So when the opportunity arose for me to test drive one of the car’s earmarked for the Ford Fiesta Rally Series in Victoria, I jumped at the chance. But to be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect.I’d seen plenty of Fiestas in various trim running in events across Australia and New Zealand, and while they looked to be reliable and fun to drive, they didn’t look like something that would get me out of a rear-wheel drive Escort and into a front-wheel drive shopping trolley. Luckily for me, preconceived ideas can be quickly thrown out the window.
The Ford Fiesta rally car is deceptively fast and is great fun to drive.
While the Excel series continues as a true entry-level category in the sport, the Fiesta series is for those with either a little more coin in their pockets, or the desire to go faster in a more modern car.My test drive was held on Brendan Reeves’ own test track, which he also uses for his driver training courses throughout the year. About a kilometre and a half in length, it offers a wide variety of conditions and cambers, and is ideal to test a car’s capabilities.
RallySport Magazine's Peter Whitten familiarises himself with the Fiesta's interior layout.
The most notable addition is a sequential five-speed Sadev gearbox. I’d used a sequential box many moons ago when I drove Simon Evans’ VW Golf Kit Car, so was looking forward to blasting through the gears with clutch-less changes.By the time I got my chance behind the wheel, Carney and Reeves had already ensured that the front tyres were shot, but with dry and dusty conditions, that wouldn’t prove to be much of a problem. After a sighting lap around the track, and with Reeves sitting shot-gun, I put my foot down and was immediately amazed by the power of the Fiesta’s 1.6-litre engine.
Neat, compact and purposeful – the Fiesta is a real rally car.
Warm conditions soon saw the tyres worn out, but the Fiesta still had loads of grip.
Aspiring rally drivers could do a lot worse than consider Ford's robust Fiesta.
And perhaps the most telling question I’ve been asked since is: “Would I buy one?”. The answer is a definite yes.While my heart lies in a rear-wheel drive car that you can power slide through corners, the lure of a modern, front-wheel drive car that would leave most of its ‘rooster tailing’ rivals in its wake is difficult to ignore. My two rally-mad sons are now scouring eBay and Gumtree looking for possible project cars …..
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https://rallysportmag.com/where-are-they-now-ed-ordynski/ https://rallysportmag.com/wrc-teams-test-new-cars-as-2018-regulations-appear/SUBSCRIBE BELOW TO READ THE FULL STORY
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