Fraser Jones - Fiesta ST Gp.N

Glaswegian Marketing Manager Fraser Jones was born in 1981 - his story so far...

"First involved in rallying at a very  young age, I was driven back home from the hospital after I was born wrapped up in the Helmet net of my dads Mk 2 escort which had no exhaust at the time".

"I have always been spectating and marshalling since I can remember and was itching to get into the driving seat. Competed in Scottish Karting Championships for two years and had numerous trials and tests in Single seater cars such as Formula Ford."

"It was not until I my 21st birthday that I got a taste of driving on a stage at a Rallyschool. This was in a Group 4 Escort and a Mk2, loved it from the start. I then got a Peugeot 205 Challenge car built by Liam O’Kane with the help of AB Motorsport. I started competing in the Belmont Ecosse 205 Challenge in Scotland in 2004, managing a few wins and finishing second in the Junior section. In 2005 I continued with this championship but mechanical problems plagued us on every round, even doing the whole of the Scottish with no brakes, and we only managed 3rd in the Championship."

"We decided it was time for a change of car and the opportunity came up of the new Fiesta Sporting Trophy which was exactly what we were looking for. With AB Motorsport building the car we were one of the first competitors to have a completed car which gave us a great advantage over the others. Andy Baker (AB Motorsport director) came out to Norway with us to shakedown the car, and apart from cooking the brake pads it was a thoroughly enjoyable and useful week."

"So 2006 is a new car and a new Co-Driver. Inbal Edry hails from Israel, but left her country as motorsport was illegal at the time its an incredible story. She has settled in Daventry the past four years and  has amassed an impressive CV. I am hoping some of Inbal’s experience can help improve my driving this year and that we can form a winning partnership."

"Since then we have had the Malcolm Wilson rally. Inbal Edry who is my co-driver this year and I only met the night before the rally so we were just going to try and ease into a pace and get used to each other on this event. We were going really well, on pace with the leaders from the start, but in Grizedale Stage 4 we developed a problem with the gearbox and it kept jumping out of second gear. I spent the rest of the day driving one handed trying to hold it in second or just completely missing second gear and going into third. This cost us about 3 mins through the two Grizedale stages as they were both very twisty with a lot of slow corners. In the last four stages we got to grips with it, and set some quick times. We managed to finish 5th in class and 5th Fiesta which considering the problems we had was a decent result."

"Since then we organised a test day at Walters Arena with Kit and Tim Leigh in the 205 and Mark Higgins came along to give us pointers on driving set-up and note making. This was a thoroughly useful day as both Kit and I managed about 100 miles driving on the magnificent stage with Mark sitting next to us. We both came away with plenty to work on and I’m sure our pace will increase on the next few events. A big thanks to Mark and to Clive Mainwaring for organising the venue for us.

Press Releases.

Friday 7th / Saturday 8th July 2006

Jim Clark Rally, Kelso

 

Big Laughs on the Clark

 

Fraser Jones and Inbal Edry continued there attack on the Ford Fiesta Sporting Trophy on the famous Jim Clark Memorial Rally last weekend. The cars were competing on closed roads around Kelso in the Scottish borders which provided some very fast and exciting driving.

 

With a very strong result on the first event followed up with two disappointing results due to an off and tyre problems on the last two rounds Fraser and Inbal were keen to make an impression on their first ever tarmac rally.

 

Things got off to a bad start with a puncture on the very first stage dropping 16 seconds to the leader. The second stage proved to be a lot better as the pair got used to driving the car on tarmac setup and they set a very impressive time just 3 seconds off the leader after 5 miles signalling their intent.

 

Stage 11 and 12 went well for the team but Fraser, pushing to pull some time back after his puncture, was slightly late on the brakes coming into a tight chicane over a bridge and glanced the wall on the inside of the corner. Although time loss was minimal with the incident the bent steering arm resulted in understeer, and later dropping some time.

 

Big jumps are a feature of the Jim Clark rally, some being taken at about 100mph. Fraser and Inbal had never experienced jumps this high or fast and after one particular jump pictured, Inbal was in fits of laughter for a mile after it in sheer delight. Fraser says “We took one big jump over a bridge in fifth gear, I thought we were going to go into orbit!”

 

Come service, M-Sport noticed a problem with the MAC Systems backed Fiesta ST’s suspension and the AB Motorsport team were forced to raise the height. This severely affected the handling of the car so for the final 4 timed sections of the day Fraser and Inbal were struggling to get used to the very little grip through the front wheels, again losing valuable seconds in this fiercely competitive Championship.

 

With the problems encountered Fraser and Inbal ended up in a disappointing 9th position, meaning they really need a strong performance on the forthcoming gravel event the Swansea Bay Rally on July 22nd.

 

You can catch the big jumps of the Jim Clark Rally and the forthcoming Swansea Bay Rally on August 25th at 9pm Motors TV.

 

 

June 4th 2006
Severn Valley National Rally, Builth Wells

Jones’ tyres struggle in the Welsh heat

Fraser Jones and the AB Motorsport team continued their assault on the Fiesta Sporting Trophy in the Welsh Forests of the Severn Valley Rally. The conditions proved more testing than everyone had predicted. The tight and twisty nature of the stages coupled with the sweltering heat and hard compact road surface meant the Michelin tyres were suffering from the off.

The temperatures on the day were 8 Degrees Celsius higher than forecast, so even after only 3 miles of the first stage Jones was aware of the problems. “We had a small excursion with two wheels over the edge of a large drop, then not long after the car would not slow down for a hairpin, the tell tale signs of grip lacking on the front tyres.”
After the first ten mile stage Jones checked the tyres and found absolutely no tread left. The Michelins are designed to last 27 miles on gravel with good grip levels, the sad truth was Fraser only managed 3 miles before the tyres were wasted.

“Going into the second stage another 5 miles I decided to change my style and try to get the tyres to the stage end without any punctures”. Jones managed this and still set a respectable time 4th Fastest signalling his intent.

Sadly that was as good as it got for the rest of the day. Stage 3 and 4 Fraser and Israeli co-driver Inbal Edry caught the Subaru in front of them and had to back off as visibility was poor in the dry dusty conditions losing a lot of time.

Going into Stage 5 and 6 the team tried to hold station in 6th position and score some valuable points. The sterling efforts were to no avail as in Stage 6 the tyres cried enough with the front left exploding three miles from the end and the other stripped of all the rubber and therefore providing no grip, dropping the pair to a thoroughly disappointing 9th.

The only saving grace from the event was that Fraser used his tyre allocation sparingly so he will have the advantage of fresh tyres all day on the next hot Gravel event the Swansea Bay Rally in July.

Next up for the team is the Opening car on the Scottish Rally this Saturday, Fraser will also be doing some demonstration runs for Press and Sponsors on the Friday beforehand. The next competitive outing will be the Jim Clark Rally in Kelso on July 8th which is the only rally to take place on closed public roads in mainland Britain and attracts the largest number of competitors with 250 competing over 3 days.

May 13th and 14th 2006
Pirelli International Rally, Carlisle

AB Motorsport tackle Killer Kielder

The second round of the Fiesta Sporting Trophy last Sunday took on the notoriously difficult forests of Kielder.
AB Motorsport and their Scottish driver, Fraser Jones, travelled to Carlisle for the Pirelli Rally.
Hopes were high for Fraser and the team after a successful debut on the Malcolm Wilson rally in March
where they surprised many walking away with 5th place from the 23 starters.

Always looking to improve the team, prior to the Pirelli, Fraser spent a day in the Welsh forests with British
Rally Champion Mark Higgins. The help and advice provided by Mark was priceless and Fraser was hoping
to put it to good use on the Pirelli.

Stage one went well with Fraser adapting his style and settling into a comfortable pace only 8 seconds
from first place. Stage two Fraser and Israeli co-driver Inbal Edry decided to up the pace, unfortunately
disaster struck on a tight left hand bend where the car stepped wide and Fraser had to take evasive
action to avoid ripping a wheel off on the fast approaching bridge.

The result was 4 minutes dropped while spectators and marshal’s man handled the Fiesta back on to the
road. Fraser and Inbal were in good company though as 2003 Production World Rally Champion Martin
Rowe had succumbed at the same spot hitting the bridge and removing a wheel ending his rally.
The team soldiered on through the stage with lower suspension arm problems affecting the steering,
coming out 40th and last overall in the rally and 18th in the Fiesta trophy. With points being awarded to 8th
place in the Fiesta trophy the team faced a mammoth task to salvage anything from the weekend.
Stage 3 saw the AB Motorsport team take the bull by the horns and set a stunning pace through the 8 miles
of Bewshaugh. Despite the worsening lower suspension arm, Inbal and Fraser managed 4th fastest Fiesta
time and 9th overall.

Stages 4 and 5 were exceptionally fast with the crew regularly exceeding 100mph and battled to keep the
car on the straights due to the suspension problems deteriorating. Again for both these stages they were 4th
fastest Fiesta and 7th overall for the rally.

Amazingly over the big jumps of the final P-Zero spectator stage the crew yet again finished 4th Fiesta and
7th overall only 1.4 seconds behind the fastest Fiesta on the stage and beating the eventual winner by 3
seconds.

The fight back was momentous, and from a lowly 40th place Fraser and Inbal forced themselves up into 16th
place overall. In the Fiesta championship the pair fought back from 18th place up to 9th, a brave effort but
missing out on the points by one position!

Next up for Fraser is a Press day for the Scottish Rally Championship on Thursday 18th May which will provide
some more excellent media exposure and practice for the crew. Then AB Motorsport will be preparing the
car for the Mutiny Rally on June 3rd which is the next round of the Fiesta Sporting Trophy.

 

 

March 2006
Malcolm Wilson Rally.
Fraser Jones:
"The aims for the event were primarily to create a good working partnership between my Co-Driver Inbal and myself, get a finish in what is considered a rough rally and also to set some competitive times. We managed all of these objectives despite a problem with the gearbox, and we have apparently turned a few heads in the process".

"Stages 1-3; this is the first time Inbal and I had a chance to drive at speed together. We always knew that it would take time to get used to each others style so we did not expect to set any great times in the first few stages. No great dramas in these stages and we set a comfortable pace building confidence and trust in each other. We both knew that we had a lot of pace left to exploit but wanted to set a solid pace to give us something to build on. Service 1: I was not looking at stage times and positions until Service 2, and with us not having any dramas the service was a good chance for us to discuss our plan for the rest of the day. I did not know it but at this time we were only a handful of seconds off the lead and were ahead of some of the more experienced competitors. So all in all we had a great start to the day and were interviewed by the TV cameras who were intrigued in our progress".

"Stages 4-5; these two stages were the longest in the rally and are notoriously rough with deceptive corners that will easily catch you unawares. Inbal and I again decided to keep going the way we were and maybe try to push a little bit harder as we felt we were growing in confidence. Unfortunately at the beginning of Stage 4 we developed a problem with the gearbox, and it kept jumping out of second gear. In order to limit the damage to the gearbox I tried to avoid second gear as much as possible, and being tight stages requiring low gears this meant we lost a lot of time. Service 2: Unfortunately as we did not have a lot of time in Service there was nothing that could be done to fix the gearbox. Nonetheless the AB Motorsport team checked what they could and fixed an electrics problem which occurred due to a large rock. While they were doing that the television cameras were looking on in interest".

"Stages 6-9: The final loop of stages. Inbal and I had checked our times in Service so we were pleased with what we had achieved in the morning before our troubles. The aim now was to preserve the car to the finish while pushing on in the fast areas testing brakes and handling in the high speed areas. The last few stages did have some fast sections and we were quite often flat out for good chunks of time at 110mph (the up rated gearbox and Differential have a different gearing to the road car meaning increased acceleration but reduced top speed) so it provided a good test of the car and the trust built up between driver and co-driver. Finish: At the finish the television cameras interviewed us again and they broke the news to us that we were 5th Fiesta out of the 29 in class. We were very surprised to say the least as we did not expect to be as high with our gearbox troubles".

"The Forestry Commission had their own award which they called the Comb and Hobcarton trophy. This award is presented to the fastest 2 wheel drive car over Stages 1, 2, 7 and 8. So in addition to our 5th place award for the Fiesta Championship (awards to 8th place) we also picked up the Comb and Hobcarton award from the organisers. Championship Positions: Overall we are currently 5th in the championship, but in addition to this there are a number of other competitions. Best improvement in seeding award we are laying second overall and in the Dealer Cup Allen Ford are in third place!.

"For a Championship with 29 competitors registered we have made a very strong impression in the first round. During the first rally we noticed a have a few points we can work on that will no doubt improve our pace considerably. The main points are to do with the cars handling, we require just a few small adjustments which we will be testing in April that will be of great help".

The next round of the Championship is the Pirelli Rally on Sunday May 14th. This rally is also the first round of the British Rally Championship so the media interest will be very high. In addition to the the Motors TV coverage there is also coverage on Channel 5 and Men and Motors TV. The programme is called Race and Rally UK and the first one was broadcast last weekend, there are continual repeats on Motors TV so keep your eye out.