The 2010 Fiesta SportTrophy International (FSTi) series got off to a challenging start in Turkey this weekend as Britain's Harry Hunt finished the three-day event in a record breaking 18^th position, the highest classified Fiesta R2 in a WRC event to date.  The previous record was held by Lambros Athanassoulas from Greece, who finished a credible 25^th overall in Spain last year.

Craig Breen and co-driver Gareth Roberts, driving a Castrol Ford Team Turkiye GpN Fiesta ST got off to a flying start by setting the fastest time on SS1. Briton Harry Hunt struggled with dust on the opening 15.66 km stage, finishing 5.5 seconds behind the young Irishman, but 30.9 seconds ahead of Victor Henriksson who reported problems with his engine cutting out. 

In SS2, Hunt narrowly avoided two cars that were partially blocking the stage. The stage was stopped shortly after Hunt had completed his pass, meaning that Breen and Henriksson were awarded notional times by the stewards. Following a long delay, the drivers were released into SS3, where Breen beat the struggling Henriksson by 4.8 seconds and Hunt by 7.4 seconds. 

During the final stage of the morning, Henriksson had established a technique to deal with his engine problems, although they still persisted for the rest of the day.  Nonetheless, he still managed to produce the fastest stage time for SS4, 5.7 seconds ahead of Breen and 15.1 seconds faster than Hunt.

The lunchtime service saw Breen in 19^th position overall and leading the FSTi class one minute and 18 seconds ahead of Hunt.  Hunt was 9.25 seconds ahead of Henriksson.

SS5 began the repeat of the morning loop and Breen continued to dominate the FSTi class as he produced another fastest time, beating Henriksson by 9.3 seconds and Hunt by 11.4 seconds. SS6 saw Breen move up into 22^nd position overall where he beat his time set on the first loop by 16 seconds and widened the gap to Hunt to 53.4 seconds. Breen set the fastest stage times during the final two stages of the afternoon, 13.3 seconds ahead of Henriksson in SS7 and 16.2 seconds ahead of Hunt.  During SS8, Hunt was only 1.4 seconds behind Breen and Henriksson 5.6 seconds behind the Irishman. 

SS9 was the Istanbul Super Special Stage, which helped consolidate Breen's fantastic position after Day 1 where he led the FSTi series by 1 minute 19 seconds to Harry Hunt.  Breen has also won eight of the day's nine stages in the N3 class and was placed 19^th overall. Henriksson had won Stages 3 to 7 and Stage 9 in the R2 class and was in 21^st position, just 9.2 seconds behind Hunt.

The second day of Rally Turkey was greeted by sunshine and the eight stages were based north of Rally HQ. Henriksson's woes continued when he lost power 2 km into SS10.  The 22-year-old Swede eventually managed to restart the car, making it to SS11, where his brake disc shattered, forcing his retirement.  Breen set the fastest time in the opening stage of Day 2, beating Hunt by 16.9 seconds in SS11.  The mixed surface of SS12 saw Hunt taking a corner too quickly and sliding off the road backwards, resulting in a bent steering arm. This error cost the young Brit around two minutes, dropping him into fifth in the J-WRC.  Breen led the N3 class by over five minutes after the morning's stages and was an incredible 16^th overall.   SS13 Breen started having problems with second gear but managed to finish the rally's longest stage 1 minute and 9.3 seconds ahead of Hunt.

The lunchtime service was action packed for all teams, with Henriksson's car being repaired after his retirement, Hunt's steering arm rectified and Breen's gearbox replaced.  The latter was one minute late out of service, incurring the Irishman a ten second penalty.

Stage 14 saw the repeat of the morning's loop and Breen beat Hunt by 19.7 seconds.  Hunt won his first stage point in SS15 when he produced an extremely fast stage time, beating Breen by 20.3 seconds.

SS16 was to catch Hunt out, after loose gravel had been dragged onto a Tarmac section by the front-running cars, causing him to slide wide and become beached.  Spectators helped to push the car back onto the road, but he lost almost four minutes in the process. Breen's rear stub axle had managed to work its way loose and the wheel sheared off, resulting in retirement and leaving Hunt as the sole runner and FSTi leader at the end of Day 2. At the end of day 3, Hunt was leading the FSTi class, 3 minutes and 32 seconds ahead of Breen and as a result of SupeRally penalties Henriksson had dropped to 34^th position overall.  Hunt was leading the R2 class by 2 minutes and 9.5 seconds and running as high 21^st overall. 

While Breen and Henriksson had a number of hours in which to repair their cars, Hunt had just 45 minutes in which his I-Cars team had to weld the chassis legs, after cracks had appeared, in addition to the usual servicing requirements.  It was left until the 15-minute morning service to change his tank guard, which had been damaged during the previous day, so the team had their work cut out.

Breen and Henriksson returned to the rally on the final day under SupeRally regulations and incurred ten- and 40-minute penalties respectively.  Heavy overnight rain resulted in the cancellation of SS18 and SS19 on safety grounds.  SS20, the only stage of the morning, saw Breen stop to change a wheel after suffering a puncture, losing him over three minutes.  Leader Hunt had a hairy moment when he hit a large rock in stage, but fortunately this only resulted in a dent in his sumpguard. Henriksson was back on form, setting a blistering time  of 11 minutes and 26.8 seconds, demonstrating what he was really capable of when his car was on form and winning that stage by 46.2 seconds to Hunt.  At the lunchtime service, Hunt was heading up the FSTi class and in 19^th position overall, 17 minutes and 14.3 seconds ahead of Breen and 31 minutes and 12.5 seconds ahead of Henriksson.

With all battles settled, the drivers intended to drive with caution in order to complete the final loop of three stages.  SS21 was stopped before the Fiestas entered the stage, resulting in notional times being awarded by the stewards.  Disaster struck 1 km from the end of the penultimate stage when Henriksson heard an incorrect pacenote and rolled his Fiesta R2 out of the rally.  Breen set the fastest time on SS22, finishing 34.4 seconds ahead of Hunt. In the final stage, Breen finished 27.9 seconds ahead of Hunt, who was mindful of finishing his first WRC rally and banking a strong points haul for FSTi, where he is competing for an all-expenses-paid test in the newly developed Ford Fiesta S2000 with BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team driver Mikko Hirvonen.  Hunt also receives a €1,500 M-Sport voucher.

At the end of Day 3, Henriksson had taken the R2 class win in Stage 20 and Breen took the N3 class wins in Stages 22 and 23 and finished in 22^nd position overall, 6 minutes and 17.3 seconds behind Hunt. Hunt was leading the FSTi class by the end of Day 3 and finished in an astonishing 18^th position overall, a new record for the Fiesta R2.  Castrol FST Turkey National Turkish Rally Championship driver Murat Bostanci also broke the record for the highest finishing Fiesta ST in a WRC event at 20^th overall - smashing the previous record of 24^th overall held by German Patrick Anglade.

As in previous years, the series winner plus one 'wildcard' will be put forward to the FST International Shootout to compete against drivers from other FST championships around the world in order to win a year's contract to work at M-Sport with the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team.

Despite finishing in second place, Breen takes the FSTi lead by four points as a result of the 14 points he gained by winning 14 stages.  The series, run by M-Sport with support from Pirelli, will next take in the Vodafone Rally de Portugal from 28 to 31 May.

Harry Hunt said:
"I'm in shock - I never expected to win my first FSTi round.  It was a great rally and I've started the season with a good points score, so I couldn't be happier.  We took the last stage so slowly, changing down a gear for each crest and corner.  I'm so pleased to have made it to the finish on such a tough event."

Craig Breen said:
"I didn't think we'd done enough to lead the championship, I'm surprised to be in this position. I was disappointed that three stages were cancelled today as I would like to have challenged Harry [Hunt]. It's a shame that we can't continue this FSTi campaign after such a strong start, but we are committed to the BRC [British Rally Championship] with the Fiesta S2000.  It's been a great rally and its been the best fun I've ever had in a rally car."

FSTi Round 1: Driver by driver

Harry Hunt (GBR): Hunt made steady progress on Day 1, but incurred front end damage after landing heavily over a jump.  He encountered problems during SS12 when he slid off the road and bent his left steering arm, costing him over two minutes.  Sliding on loose gravel on SS16 beached his car, having to be pushed back by spectators and losing almost four minutes. All things considered, the inexperienced Hunt did well to finish his first WRC event, especially given the challenging nature of this event.  Three stage wins.

Craig Breen (IRE): Breen had a good opening day reporting few problems and producing some eight of the nine fastest stage times in the FSTi class.  Day 2 delivered misfortune when he the rear stub axle worked its way loose and he lost a wheel, which forced him into retirement.  Breen re-entered Day 3 under SupeRally regulations and suffered from a puncture in Stage 20.  The reigning FSTi champion demonstrated serious pace here once again.  14 stages wins.

Victor Henriksson (SWE): Despite the engine problems of Day 1, Henriksson demonstrated excellent pace and an ability to drive around these problems.  A shattered brake disc ended his campaign for Day 2 of the rally, but his one trouble-free stage resulted in a splintering time on SS20, demonstrating his real pace.  An incorrect pacenote on the penultimate stage resulted in a roll and retirement from the rally. Two stage wins.