New car and points bonus for DMACK trophy
Evolution R2 gets turbo power
Ari brings Vatanen Touch to Trophy
Former world champion Ari Vatanen will play a key role in identifying new talent chasing a prize drive in a round of next season’s WRC.
The 1981 title winner will nominate one non-registered driver from each round of this year’s Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy to go forward to the end-of-season shootout, at which the winner will land a one-off drive in a Ford Fiesta R5 on a 2016 WRC event.
For the first time all registered Trophy competitors will be eligible for a shootout place, along with Vatanen’s selections and a wildcard nomination.
“We’re honoured to have Ari Vatanen back our quest to reward private drivers who may not be able to undertake the full Trophy but still want to gauge their speed and compete cost-effectively,” said DMACK motorsport director Dick Cormack.
“We’ve made a few changes this year which now give every single driver entering the Trophy a chance to win a prize drive. We feel that move will open up the competition to even more drivers,” he added.
The Trophy winner will again land a seven-round WRC 2 programme in 2016 with the DMACK squad, following in the footsteps of Estonia’s Sander Pärn who lifted the 2015 title.
The six-round Trophy starts at Vodafone Rally de Portugal (21 - 24 May) and while entry applications remain open until 17 April, 2015 runner-up Tom Cave and Max Vatanen are confirmed starters.
Crews will use the new Fiesta R2, powered by Ford’s 1.0-litre turbocharged EcoBoost engine, which made its public bow in the hands of Elfyn Evans at Rally North Wales recently.
