Malcolm Wilson Rally - 11 Mar 06

Posted: March 14, 2006 2:27 PM

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First Fiesta Sporting Trophy UK rally won by Murphy.
Irishman Owen Murphy scored an impressive victory in the first ever Fiesta SportingTrophy UK (FST UK) event, making its debut at the Malcolm Wilson Rally on Saturday 11th, with twenty three cars tackling some of the toughest rally conditions in the UK.

Murphy was suffering from a bout of flu, but was ably co-driven by Paul Williams, and scored sixteenth place in the overall standings from 99 finishers in the Cockermouth-based rally which started a stone's throw from the Dovenby Hall base of M-Sport. As well as running the Ford manufacturer team in the World Rally Championship with drivers Marcus Gronholm and Mikko Hirvonen, M-Sport run the Fiesta SportingTrophy.

Though Murphy was 38 seconds ahead of the next Fiesta, that of Simon Hughes and co-driver Claire Mole, it was by no means an easy ride. George Thomas and co-driver Graham Hopewell were fastest out of the starting blocks, setting the fastest time on the opening stage and the joint fastest time with Murphy on stage two, but their challenge was to end two stages later when the rough conditions claimed an engine mount. Murphy, however, had already moved into the lead on the previous stage.

Simon Hughes, eventual second place finisher, took the fight to Murphy displacing him for the Fiesta lead after stage four, but Murphy moved ahead at the end of Grizedale North, a position he was not to relinquish and one that built to 38 seconds by the end of the nine stages.

In terms of fastest times, Murphy was the quickest Fiesta on five occasions and joint fastest, with George Thomas and Simon Hughes, on a further stage. Thomas and Hughes were the only other drivers to set fastest times, Hughes going quickest on the fourth and sixth stages.

Fiesta STs dominated Gp.N3 with only two non-Fiesta entries and competitors for this exciting new one make championship came from a diverse range of backgrounds and locations. With participants rushing to get their cars completed for the first event of the year, the first ever Fiesta SportingTrophy event ever, it would always be a learning experience for all involved. The rough ruts and pot-holes of Grizedale caused a number of retirements. Indeed, Malcolm Wilson himself, fighting for the overall lead of the rally in a Ford Focus RS WRC 05, was to retire from mechanical failure on stage six as he tried to win the rally thirty years after his first victory on the event.

Coming home in third place was Welshman Kevin Davies whilst fourth went to Chris Moore who started the rally, in his words 'driving like a granny' and felt the need to kick himself to get up the order. It certainly worked, with Moore vaulting from ninth in the standings at first service to his fourth place finish. Coming home fifth was Fraser Jones with his new co-driver, Inbal Edry from Israel.

The next round of the Fiesta SportingTrophy UK takes place on the Pirelli National Rally on May 14 whilst the Fiesta SportingTrophy International (FSTi) makes its debut on Rally Catalunya on March 24.

Quotes:

Owen Murphy, overall time: 59m 30s:
We kept it neat and tidy and tried to avoid the bumps. We caught a car on stage three, we passed him but then we caught another car, so we lost about 30 seconds there, and on the last stage we got a puncture about half a mile from the end but we just kept going at it so they couldn't catch us. A bit of luck just came our way for once. We want to do the same next time, keep it neat and tidy and try and finish. While I was on the stages I felt okay but once we finished the last stage I started to feel sick again. This flu is murder! What a day and what a car, the Fiesta ST is a joy to drive and to win first time out is great.

Simon Hughes, overall time: 1h 00m 08s:
It was a bit dramatic really, we got a water leak in the front and also we only had third gear randomly. It was a little bit dramatic but we've got through it alright and we've still got second as well. The stages were a little bit rough in places but nothing too serious. We dropped a lot of time but luckily we managed to get a whole load of seconds. It would have been quite nice to win but I'm just happy to get to the finish.

Kevin Davies, overall time: 1h 00m 29s:
The stages are good, they're a bit slippery, and quite rough, but I just drove it as I could see it and played with the brakes on the first stage and everything was looking good. The car's got brilliant power, it's looking well. I'm chuffed with my finish, over the moon. It was the first time today doing these stages and the first time in this car so to get a third is brilliant, I can't ask for better.

Chris Moore, overall time: 1h 02m 55s:
When I was at service I was swearing and saying that I was driving like a granny. The first three stages today were probably the worse stages I've driven in eight years of being a rally driver; unbelievably bad. Then I gave myself a right good kick up the arse in service and knuckled down and we were lying in tenth then we came out with some top three times and moved up to fourth. We had a couple of punctures which meant we had to do the last three stages without a spare so we've taken it nice and easy, as it's rough as can be so all in all I'm really happy. I came here to finish fifth and I finished fourth so I'm really pleased with that.

Fraser Jones, overall time: 1h 03m 19s:
The final loop went well, we had a problem with the gearbox, it suffered with one of the uphill stages at the start it was uphill with quite a few hairpins and we lost quite a bit of time there - but once we got going and up into the higher gears it went well, it was thoroughly enjoyable. There were some big holes on the second usage stages, and there were some big ruts in some stages. The last stage wasn't badly rutted, but there were some potholes. It warmed up a lot on the last stage, we had a wee moment when we dropped the back wheel off into a ditch and had it a bit sideways. There were a few big holes out there, you hit them thinking 'whoa' but it all seems to take it it's a strong car but we've thrown everything at it.

Malcolm Wilson:
For the first ever Fiesta SportingTrophy rally I think we can be pleased. Fifteen finishers from twenty-three starters is a good result when you consider just how rough it was out there, which is something I know myself all too well. To have three drivers on their debut in the Fiestas set an identical time on their second ever stage in the car shows just how close the competition is going to be this season. The next event's in two months with the Pirelli National Rally, so there's plenty of time to fettle the cars and the drivers before that.

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BIRD BATTLES TO MALCOLM WILSON VICTORY
Following his inaugural win in 2004, Penrith rally driver Paul Bird secured a hard earned victory on his local event by convincingly winning today’s Malcolm Wilson Rally based in his native Lake District.

Along with Northallerton co driver Ian Windress and driving the Derek McGarrity, Pirelli backed Subaru Impreza WRC S9 for only the second time; the Cumbrian businessman was embroiled in a major battle with the Ford Focus WRC of event sponsor Malcolm Wilson in the early stages as the pair traded blows at the front of the field.

Bird, who finished runner up last year, was just four seconds adrift of fellow Cumbrian Wilson when the latter’s rally ended with a broken steering rack after the second run through Hobcarton which should have allowed the 2005 MSA National Gravel Rally Champions to ease off but they were unaware of Wilson and co driver Scott Martin’s fate so kept pushing right to the end.

“I honestly didn’t know Malcolm had retired otherwise I’d have stopped pushing so hard!” said a delighted Bird at the Cockermouth finish. “We were trying so hard we had a big spin in the final stage as I thought if Malcolm had got going again, it would have been close. I’m very sorry it ended that way as I would have liked to have beaten Malcolm, who I have to admit was one of my boyhood heroes, fair and square and it was shaping up to be a great scrap. But to have even been battling with a driver of Malcolm’s legendary status was a dream come true for me” concluded Bird whose winning margin ended up at 1m 35s.

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Owen Murphy Masters The Fiesta
Cork teenager Owen Murphy once again showed his astonishing pace by winning the first round of The Fiesta Sporting Trophy (UK) Championship on the Malcolm Wilson Rally Saturday. This now means that Owen leads two championships the 2006 McCauley Trailers National Forest Rally Championship in his Yokohama Mitsubishi Evo 5 here in Ireland and the Fiesta Sporting Trophy in the UK.

However the rally did not have the best of starts for the young Cork man, Friday night he was absolutely dying with the flu and even felt unable to watch the DVD of the stages he decided to go to bed and hopefully wake up better. Something small like the flu was not going to stop Owen from having a cut in his new Fiesta ST.



Owen decided to set his own pace and see where he would be after a few stages this proved a wise decision a mere second off the pace on stage one joint fastest on two and three seconds faster then anyone else on stage three Owen was now in the lead.

The stages were the roughest ever seen on the event due mostly to the bad weather over the last few months. Rain muck and snow did little to slow the Cork man and he kept with the task of getting his Fiesta to the finish first. On stage four the first of a few minor hold ups as Owen caught a fellow Fiesta competitor who was slow to pull over and a MK2 Escort this showed the Cork man has pace. These delays cost some time however he was still second quickest on that stage a mere four seconds off the pace.

Stage five brought one bit of a moment when going over a jump the fire extinguisher went off after Owen accidentally hit the button however co driver Paul Williams just kept calling the notes and it really had no effect on the lads. A new extinguisher bottle was fitted in service enabling the lads to continue safely. Stage six saw the lads 2 seconds off the pace however order was restored on the next stage when Owen was nine seconds quicker then anyone else.

Owen took a fastest time again on eight and having led from stage three had the confidence to put in a fastest time on stage nine even though a tyre was deflating as they neared the finish.

Owen said "while I was on the stages I felt ok but once we finished the last stage I started to feel sick again this flu is murder. What a day and what a car, the Fiesta ST is a joy to drive and to win first time out is great Paul Williams my navigator was fantastic he does the job so professional he makes it look easy and we get on great , I have to thank West Midlands Motorsport for giving me a great car and the lads who work on the car for being 110% behind me."

"Finally I must thank my sponsors Mac Tyres Ireland ,O Flynn Construction ,O Brien Crowley Accountants , Wolfrace Wheels, Permafrost,Brooklyn ford and Carnet.ie and all who helped this weekend."

At the ramp Malcolm Wilson said that it was his first time meeting Owen but his result augers well for the future while at the prize giving WRC co driver Robert Reid said the Fiesta in the hands of Owen looked very impressive having seen him on the stages.

Yes once again Owen has demonstrated his pace 16th overall in the main rally first 2 wheel drive car home and the winner of the Castrol award for the most fastest times it was a great day out for Owen Murphy hopefully the start of many in the UK this year.

Owen Murphy Rallying

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Final Results
1. Paul Bird/Ian Windress Subaru Impreza WRC 53m 42s
2 Dave Weston/Neil Shanks Ford Focus WRC 55:17
3 Roger Chilman/Andrew Sankey Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 56:27
4 Paul Benn/Richard Cooke Ford Focus WRC 56:49
5 Alistair Tough/Dee Addison Subaru Impreza WRX 57:10
6 Dougi Hall/Kris Hall Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 57:14
7 Shaun Gardener/Ben Innes Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 5 57:18
8 Tristan Pye/Andrew Roughead Subaru Impreza WRX 57:19
9 Ian Joel/Graeme Wood Ford Escort RS Cosworth 57:30
10 Damian Cole/Paul Morris Hyundai Accent WRC 57:53

Fiesta Sporting Trophy provisional results
1 65 Owen Murphy / Paul Williams Fiesta ST 0:59:30
2 60 Simon Hughes / Claire Mole Fiesta ST 1:00:08
3 66 Kevin Davies / Emyr Jones Fiesta ST 1:00:29
4 75 Chris Moore / Richard Edwards Fiesta ST 1:02:55
5 79 Fraser Jones / Inbal Edry Fiesta ST 1:03:19
6 76 Alex Evans / Tim Sturla Fiesta ST 1:03:27

Full Results:
BTRDA RALLY SERIES

Malcolm Wilson Rally

• 2006 Fiesta Sporting Trophy UK

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PRE EVENT NEWS

• Irish Interest rests with William Mavitty, Gordon Coleman, Alastair Fisher, Jonathan Greer, and Owen Murphy.
• Owen Murphy gets ready for the The Malcolm Wilson Rally.

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05/03/06
Owen Murphy gets ready for the The Malcolm Wilson Rally.
Owen Murphy collected his Fiesta ST at M-sport last Saturday the car was built by West Midlands Motorsport and they will run the car for the year.At the induction day for the Fiesta Sporting Trophy (UK) at M-sport the organisers were keen to stress the championship would be a level playing field for all competitors the cars were sealed and the tyres will be bar-coded so its a championship about talent not about spending money.

The Fiesta ST rallycar features a dog box ,new suspension and a different ECU which means while the standard Fiesta 150 ST has 150 bhp the rally version is uprated to 170bhp from the 2-litre Duratec ST engine .

Owen took the West Midlands Motorsport mechanics for a spin and a few members of the press on a forest track used by M-sport for testing all were impressed with Owens commitment and driving style even though he said he was taking it handy. Owen will once again be co driven by (UK) co driver Paul Williams who sat with Owen last year in the Peugeot.

After the induction day the lads went to Sweet Lamb Rally Complex for a days testing which Owen said went very well we sorted tyre pressures played with the back of the car a bit and generally got used to the feel of it, I think the gear box is fantastic and the suspension is good its a nice car to rally I just want to get behind the wheel for the first round the Malcolm Wilson rally.

Owen stunned everyone with his pace on the First round of the Irish National Forestry Championship a few weeks ago he is hoping to repeat that form on The Malcolm Wilson Rally which takes place on the 11th March.

Owen said once again this is a big year for me the Evo GpN at home and the Fiesta ST in the Fiesta Sporting Trophy (UK),I must thank my sponsors O Flynn Construction ,O Brien Crowley Accountants , Wolf Race Wheels, Permafrost and my latest sponsor Carnet.ie ,also there is a core group of people who have given their time to help us keep the show on the road and my parents for their continued support. To all who helped make this year in motorsport possible thank you.

Owen Murphy Rallying

Malcolm Wilson Rally

• 2006 Fiesta Sporting Trophy UK