who returns to the FST series for a second year had not done the Galway Stages before and was glad to get the finish unscathed and ready for the next round.
Sixth on the event went to championship newcomer, Steven Wright (18) from Co. Monaghan and his co-driver Ashley McAdoo. They reported a big spin and an overshoot on the first stage, but were able to settle down and get valuable experience in the car.
Seventh went to Kyle Orr (18) from Dromore and co-driver Coln Fitzgerald. Orr suffered a frustrating day as a number of quick stage times were compromised by stage blockages and cancellations to drop them down the time-sheets after queries with notional times.
Eighth, taking home 75 EUR in prize money was Paul Quinn (20) from Dungannon and co-driver Jason Gillespie. Quinn suffered clutch slip on the afternoon stages after aquaplaning through a deep puddle which forced water into the bell housing.
The final finishers in Galway Rally were series newcomers, Adrian McBride and Rodney Hicks the 2007 TROA class A6 champions had a tough rally after their Fiesta broke a driveshaft on SS5 and they had to do two stages in one-wheel-drive. However, a fifth fastest time on SS4, just 4.1 seconds off second fastest on only their second competitive stage in the car showed that the speed will be there for the next round.
One of the major successes of the event was the introduction of Maxol E85 as the control fuel for the series. All the competitors reported improved throttle response from the engine and the stage times showed that despite there being a 70% reduction in CO2 emissions from the use of the green fuel, the performance of the car was improved. An excellent example of how it is possible for motorsport to showcase new technologies to new markets.
The www.rallyinsurance.co.uk most improved driver of the day was Tadgh Buckley who climbed seven places in the results to lead the Motorsport Insurance Services supported challenge after the first round.
The second round of the series will be the UAC Easter Rally on 23 March 2008.
Elfyn Evans (18) from Powys, Mid-Wales, said:
We are really pleased, this was a great result for the new GEMsport Team. This was my first rally with Gareth co-driving, the first time for us in Ireland and the first rally for our new sponsor Hustings.com. To win here, especially with the horrendous conditions has been a real boost for us.
Final Results
1 Elfyn Evans / Gareth Roberts 52:34.7 30 750
2 Alastair Fisher / Barry McNulty 52:49.8 +15.1s 25 600
3 Tadgh Buckley / Shane Buckley 53:04.2 +14.4s 22 450
4 Meilyr Evans / Alan Edwards 53:44.3 +40.1s 20 375
5 Barry Greer / John Lemon 54:11.4 +27.1s 18 300
6 Stephen Wright / Ashley McAdoo 54:19.7 +8.3s 16 225
7 Kyle Orr / Coln Fitzgerald 54:40.7 +21.0s 14 150
8 Paul Quinn / Jason Gillespie 54:48.2 +7.5s 13 75
9 Adrian McBride / Rodney Hicks 1:03:22.7 +8:34.5 12