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Fiesta Championship bid ends for Fagg |
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Tuesday,
September 19, 2011 |
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Recent News » |
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» Fiesta
Championship bid ends for
Fagg...
READ |
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Tuesday, September 19, 2011 |
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» Le
Mans challenge has dazzle
and drama...
READ |
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Friday,
July 8, 2011 |
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» Consistency
puts Fagg top of the table...
READ |
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Thursday,
June 2, 2011 |
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» Borders
battle beckons for Fagg...
READ |
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Monday,
May 22, 2011 |
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» Fagg
overcomes Kielder challenge...
READ |
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Tuesday,
May 3, 2011 |
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» Fagg
heads to tackle Kielder...
READ |
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Thursday, April
28, 2011 |
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Despite missing the last round of the UK Fiesta
SportTrophy Championship, the Toddsleap.com Ulster
Rally, Isle of Man based rally co-driver Rob Fagg
remains in second position in the series and with a
realistic chance of claiming the title.
Sadly though for the Cannon Tech (Scotland) backed
Manxman, it is the end of the road for the title
challenge and a disappointing end to a championship
which started so encouragingly.
Competing alongside Welsh youngster Nick Cristofaro,
32 year old Fagg started the season strongly as the
pair claimed the runners-up spot on the Bournemouth
based Rallye Sunseeker. With Nick making his debut
at International level and also contesting only his
fifth full stage rally following his graduation late
in 2010 from the Junior Rallying series, it was
indeed more than expected so early in the season.
The series then moved to Wales and some of the best
forest stages in the world as the pair tackled the
Bulldog International Rally of North Wales. It would
be another strong showing for Nick and Synergy IT
sponsored Rob, especially as they were competing in
the older Ford Fiesta ST against the newer more
modern R2 model the majority of crews were using.
Just as another podium finish was insight, gearbox
issues forced them to settle for a finish and forth
place, but still it was more points on the board.
Round 3 took the crews north to Cumbria for the
Pirelli International Rally and some of the toughest
forest stages in the series. Not fazed by their
reputation, no to mention it also being his first
experience of night driving, Nick drove beyond his
years. With a ‘must finish’ approach a stunning
second podium of the year was recorded and second in
the championship behind the vastly more experienced
WRC Academy member and former Fiesta World, UK and
Ireland Champion Craig Breen.
Next up came a change of surface for the
championship with the closed road tarmac stages of
the Jim Clark Memorial Rally based in the Scottish
Borders town of Kelso in late May.
Another solid performance in tricky conditions was
rewarded with fourth place and the lead of the
championship following the retirement of leader
Breen, but it had come at a cost, as prior to the
event the team had struggle for budget and it was
only a last minute decision to take the event start.
Given those budget issues, Nick took the decision to
miss the next round of the series, the Ulster Rally,
due to the high costs of travelling across the Irish
sea, instead setting his focus on the remaining
rounds. With Breen also missing Ulster it was a
missed opportunity to extend the championship lead,
but with dropped scores it was not all bad news.
As it was the event results saw Nick drop to third
in his absence while Rob dropped just one spot to
second, both still in with a shout at the titles
subject to budget being secured to enable entries to
the remaining two rounds.
Unfortunately Rob recently received the news from
Nick that he would be competing on the penultimate
round, Trackrod Rally Yorkshire, but he would be
doing so with another navigator who had been able to
secure financial support for the event to assist
with Nick’s costs. Unfortunately with no alternative
to continue in the series, Rob is left on the
sidelines and any hopes of title success gone with
it.
“I am obviously very disappointed to end my title
chase in this manor. My sponsors have been great in
helping me cover my costs etc to enable me to
compete, and they don’t deserve this early end”,
commented Rob.
“Nick explained prior the Ulster rally that money
was tight and he would not be competing. Shortly
after the event I received a message explaining he
would compete on the Trackrod after securing the
budget through a new navigator. I am gutted as I
feel despite missing Ulster we both had a good shot
at winning the series. For me though it is over and
I can only wish Nick luck for the final two rounds.”
Rob is supported in 2011 by Cannon Tech.
(Scotland) Ltd (www.cannontech.co.uk),
Robert Graham & Co Quantity Surveyors, Synergy IT (www.synergyit.co.im),
Cable Design Services (www.cdsl.net),
Holton Homes (www.holtonhomes.co.uk),
Nicky Grist Motorsport (www.nickygrist.com)
and Fastime Stopwatches (www.astopwatch.com) |
