Windus looks forward to home ARC round

Part of the Pirtek Rally Team, Windus and fellow West Australian Jon Mortimer will take to the forests in the all-new Super 2000 version of the Ford Fiesta.
 
The Pirtek Rally Team, which also includes Michael Guest / Mark Stacey, is the first Ford team in the world to campaign the all-wheel-drive version of the Fiesta in competition.
 
The car had its debut at the Coates Rally Queensland at the start of April. Windus and Mortimer finished the second leg in fifth place overall.
 
The two-litre Focus is non-turbo and has a distinct engine note as compared to the regular turbo-charged entries.
 
"You can hear us coming that is for sure," said Windus.
 
"But that's just where the excitement begins. This car is one of the most awesome things I have ever driven. The big winners are the spectators who will see a very spectacular Ford in competition.
 
"The Pirtek Rally Team have put in an enormous effort to get the Fiesta into competition. In just 18 weeks they designed and built two cars from the ground up.
 
"We still have a long way to go and to be honest the Quit Forest Rally won't show the full potential of the car. However, we still need to stretch the legs of the Fiesta and we won't be too far off the pace.
 
"Being a WA team in our home event does bring plenty of attention. We want to take full advantage of that and get all the fans behind us over the weekend of the rally.
 
"It's important that we get through the event so that we can improve the car. I'm sure that by the second half of the year we will be making more than just noise in the forest."
 
Windus and Mortimer joined the fully professional Pirtek Rally Team after many years as privateers. For Mortimer it's without doubt the most exciting time of his career.
 
"We are usually surrounded by plenty of friends, family and supporters at the Quit Forest Rally, but this year they'll see us as part of a much larger show," said Mortimer.
 
"That has us very excited, but we are aware that being part of a professional team does bring extra responsibilities. In saying that, we are now in a situation where we can truly concentrate on what we need to do in the event and let others worry about anything else.
 
"There are a number of people in the team who we have worked with in the past and they are also enjoying the opportunity of working with such a high-profiled team."
 
Windus and Mortimer will join the rest of the Pirtek Rally Team for a pre-event test on Tuesday 24 April outside Busselton before heading into competition that weekend.

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