Mission accomplished for Flying Fisher in Estonia
Posted: August 7, 2011 5:08 PM
Alastair Fisher continued his preparations for Neste Oil Rally Finland, the third event of the FIA WRC Academy season, by finishing third in class and 29th overall on the auto24 Rally Estonia last weekend (July 15/16).
Driving a Ford Fiesta R2 alongside navigator Daniel Barritt, Fisher was using the event to adapt to driving on high-speed gravel stages, similar to those that will form the next WRC Academy round.
“It was a very enjoyable rally, fast stages, a great atmosphere and lots of fans,” said the 22-year-old from Trillick in County Tyrone.
“But the most important thing was to do a gravel rally again after our second-place finish on the Donegal International Rally last month, which used asphalt-only stages. By going to Estonia we were able to make pacenotes on stages with crests and fast corners, which is what we’ll experience in Finland.”
Prior to heading to Estonia Fisher took part in a one-day test in Finland (July 10), which he used to develop the set-up of his Fiesta. He said the combination of his participation on Rally Estonia and his pre-event has handed him a major boost ahead of Rally Finland, which he will tackle for the first time this year.
“Finland is a very fast and hard rally and when you look at some of the jumps on TV you get a bit apprehensive,” said Fisher. “But Rally Estonia and the test we did have given me a lot of confidence and I feel I can go there and hit the ground running.”
Fisher continued: “We had no major problems in Estonia although the final two stages on Friday evening were a challenge because they were on Tarmac and we had to do them on gravel tyres. The stages required maximum commitment and it took me a couple of stages to really get into my stride but I was up to second in class A6 by the middle of the second day and I was happy with my result. Craig Breen finished 1.2s in front of me, so we had a great battle with him. A lot of effort went into Rally Estonia so we were really pleased to get some good mileage and experience under our belts.”
Neste Oil Rally Finland is based in the university city of Jyväskylä in the centre of the country and gets underway on July 28.
Results
Posted: August 7, 2011 5:06 PM
Meeke/Nagle not taking part.
Posted: July 15, 2011 1:10 PM
Kris Meeke/Paul Nangle will be taking part in Rally Estonia
Gardemeister to Drive M3
Posted: July 14, 2011 3:26 PM
Toni Gardemeister won’t have any time to relax this summer, despite not contesting Sata Rallye Acores in his TGS Worldwide SKODA Fabia Super 2000 this week.
Gardemeister is eighth in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge drivers’ standings having scored points on all five rounds run so far this season. However, he won’t be in action in the mid-Atlantic because his Fabia’s engine is currently undergoing a rebuild in preparation for the next round of the series, Barum Czech Rally Zlin, at the end of August.
Instead, Gardemeister will take part on Rally Estonia from 15-16 July in his self-built BMW M3, which he uses for fun on selected events.
“I like this event so I decided to make a surprise for the spectators and bring my own M3,” said Gardemeister. “I’ll come with my team TGS Worldwide, my main aim is the victory in our class.”
Gardemeister is not the only IRC regular competing on the high-speed gravel event: Estonian teenager Karl Kruuda, who has scored points on his last two IRC appearances, will also be competing in an M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000.
Seeded Entry List / Irish Entries
Posted: July 14, 2011 11:25 AM
5 Kris Meeke / Paul Nagle (Mini John Cooper Works WRC)
32 Craig Breen / Gareth Roberts (Ford Fiesta R2)
33 Alastair Fisher / Daniel Barritt (Ford Fiesta R2)
Event Website / Details
Posted: July 14, 2011 11:14 AM
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