FIESTAS READY TO ROCK!
Both Juniors and Seniors will test their metal on Rockingham's banking – Photo: Bourne Photographic
This weekend sees both of our Ford Fiesta Championships in action at Rockingham Motor Speedway on the International Super Sports Car Long layout, with support from our friends in the Pickup Truck Racing Championship (who will be using the full oval) and the high-speed Time Attack series.
Saturday’s action will mostly be dominated by the boys and girls of Time Attack across 10 classes. Originating on the racetracks of Japan, Time Attack has evolved to become one of the most significant and engaging motorsport phenomena of our time, as drivers do whatever it takes to achieve the fastest lap of the day. It defines the art of focused car modification and embraces the complete spectrum of tuning levels – from a road-based trackday car to a full-blown, mega-horsepower monster, rewarding drivers who achieve ultimate success in each of the categories and classes. This weekend’s entry list features machines ranging from Mitsubishi Evo’s, Mazda RX-7s and a pair of Noble M12s to Peugeot 205s, Citroen Saxos, Honda Civics and even a Daihatsu Charade! How’s that for diversity!
Moving into Sunday, our pair of championships get to strut their stuff with the Fiesta Juniors up first. This season has seen an exciting scrap between Aaron Thompson, Michael Higgs and Nathan Edwards, all of which in their second season and separated by 23 points collectively. Thompson is praying for a polar opposite to his Silverstone fortunes which saw technical problems force a non-score from the entire weekend. Higgs and Edwards took full advantage to eat away Thompson’s points lead on dropped scores, but the man of the hour was undoubtedly Carlito Miracco. Taking his first two victories in only his 6th weekend of racing, he will be one to watch, as will the #20 of Ronan Quinn. The Junior series continues to provide a fantastic entry point for young drivers wishing to take their first steps into car racing in a cost-effective and friendly environment.
Over in the “senior” Jam-Sport Fiesta Championship, James “JJ” Ross has been on inspired form recently, winning the last 5 races overall in succession and closing in on Class C points leader Scott Roberston. Except them to have the likes of Simon Horrobin, Jamie Going and Samuel Priest for company. In the other 3 classes, frontrunners in each are expected to be David Nye and David Abbott (Class D), Stuart Robbins (Class B) and James Styles (Class A). The Jam-Sport Fiestas allow four generations of Ford popular little hatchback to race alongside each other, with each generation segmented into its own class. For this weekend, Class C will run separately to the others, leaving Classes A,B and D to fight amongst themselves.
Finally, the Pickup Truck Racing Championship joins us for the second time this year to bring a NASCAR-style flavour to the weekend. It’s a close fight at the head of the standings between Michael Smith and Mark Willis. Other drivers who are also sure to be in the mix for podiums and potential race wins are Paul Jones, Gavin Murray, Freddie Lee and Anthony Hawkins. The Pickups will feature 3 races on Sunday and look set to give us more door-to-door racing, typical of the style of racing they look to mimic from their American cousins.
The weather for this weekend, bearing in mind that both the oval and sportscar layouts are being utilized, will remain try throughout. There will be some cloud hanging around and temperatures don’t look set to exceed 16 degrees, at their best. Still, one fun fact is that the Pickups DO race on the oval in the wet – something NASCAR doesn’t do! To check the forecast out for yourself, head to ROCKINGHAM WEATHER.
The provisional timetable, final instructions and entry list for this weekend, including a separate one for Time Attack on Saturday, can be found at ROCKINGHAM RACE WEEKEND.
Scott Woodwiss
