FSTi launches into its fourth successive year in the WRC
The Fiesta SportTrophy International (FSTi) will return to the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) for its fourth successive year in April 2009 and will again be supported by tyre manufacture Pirelli.
Previously known as the Fiesta SportingTrophy, the new championship’s new name will reflect the new Sport model of the Ford Fiesta, which will be launched as a rally car at the Autosport Show in Birmingham (10.11 January) and available in the second half of 2009.
M.Sport established the one.make championship in 2006 and, while the general concept remains the same, some improvements have been made for 2009, including a new incentive package and scoring system. The prize for the championship winner will be an all.expenses.paid test in the latest specification Ford Focus RS WRC with Ford factory driver Mikko Hirvonen, with the chance to
discuss the test over dinner with the flying Finn and M.Sport Managing Director Malcolm Wilson. A prize fund has also been introduced and the winner of each rally will receive a €1,500 M.Sport voucher.
There is also the chance for those who do not achieve championship glory but who have entered at least four events to test the Ford Focus WRC in addition. As in previous years, the
series winner plus one ‘wildcard’ will be put forward to the FST International Shootout to compete against drivers from other FST championships around the world in order to win a
year’s residential contract to work at M.Sport with the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team.
The FST concept is based around the Ford Fiesta ST GpN car, which, when combined with the M.Sport conversion kit (£9,600 +VAT), delivers 165 PS from the 2.litre Duratec engine.
Regularly taking N3 class honours on WRC events, the ST has proven to be a reliable and competitive rally car, a fact reinforced by nearly 300 current owners in 27 countries around
the world.
The series will again run alongside the WRC and launch at the Vodafone Rally de Portugal in April, then returning to Rally d’Italia Sardegna, Neste Oil Rally Finland, Rally de España and
Wales Rally GB for an early finish in October. The third event, Rally Poland, will be a new and welcome addition to both the WRC and FSTi. The closing date for the first event in Portugal
will be 27 February 2009. Of the six counting rounds, the best points from the four rounds will count towards the championship standings. This will allow those drivers who have completed the full season to drop any low scores, but will also assist those drivers who are only able to compete on an event.by.event basis to score highly overall if they achieve good results on occasional rallies.
A new scoring system will also be introduced in order to reward outright pace. One point will be awarded for every stage win and, with between 18 and 24 stages per rally, these will be
points worth fighting for. A win will still be given maximum credit and points will be offered 30.25.22.20.18.16.14.12.11.10 for first to tenth position.
2009 FSTi Calendar
1-5 April - Vodafone Rally de Portugal (Gravel)
20-24 May - Rally d’Italia Sardegna (Gravel)
24-28 June - Rally Poland (Gravel)
29 July - 2 August Neste Oil Rally Finland (Gravel)
30 September - 4 October Rallye de España (Asphalt)
21-25 October - Wales Rally GB (Gravel)
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