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S2000 Fiestas nearly ready to roll |
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Written by Peter Whitten
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Thursday, 15 March 2007 |
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 Jason Bright’s Britek operation have been working until the early hours of the morning for the past three weeks in order to get Ford’s new Super 2000 Fiestas ready for the first round of the Australian Rally Championship.
Speaking from the Pirtek Rally Team’s Dandenong (Vic) workshop today,
Chief Technician, Paul Cane, said that the cars were progressing well
with the bodyshell complete, the engine installed, and the wiring loom
due to be fitted next Monday.
Cane, who was Possum Bourne’s head mechanic in the Kiwi’s final season
of rallying, said the team was confident the cars would be completed
well before the first event in Queensland in a fortnight’s time.
“I can’t wait until the public gets a look at these cars – they’re the best looking rally cars I’ve ever seen,” Cane enthused.
 Ford's S2000 Fiesta in the Britek factory
Cane said that he hoped the cars would be tested in Victoria prior to
leaving for Rally Queensland, more than likely at Ford’s proving ground
at the You Yangs, near Geelong. Another option would be to test the
cars on private land owned by the team’s number two driver, Darren
Windus, near Melton.
“I don’t see why the cars shouldn’t be good straight out of the box,”
Cane added. “The team have access to some amazing technical equipment
and I’m confident that they’ll be quick from the outset.”
Team owner, Jason Bright, has been spending many hours working on the
cars as well, often not finishing work until well into the evening, and
giving his advice on the building of the cars.
“Brighty’s been great – he’s there day and night and is a guy who’s
really in the Possum Bourne mould. He’s a country lad, what more would
you expect?” Cane said.
Britek’s V8 Supercar team will start work on the Fiestas next week
after the “V8 Taxis” head across the Nullabor to Perth for their next
round. According to Cane, the V8 mechanics are just as keen to see
“Team Dirt” out there competing and doing well.
Ford’s 2006 ARC car, the rear-drive Focus, now lays dormant in the
Britek factory with seemingly little future. The much-maligned car
failed to live up to the expectations Ford had for it in 2006, largely
because it was too big and too heavy.
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