M-Sport has announced plans to launch a one-make series for the Ford Fiesta R2 in this year’s edition of the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC).
To be known as ‘Ford Fiesta SportTrophy Europe’, the series will take in four classic rounds of the ERC. Commencing at the illustrious ‘Giru di Corsica-Tour de Corse’ in May, the championship will then venture to the stages of the ‘GEKO Ypres Rally’ in Belgium and the ‘Barum Czech Rally Zlín’ in the Czech Republic before Rally Poland brings the season to a close in September.
Battling throughout each challenging event, competitors will be fighting for the ultimate prize – a chance to pilot an M-Sport supported Ford Fiesta S2000 at Rallye Sanremo in October.
The programme will operate on an ‘arrive and drive’ format with all cars built and maintained by M-Sport from their base in Krakow, Poland.
The series will also be open to regional drivers on a one-off basis. Despite not being eligible to score points, M-Sport is encouraging local Fiesta R2 competitors to join the championship with their own cars. Benefiting from all the series has to offer, this initiative will also provide those with lower budgets the perfect platform on which to compare their speed with ERC regulars.
Up to five places will be available with the cost of entry set at £70,000 GBP. For more information on the series and for details on how to apply, prospective drivers should contact Andrew Wheatley (awheatley@m-sport.co.uk) or Maciej Woda (mwoda@m-sport.co.uk).
M-Sport Managing Director, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said:
“Following the success of our one-make series on the world stage, the next logical step for M-Sport was to bridge the gap between our globally successful Ford Fiesta SportTrophy programmes by implementing the concept on the European rally scene.
“The ERC [European Rally Championship] is a fantastic championship, and with a car like the [Ford] Fiesta R2 – which has proven itself as a highly competitive and reliable model – we hope to see some impressive young talents coming through the ranks.”
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