British engine for S2000 Fiestas

British-based engine preparation expert Mountune Racing has provided the power plants for the all-new Ford Fiesta Super 2000 rally cars which make their debut on next week's opening round of the NEC Australian Rally Championship.  The six-round ARC programme marks Mountune's first project in the new Super 2000 category which is becoming increasingly significant in rallying worldwide.   
 
The Pirtek Rally Team cars have been developed at the Melbourne-base of Britek Rallye Sport, owned by Australian V8 Supercar driver Jason Bright.  The two Fiestas will be driven by Michael Guest / Mark Stacey and Darren Windus / Jon Mortimer for the first time in competition on the coates Rally Queensland, based near Brisbane on 31 March - 1 April.  The programme is also backed by Ford Australia.
 
The initial link between Mountune Racing, based east of London in Essex, and the Britek operation was Gavin Selth.  Selth was project engineer for Mountune in 1999 when the company built the engines for Ford's official Focus World Rally Cars in the FIA World Rally Championship.  He is now engine manager for the Pirtek team.
 
Mountune Racing only received the final go-ahead for the project on 20 November last year, yet the first engine was run on the dyno on 12 February.  That was delivered to Australia four days later and the second and third engines were sent earlier this month.  Power and torque figures for the two-litre Ford Duratec unit exceeded all expectations.
 
David Mountain, managing director of Mountune Racing, said: "The team has done a great job in such a short space of time and we're delighted with the results.  The success of the project was helped in no small way by the professional manner in which Britek handled the project.  Accurate communication is vital when there is such a huge distance separating both companies and both parties knew what each other was doing every step of the way."
 
Senior designer Cos Gauci said Mountune Racing's prior experience with the engine helped greatly but the timescale ensured the project was a tough challenge to complete on time.  "It has gone well out of the box and we look forward to a great season with Britek and Ford Australia," he added.
 
Mountune Racing has more than 25 years at the leading edge of engine development and preparation in rallying, racing and road cars.  It has more than 150 international race and rally victories, including success in the FIA World Rally Championship and the European and British Formula Ford Championships.

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