Luke Anear has completed the first test of his recently imported Ford Fiesta R5 in Tasmania.
The New South Welshman completed the test at the same venue as the Hyundai i20 R5 set to debut in Tasmania in the hands of the Walkems, and then compete at the Eureka Rush rally driven by of Hayden Paddon.
Anear finished second in Rally Australia last year and currently sits third in the national series after an impressive start to the season, and says it's impressive to drive.
“It is a purpose built rally car, built from the ground up by M-Sport in the UK and the team has put years of development work in the World Rally Championship which has benefited the R5 car, so it’s fair to say that it’s a very different beast to my 2009 Subaru STI,” Anear told the ARC.
“The car arrived with an encyclopedia of manuals and technical books, so the team at Pete Nunn Motorsport are studying them each night in order to learn the car. M-Sport are sending a senior engineer from England for the Tasmanian round, which will help us get the car setup,” Anear added.
“There is a lot for me to adjust to being left-hand drive and there’s buttons all over the place that I’m still learning, but overall I felt very comfortable.
“The brakes are incredible and I’m braking too early compared to where I would brake in the Subaru, but that will come with time.
“After Steve (Glenney) drove the Skoda R5 last year at Coffs Harbour, he said I would learn more and be safer if I moved to an R5 car, so that made the decision for me. It’s ended up being a lot more expensive than I expected, but I thought it would be good for the championship to see a Ford R5 car in Australia.”
The R5 Fiesta, which has recently competed in the hands of Pedro Heller, Gaurav Gill and Gus Greensmith, will make its debut at next month's Subaru Rally Tasmania.
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