FIESTA S2000 MEXICO FINISH 1-2

FIESTA S2000 MEXICO FINISH 1-2
The Ford Fiesta S2000 dominated the Super 2000 World Rally Championship class at Rally Mexico from start to finish and claimed the top two steps on the podium in the hands of Xevi Pons and Martin Prokop.

The event based in the central Mexican town of León provided top class action throughout the weekend, as three on-form Ford Fiesta S2000 crews left the rest of the field trailing and fought out a close contest for SWRC honours.

Twenty-four-year-old Pole Michal Kosciuszko was off the mark quickly on day one, opening up a gap of more than 30seconds after the first loop of stages. However, his charge was halted after his alternator belt snapped and he was forced to retire. That allowed Spanish driver Xevi Pons to assume the lead, and he managed to hold off fellow Ford Fiesta S2000 runner Martin Prokop during the remainder of the day’s tests to return to service with an advantage of around eight seconds ahead of the consistent Czech. Prokop was pleased to still be in such close contention having suffered a fuel leak and some heavy damage from rocks earlier in the day.

On Saturday Pons began to stretch his lead during the first stage, SS10 Ibarrilla, but was then hampered by a clutch problem that saw him drop more than 40seconds and he fell back into second place on the SWRC leaderboard. Prokop took advantage of Pons’ misfortune and drove steadily throughout the day to finish the second leg with a narrow lead of 4.8seconds. Meanwhile, Michal Kosciuszko had enjoyed another bittersweet day of rallying. Having returned under SuperRally rules he showed fantastic pace in the Ford Fiesta S2000 to win four SWRC stages, before being hit by another mechanical problem that stopped him in his tracks once again, this time a broken propshaft.

With only four stages to complete on Sunday Prokop and Pons were set for a showdown on the dusty Mexican plains to decide who took the win. With his clutch issues resolved after overnight service Pons surged back into the lead after winning SS19 Guanajuatito, with Prokop only third-fastest. After that Prokop decided to take the points on offer for second to strengthen his championship bid rather than go flat out for the win and risk a non-finish, although he did sign off with a stage win on the final test, the SS22 Super Special. That meant Pons could drive steadily and secure victory on his first SWRC event and first rally in the Ford Fiesta S2000 by a margin of 17.6seconds.

The pace of the Ford Fiesta S2000 crews was once again highlighted by the fact that both Pons and Prokop finished eighth and ninth overall on the rally, ahead of some WRC competitors.