ST Trophy announces new tyre supplier for 2018 and special Autosport Show deal

The Fiesta ST Trophy will now be known as the MRF ST Trophy following a new deal agreed for 2018 and beyond with the Indian tyre giant to supply the control tyres for the series.

Ian Arden, Series Co-ordinator said: “We were approached by a number of tyre manufacturers and after discussions we concluded that MRF provided the best and most beneficial solution for the ST Trophy. This agreement secures support and many opportunities for our series entrants long into the future, including subsidised tyre prices and tyre development, which we believe are important factors in helping the series grow."

"We would like to thank DMack for their support over the last two years. It was not an easy decision to change tyre manufacturer".

MRF are no strangers to rallying having participated in the Asia Pacific Championship for many years, resulting in 8 APRC titles. MRF also supply the control tyres for the Australian Rally Championship , as well as competing in many other national series throughout Europe including the BTRDA championship.

Jerry Freeman of MRF said: “The approach taken by the ST Trophy team to presenting an efficient series whilst also providing developmental opportunities for both young and experienced teams, fits nicely with MRF’s ethos and so we see this agreement as a natural fit.  We have some exciting future plans for the MRF ST Trophy which will be announced in due course.”

MRF have a stand at Autosport International and any Crews signing up to the 2018 MRF ST Trophy at the show, will receive an extra 10% discount on their first set of four MRF tyres purchased.

MRF will also be supporting the 2018 Castrol R2 prize winner by providing their tyres for the 2019 BTRDA R2 Cup.

Major new prize announced for 2018 ST Trophy

As part of the continued year on year improvement in the development of the ST Trophy, the organising team is pleased to announce the top prize for the 2018 winner – and there will be more prizes announced in the near future.

The 2018 ST Trophy series winner will win a subsidized season in the 2019 BTRDA R2 Cup, using the Castrol R2 Fiesta.  This new championship is expected to be very competitive, providing a great cost- effective platform for an ST driver to step up to, in the higher spec R2 car. Tim Kirvan-Rodgers commented: “Stepping up to an R2 car is a natural progression for our ST Competitiors, however the cost to take that step is quite a big jump and not within everyone’s budget."

"We as organisers pride ourselves in trying to help our competitors’ progress, so we are pleased to be able to offer the use of the Castrol R2 car as a prize for the full 2019 BTRDA season in the R2 cup. The winning crew will have to pay the running costs of the car but it still makes it a very cost effective way to progress within in the sport”.

In addition to the use of the R2, we have an excellent tyre package on offer, Castrol will be providing oil prize’s throughout the year with Mintex continuing to provide brake pads prizes on each round.

The ST Trophy has seen incredibly close competition since it was first launched two years ago, with some great talent coming through the ranks.  It is hoped this will continue into 2018, with the added incentive of some great prizes on offer to the competitors.

Further deals are to be announced shortly, with the primary aim of keeping the costs of running the car as low as possible for the competitors.

Major new prize announcements for 2018 Fiesta ST Trophy coming soon

As part of the continued year on year improvement in the development of the ST Trophy, the organising team is pleased to announce that the prize's for the 2018 championship will be bigger and better – and there will be further prizes announced in the near future.

  

The Fiesta ST Trophy has seen incredibly close competition since it was first launched two years ago, with some great talent coming through the ranks.  It is hoped this will continue into 2018, with the added incentive of some great prizes on offer to the competitors.

Castrol will be providing oil prize’s throughout the year with Mintex continuing to provide brake pads prize’s on each round.

Further deals are to be announced shortly, with the primary aim of keeping the costs of running the car as low as possible for the competitors.

The 2018 regulations and entry form will be available on the website very shortly.

May we take this opportunity to wish all of our competitors a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2018.

Keep up to date with announcements on the website as well as our Facebook page.

Currie claims victory in Trackrod Fiesta finale

The DMACK ST Trophy championship reached it’s finale last weekend on Trackrod Rally Yorkshire and it was Tobermory’s Alasdair Currie who ended the season with a win after tying on time with Richard Wells.

Currie and co-driver Steven Brown got their event off to a great start, setting fastest time in the long Langdale stage ahead of 2017 title winner Sam Bilham.

Bilham’s hopes of rounding off his year with another win were dashed in stage two, Staindale, when a misfire caused him to stop for over five minutes: “We had to pull over but we got going again eventually, albeit at reduced pace. We rectified the problem in service but we’d lost too much time so just went out to enjoy ourselves. It’s a slightly disappointing way to end the season but we achieved what we wanted to this year with the championship win, that’s the main thing.”

Currie maintained his leading position in Staindale but it was Richard Wells and Calvin Houldsworth who were quickest in the stage, moving up to second on the Fiesta leaderboard.

Stages in Gale Rigg and Cropton were up next. Currie was fastest in Gale Rigg but only by 0.8 seconds from Wells. With his car back in good health it was Bilham who was quickest in Cropton.

Going into the last stage, in the notoriously tough Dalby forest, it was all to play for as Currie led Wells by just 5.2 seconds. In a very dramatic finish Wells beat Currie by exactly 5.2 seconds which meant that the two crews ended on the same time, Currie being classed as the victor on a tie-break ruling which gave him second overall in the championship and the prize of using a Castrol-backed Fiesta R2 on Wales Rally GB.

“It was a great end to my first year in the woods,” said Currie. “We have chased this result through the season. We struggled a bit early on as we were catching cars and losing time behind them. I’m delighted to get the win and the Rally GB prize drive.”

Despite losing out on the tie-break Wells was pleased with his result: “I really enjoyed the day. We had a steady start in Langdale which meant we had a big challenge to try and overhaul Ally for the rest of the event. We almost got there. The car ran faultlessly all day and I’m pleased I was able to bring the battle right down to the wire.”

Finishing third of the DMACK ST Trophy crews was Jon Ambler and Simon Jones who were challenging for third place on the end of season leaderboard.

“We didn’t push too hard as we were focussed on the championship,” commented Ambler. “In a rough and muddy rally it was nice not to have to take risks. We brought the car home with no issues or moments and it was very satisfying to get third after our retirement on the Nicky Grist Stages. Thanks to the organisers for a really enjoyable championship.”

Tom Easson and Abi Haycock were fourth: “We had a good run, we started strong but the second stage was a bit messy. I built confidence throughout the event and the times were improving. I made a couple of mistakes in Dalby which cost us some time but I still finished well which I’m happy with.”

After his problems in stage two Bilham finished in fifth place with the other Fiesta entrant, Martin Laverty, having to retire following a troublesome day which included power steering issues and an overheating engine.

Please visit www.sttrophy.co.uk or www.facebook.com/fiestasttrophy for more information on the DMACK ST Trophy.

Finlay takes top honours

Finlay Retson & Tom Hynd take their first DMack ST Trophy win, the former Scottish Junior Champion pace has been improving with each round. Aly Currie and Steven Brown felt a little off the pace in the morning but set fastest time on the final stage to finish second in their bid to win the R2 subsidised Drive and a free entry on WRGB National. Richard Wells and Calvin Houldsworth enjoyed a finish after a run of bad luck to finish third.

Report to follow...