Hall handed Shootout opportunity
Posted: November 7, 2008 2:45 PM
Kris Hall (19) from Appleby, Cumbria, has been chosen as the UK wildcard entrant to represent the United Kingdom at the forthcoming Fiesta SportingTrophy International Shootout 2008. The Shootout will take place during the 9 and 10 December. Hall will be competing against a number of other hopefuls including VK FST UK and FST Ireland winner Elfyn Evans and the Irish wildcard entrant of Alastair Fisher. Hall will be fighting for a chance to win a 12-month contract working at M-Sport with the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team during the 2009 WRC season.
Last year’s Shootout winner Adam Gould has made great developments in his career thanks to the unique opportunity he was given at M-Sport, having won the R2 class in the British Rally Championship and receiving nominations for both the UK and European Pirelli Star Driver competitions. Gould and the 2006 Shootout winner Victor Henriksson have both enjoyed ‘money can’t-buy’ experiences as part of their apprenticeships, including working as weather crew for the Ford WRC teams, attending tests with the works drivers and learning how to build the Ford Focus WRC cars. Hall will be hoping he can gain similar success from the competition.
The decision to nominate Hall as the wildcard was a very tough choice; Meilyr Evans (19) from Machynlleth was an incredibly close second. The young Welshman has shown incredible pace in his debut year and the selection criteria of only one driver made it a very tough choice. Hall’s nomination was decided on the basis that he has consistently showed top-three pace on every round of the series from the season opener and proven he can drive maturely and quickly, whilst adapting superbly to the Fiesta ST in such a short time.
Hall has put in some excellent performances over the year. He led the opening round on his debut in the Fiesta SportingTrophy UK, but a mechanical failure forced his retirement. Hall followed on to set top-three stage times on the next two rounds of the series, the Pirelli National and Severn Valley Rally. During the fourth round, the Swansea Bay Rally, a win for Hall was snatched from him following altered results after a stage cancellation. With this disappointment still fresh in his mind, Hall approached the McRae Stages in pursuit of victory. A sensible and mature drive saw him beat all the regular VK FST UK competitors and he was only denied the outright win by Jarkko Nikara - winner of the European Pirelli Star Driver competition. During the final round, the Malton Stages, Hall again set top-three times and one fastest time overall, a small fuel miscalculation meant he did not finish the event and lost time on the final stage; but prior to this, he was lying in the top-three overall for the whole rally.
The two-day Shootout will consist of physical, psychological and media tests before a gravel-based driving test in Greystoke Forest.
· Barry Johnson, M-Sport’s personal trainer will conduct the gruelling physical tests, which will challenge the competitors to their maximum fitness ability.
· The psychological test will assess the competitors’ mental strengths and weaknesses and determine whether they are capable of becoming a leading competitive driver.
· The media interview will involve challenging questions from the sport’s leading journalists. It will allow the judges to see how the drivers react under pressure and if they are competent in front of some of motorsport’s toughest critics.
· On the second day, the competitors will demonstrate their driving skills on a gravel stage at M-Sport’s very own forest test facility at Greystoke. The drivers will have three runs with their best two times being combined to give a ‘stage time’.
The five top competitors will then be selected for a one-to-one interview with Malcolm Wilson, Managing Director of M-Sport. The winner of the Shootout will then be announced at the end of the second day.
FST Co-ordinator, Richard Millener, said:
“It has been great to see the emergence of two new talents this year in the FST series in the form of Kris [Hall] and Meilyr [Evans]. With both drivers showing their true speed and commitment throughout the year they have attracted attention to the championship and promoted it as a series for up-and-coming talent to show their true potential. I wish Kris all the best during the Shootout.”
Kris Hall said:
“I am really pleased that I have been recognised for my pace this year, I have been somewhat unlucky this season and not got all the results I have been fighting for during the championship events. The Shootout will be a great experience to compare my current performance to other FST drivers from around the world and I will be heading to the competition with one aim - to win. I am really thankful of this opportunity and hope to make the most of it“
Final Championship Points
Posted: July 27, 2008 12:56 PM
VK Fiesta SportingTrophy UK gains EEMS support
Posted: July 22, 2008 9:11 PM
The success of the E85 bioethanol Ford Fiesta ST GpN rally car that is currently being pioneered in the VK Fiesta SportingTrophy UK (VK FST UK) by M-Sport has attracted support as a development project from Energy Efficient Motorsport (EEMS).
EEMS is an industry initiative whose vision is to work with the UK motorsport industry to put energy efficiency at the heart of modern motorsport. By stimulating the use of more sustainable technologies and fuels, EEMS aims to ensure that the automotive and motorsport industries benefit from the new opportunities that arise in the development of energy efficient competition now and in the future. EEMS is backed by the Government through Motorsport Development UK, a public private partnership supported by four regional development agencies and the DTI.
Environmental pressures are reshaping the automotive industry and Ford is a market pioneer in this shift. Together Ford and M-Sport have developed a 'green' strategy to lead the way to a more sustainable future by showcasing CO2 efficient rallying. In order to contribute towards reducing motorsport's environmental impact, the development of bioethanol E85 fuel is seen as an ideal platform from which to raise public awareness of the benefits of biofuels.
Since 2006, the concept of the Fiesta SportingTrophy has been developed around the world and there are currently more than ten countries operating national FST championships, with over 250 Ford Fiesta STs competing in 27 countries around the world. The GpN Fiesta ST is converted from the standard 2-litre ST road car. With the close relationship between the rally and road-going versions, M-Sport has taken the opportunity to develop real solutions to improve the environmental efficiency of motorsport and help promote sustainable alternatives to pure fossil fuel.
Bioethanol is an alcohol fuel that can be manufactured from a wide variety of agricultural produce, including wood waste, sugar cane, sugar beet or grain. The fuel blend 'E85' defines the mix as 85% bio ethanol and 15% petrol. Using such a high blend of bioethanol in specifically designed engine technology means that the crucial 'well-to-wheel' CO2 emissions can be reduced significantly. As the plant crops grow, they absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, which partly offsets the CO2 emissions produced during the burning of the bioethanol fuel in the car's engine.
The VK FST UK championship demonstrates that energy efficiency and green technology are compatible with exciting motorsport, and that in fact the UK motorsport industry stands to benefit considerably by adopting EEMS concepts and taking a leading global role.
The E85 fuel used in the VK FST UK series is supplied by Greenergy, a significant producer and supplier of biofuel into the UK transport fuels market, supplying more than half of the UK biofuel market. The ethanol used by Greenergy is sourced from Brazilian sugar cane. When produced from sustainable sources, CO2 savings from bioethanol made from sugar cane in Brazil can be 80% compared with savings from bioethanol made from wheat in the UK of only 10% and sugar beet of 41%.
This is due to the fact that sugar cane production requires relatively low levels of fertiliser and cane is harvested efficiently in large plantations. Brazilian production facilities also often burn the stalks of the sugar cane to generate the electricity to run the bioethanol production plant. In some cases, more excess electricity may be generated in this way than is required to run the bioethanol plant, so that electricity is fed back into the grid.
EEMS Programme Director Alan Mercer said:
"We are delighted to support the moves made by this highly-visible championship towards greater energy efficiency, with the introduction of sustainable biofuel for all competitors. UK championships are showing the way for the sport's future and for other industries keen to adopt energy efficiency."
FST UK and IE Combined Series Prize - WRC Chance for FST Drivers
Posted: June 5, 2008 1:48 PM
UK FST series boosted with world class incentive
Posted: March 21, 2008 2:19 PM
Fiesta SportingTrophy UK series ready to go for 2008/FST UK & IE New Co-Ordinator for 2008/Championship Round
Posted: January 9, 2008 10:41 PM
- Fiesta SportingTrophy UK series ready to go for 2008
- FST UK & IE New Co-Ordinator for 2008
- Championship Rounds
- Details
- Brochure
09/01/08Fiesta SportingTrophy UK series ready to go for 2008
Season number three of the closely fought Fiesta SportingTrophy UK series prepares to start after new announcements to be made at the Autosport Show in Birmingham on 10 January 2008.
The M-Sport promoted series will make some subtle changes to the format and the team partners for 2008 that should help the competitors to both reduce the cost of competing and make the championship even more closely fought.
The first is, the series will change from eight rounds to six – dropping the two tarmac rounds to make the championship even more economical to compete in and to give drivers, looking for the challenge of refining their pacenotes on tarmac events, the chance to compete on the comparable FST series in Ireland. The format of the UK rallies remains the same. All one day, 45 stages miles with a good geographical spread and rallies with a reputation for being good ‘drivers’ events.
The second major change for the 2008 season will be a switch to Pirelli as the supplier of the control tyre for the championship. Pirelli’s investment in UK motorsport is undoubted and with the World Rally Championship moving to Pirelli as a single supplier, it was a logical decision for the FST series to follow suit. Pirelli will produce a control tyre for the FST series and the integration of this manufacturer to the series allows us to work on more initiatives to benefit competitors in the future as well as reducing overall costs for competitors.
A third change for 2008 is the proposal to make a first step towards a greener future as the series converts to E85, Bio-Ethanol as a control fuel. Greenergy will be the supplier of the control fuel that is 85% Ethanol and 15% Petrol. As well as giving a significant reduction in CO2 on the production / consumption cycle, the fuel also gives a useful performance increase to the cars, thereby enabling the FST drivers to improve on their already impressive stage times. The final benefit to competitors is that Greenergy will supply the fuel at a discounted price of £0.85/litre plus VAT in order to encourage the use of this new technology in rallying.
The final change for 2008 is, for the first time, the winner of the series will have a choice of prizes. The winner of the FST UK series will choose between a new Ford Fiesta road car or, as an alternative, will have the chance to win a drive on the 2009 Wales Rally GB in an M-Sport prepared Ford Fiesta ST; a great opportunity for a driver to experience the World Rally Championship and see from behind the scenes how the M-Sport team operates.
One element that will not change for 2008 is the incredibly close level of competition between the competitors and over the past two seasons the FST series has established itself as the place for young drivers to prove themselves. 2007 second-placed driver Alastair Fisher from Northern Ireland will continue in the championship in 2008 as will third placed driver Elfyn Evans from Mid-Wales. Also joining the series will be former 2007 205 Challenge champion, Kris Hall from Appleby, Cumbria and 2007 Ecosse 205 champion, Alick Kerr from Glasgow. They will be joined by fellow Scot, Dave Weston Jr. among the list of new drivers looking to enter the championship for the first time.
The championship will kick-off with a pre-season test day for registered competitors at the Greystoke forest complex on Thursday 28 February 2008 before crews undertake a series of pre-season training sessions including physical fitness, mental preparation and pace-note training at Dovenby Hall, the home of M-Sport, on Friday 29 February 2008 before the first round of the series - the Malcolm Wilson Rally.
Andrew Wheatley, Business Manager at M-Sport said:
“The changes for the 2008 season have been well received by competitors and the level of competition once again looks to be fantastic – the input of Pirelli has been invaluable and the support of Greenergy has enabled us to take this technological step forward. All–in-all we are looking forward to another great season.”
20/11/07
04/11/07
- March 1st Malcolm Wilson Stages
- April 19th Pirelli National Rally
- May 31st Severn Valley Clubman Rally
- July 19th Swansea Bay Clubman Rally
- September 27th McRae Stages Rally
- November 1st Malton Stages
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