Wednesday 24th June 2015

Leaders Hillclimb Multi Car Challenge - Fiesta ST

Doune is Al Suttie's local hillclimb - no excuses this time!

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The Doune Hillclimb is a great hillclimb for many reasons, not least because it's about a mile from my front door. That means it's a five-minute hop in the car rather than a five-hour schlep to most venues for the British Leaders Championship.

Hillclimbing in a Fiesta ST? Sounds fun!

Another reason for eagerly anticipating this round of the Primo PLC Leaders Multi Car Hillclimb Challenge, other than a lie-in, was the car we had lined up: the Ford Fiesta ST with Mountune kit.

Ford's official figures say the 215hp Mountune version knocks off 0.2 seconds from the standard car's 6.9 second 0-62mph time. Driving the car on the road, it felt brisker even than that and served to make me and teammate David Finlay all the keener to get cracking up Doune's 1,350-metre course.

Some of that enthusiasm was dampened (ahem) by a very wet start to practice on Saturday morning. Still, I've been up Doune's course more than any other and know where to take it steady. On this occasion, that turned out to be everywhere as the Fiesta struggled for traction off the line and then slithered through every twist and turn.

Doesn't seem to miss an LSD actually

With no limited-slip differential like the Vauxhall Corsa VXR we ran at Loton Park the week before, the Fiesta could have been a handful. However, nimble and benign handling allied to a much more linear power delivery than the VXR meant that the first greasy run up the hill was completed without incident.

A very conservative 64.53-second run was largely irrelevant as it was more of a sighting lap. The second practice of Saturday kicked off dry on the start line and through the fearsome Oaktree to Garden Gate. Both of these sections are hemmed in by earthen banks so there is no line of sight through them, which means it's all about knowledge, experience and confidence.

The Ford felt great through here, but as I braked for Junction and emerged into the Meadow, it became clear the dry part of the track had ended and the whole of Meadow was still sodden. Yikes.

A 58.04 felt respectable, but David then went up a few minutes later in 55.89 seconds. So, more work required.

"Hang on mate, how come you're so quick?"

In between runs, we had the pleasure of meeting Brian Fraser, who helps run Blood Bikes Scotland. This is part of the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes, whose volunteers do an amazing job of supporting the NHS, so any help you can give them is very welcome.

Third practice was completely dry and the sun even put in a late appearance. Pushing harder than I'd ever gone through Oaktree, a dab of brakes for Garden Gate and flat around the Meadow for my first time ever resulted in a 55.93. The only trouble was, David then posted a 54.83.

Sunday practice was dry but cold, so times were a bit off Saturday afternoon's best, but the first competition run saw the sun out. I managed my best start of the weekend with 2.77 seconds to 64-feet and pressed as hard I dared. It felt okay but not as smooth as Saturday's best and I was proved right with a 56.19-second time. David went up in 54.87 seconds and Grant McLellan rocketed up in his Subaru Impreza RA in a personal best, and ultimately class-winning, 53.31 seconds.

Not bad, but no class victory this time

I was hoping to keep Neil Duncanson behind me in his modified Audi Quattro Coupe as it was only his first visit to Doune. It was a forlorn hope as Neil is a very quick learner and his last run netted a 54.89-second time to best my 56.10. David turned in a 54.32 to emphasis why smooth driving is key to going well at Doune.

I was a bit disappointed at first, but still managed to push the Fiesta within a tenth of my PB, which was set in more powerful and faster Vauxhall Astra VXR. It proves the Fiesta is a superb car for this sort of motorsport thanks to its agility, deft gear shift action, handling and balance. I was also buoyed by a five-minute drive home to a hot shower and cold beer!

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Previous reports:
Mercedes A45 AMG
Abarth 695 Biposto
BMW i8
Vauxhall Corsa VXR

Watch the video here.

 

Photos: Rich Danby

 

[sad61t]

Sounds like a fun weekend. Did you find out why Dave was that much quicker?

Now all we need is the camera set back a little further so we can see the driver inputs (steering and gear-change) then do a side-by-side comparison similar to the F1 qualifying lap comparisons. Then a voice over on the pauses with "Here you can see Dave gets the power down earlier out of the corner ... and at the next braking point is already a tenth up on me."