Clark aims for the hat-trick in Sardinia

British driver Barry Clark (24) is aiming to defend his championship lead by going for a hat-trick of wins on Rally d’Italia Sardegna next weekend (17-20 May). The Aberdeen driver and Carlisle co-driver, Scott Martin (25), won the two opening rounds of the Fiesta SportingTrophy International (FSTi) in the snow of Rally Norway and the gravel of Rally de Portugal. Their performances leave them as strong contenders for the title, but judging by the pace of fellow Brits Simon Hughes (23) and co-driver Claire Mole (38) in Portugal, the battle for the win will go right down to the wire.

The seven round series follows the FIA World Rally Championship calendar and Rally d’Italia Sardegna is the third round of the Fiesta SportingTrophy International, as well as the second outing on gravel stages. Crews in the competitive one-make championship will drive identical Ford Fiesta ST GpN cars that offer 165PS from the 2-litre Duratec engine.

Previously based in Sanremo, the Italian round of the WRC moved to the Mediterranean island of Sardinia in 2005 and has a reputation of being one of the toughest tests in the World Championship, covering 343 kilometres in 18 stages over three days.

Current leaders Clark and Martin, and Russian team Evgeniy Vertunov (23) and co-driver Georgiy Troshkin (29) are the only FSTi competitors in 2007 to have previously driven on the event. All will be keen to improve upon last year’s results when Clark finished fourth and Vertunov fifth, behind first placed Alessandro Bettega (26). 2006 FSTi champions Bettega and co-driver Simone Scattolin (31) will be battling against their FIA Junior Rally Championship counterparts on their home event in a Ford Fiesta S1600 as part of their prize for winning last year’s championship.

Following their WRC debut in Portugal, Italians Gianni Barbati (26) and co-driver Fabio Cadore (38) hope to improve upon their respectable fifth place finish. Portugal was Barbati’s first gravel event and he took a steady approach in order to make it to the finish line.

In Sardinia, however, he will push harder and try to catch Lithuanian driver Vytautas Baranauskas (23) and co-driver Celiešius Gediminas (35) to take fourth position from them in the championship standings. Both crews will have competed on non-WRC events in order to get a few extra kilometers under their belts; Baranauskas on a Lithuanian national championship rally and Barbati on Il Lanterna, the inaugural round of the Italian Fiesta SportingTrophy.

The rivalry between the Brits is set to continue into Sardinia. Hughes finished just 37.9 seconds behind Clark over a distance of 357 kilometres in Portugal. With a seven-point deficit in the championship, Hughes will be giving everything he’s got in order to prevent Clark from claiming the hat-trick.

Even with a comfortable lead, Clark and Martin won’t be taking it easy. They entered the record books in both Norway and Portugal by finishing in 29th and 25th respectively overall, the highest placed Fiesta ST on a WRC event. They’re in the habit of smashing records and don’t intend to stop now.

Barry Clark said:
“I’m really looking forward to this rally and getting back into the Fiesta. We did the event last year but the stages are very different this time round so we will be making a lot of fresh notes. It’s good to have experience from last year and hopefully we can go a few places better this year. The hat-trick would be nice, but I have a strong championship lead so my main aim is to keep the car on the road and ahead in the championship. It’s going to be a good battle in Sardinia and I’m sure Simon [Hughes] will give us a run for our money.”

Simon Hughes said:
“This is a new rally for us but I’m really looking forward to competing in Sardinia and pushing for my first win. Barry [Clark] is going to be quick, especially with previous experience of the rally, but if we have a good clean run and show the pace we had in Portugal we can definitely challenge for the win. We haven’t competed since Portugal, which has given us time to rebuild the Fiesta; it’s practically a new car now! We pushed Barry as hard as we could in Portugal and I think it’s going to be the same in Sardinia; I’m confident the car will stand up to the challenge. I’ve been training between rallies; mountain biking three to four nights a week and I’m feeling fit and ready for the challenge.”

Gianni Barbati said:
“We decided to race in the Italian Fiesta SportingTrophy just before the WRC event in Sardinia. It will be good training and we have a strong chance of taking the win on tarmac. I have never raced the Fiesta ST on this surface, but it is an easy car to race and you can get a good feeling with it very quickly. Competing on the Il Lanterna rally will not only refresh my driving skills before Sardinia, it will also give me practice in the Fiesta on tarmac before the first WRC event on the same surface, Rally Deutschland.”