Fisher reels in the Pirelli
Seventeen registered Ford Fiesta ST crews were entered for the Pirelli National Rally this weekend on the second round of the VK Ford Fiesta SportingTrophy UK. The rally based at Carlisle Airport took in over fifty competitive stage miles in the Kershope and Kielder forest complexes. At the end of the seven stages the winner would be last year’s FST Ireland champion, 19-year-old Alastair Fisher from Enniskillen, who was again partnered by the experienced Paul Morris.
Competitors who arrived at the event start on Saturday morning faced dry but cold and windy conditions. The drivers would have four stages totalling 28 miles with minimum road mileage before the first service halt of the day, therefore crews would need to perform from the word go. However, Alick Kerr (19) from Lanark with co-driver Drew Sturrock where unable to start the event as a fault was diagnosed in their newly rebuilt engine and there was not enough time to repair it.
SS1 – 5.09 miles, Chamot Hill. Fisher would end the stage setting the fastest time, followed by the new pairing to the series of Meilyr Evans (18) from Machynlleth, co-driven by Andrew Edwards who were only 0.7 seconds of the young Irishman. Team-mate to Meilyr, Elfyn Evans (19) would be third on the stage, with James Everard (22) from Hull rounding out the top four. Stage one would have drama for the regulars of Richard Archer and Matthew Whattam. A puncture only two miles into the first stage, which resulted in the car falling off the jack lost the crew valuable time.
SS2, Arthur’s Seat at 5.11 miles was the next test. Meilyr Evans would come out of the stage with the fastest time, his first of the in the FST series with Fisher second quickest, Elfyn Evans and Barry Greer (20) from Carryduff rounding out the top four. It would be a competitive time for Greer whose pace is increasing as the series progresses. Both Meilyr and Elfyn Evans reported punctures during the stage but both crews still managed to set very competitive times. Round one winner Stevie Brown (20) from Peterhead also picked up a puncture dropping them down the order. A number of crews were reporting rough conditions in the stage and it looked as though careful picking of lines through the day would be key to avoiding big time losses.
SS3 - 8.48 miles, The Valley. Elfyn Evans would come out of the stage second quickest, 3.9 seconds behind Fisher. Third quickest would be Everard, followed by local driver Kris Hall (18) from Appleby, who was partnered in this event by Seb Marshall. The two MSA rally academy members were having a steady run but a puncture on Stage two had dropped them lower down the order than they would have liked to of been at this stage of the event, also in trouble was Meilyr Evans who sustained two punctures in the stage, and with not enough spares would have to start the next stage with a slow puncture already on the car.
The final stage of the morning before first service, SS4 was the 9.25 miles of Glen Dhu. Fisher would emerge with the quickest stage time meaning three out of four stage wins in the morning, an impressive performance in the tough conditions. Fisher’s final stage time of the morning would be the second quickest time in the national rally. Elfyn Evans and Everard would come out of the stage second and third respectively. Liam Regan (20) from Belfast was reporting a lack of power but was still setting some quick stage times, fellow Irishman Barry Greer (20) from Carryduff ended the stage in fifth behind Regan.
Going into service Fisher had a lead of 9.3 seconds over the current FST Ireland championship leader Elfyn Evans. Everard was third with Regan and Greer close behind. A number of crews had small problems during the service – including championship leader Brown who had broken suspension, but with some great work from service crews all the ST’s would leave the service area ready to tackle the final three stages.
SS5 – 7.32 miles, The Shanks. Fisher set the fastest time of the national rally, beating a selection of more powerful cars, the time was a real demonstration of the performance of the car and drivers of the FST UK series. This time would have put Fisher fastest 2WD in the International Rally – 13th overall. Elfyn and Meilyr Evans came in second and third with Greer rounding out the top four. Crews were all reporting that they were thoroughly enjoying the fifth stage with its fast flowing bends.
SS6 – 8.16 miles, Archies Rigg was the penultimate stage of the day and Fisher would again come out with the fastest time. Elfyn Evans, Hall and Meilyr Evans would round out the top four. Kyle Orr (18) from Dromore had a mechanical problem and lost precious time. Eventually this would see him retire from the rally.
Away from the leading group, other competitors were having some tough times, Max Utting (22) suffered four punctures during the day and Clive Hilton from Nottingham would unfortunately not make it to the end of the event after crashing out shortly after catching and passing another car on stage. Luke Francis (18) from Denbigh with co-driver Chris Jones would finish his first ever event, a great achievement for a newcomer.
The final stage of the day, SS7 was Pundershaw at 8.8 miles, the stage would see some drama with Stevie Brown going off and rolling his car ending his chances of a second win in the UK series. However Fisher would come out with another stage win and take the overall victory from Elfyn Evans and James Everard.
With six stage wins out of seven Fisher had done enough to claim the Castrol Hard Charger award, whilst local driver John Lloyd climbed an impressive twenty places from his seeded position to claim the MIS Insurance Most Improved Driver of the day.
Winner Alastair Fisher said:
“I am delighted with the win, it has been a tough rally with some tough stage conditions but we have come out with the result we were so desperately after. It has been a tough start to both the UK and Irish Series and we really needed a win to get our championship hopes back on track. Our next aim is to keep up this result and get another win on the Severn Valley National Rally.”
Final results
1 Alastair Fisher / Paul Morris 54.16.0
2 Elfyn Evans / Gareth Roberts 54.44.9
3 James Everard / Sam Collis 55.50.0
4 Liam Regan / Neil Dashfield 56.08.8
5 Barry Greer / John Lemon 56.35.6
6 Kris Hall / Seb Marshall 56.54.6
7 John Lloyd / Steve Egglestone 56.59.2
8 Max Utting / Jemma Bellingham 58.10.8
Overall standings (top 10 only)
1 James Everard / Sam Collis 47
2 Liam Regan / Neil Dashfield 42
3 Elfyn Evans / Gareth Roberts 38
4 Max Utting / Jemma Bellingham 31
5 Alastair Fisher / Paul Morris 30
6 Stevie Brown / Ian Morrison 30
7 Meilyr Evans / Andrew Edwards 28
8 John Lloyd / Steve Egglestone 26
9 Kyle Orr / Rodney Hicks 20
10 Richard Archer / Matthew Whattam 19