Ford Fiesta Championships 2017 hotting up
With just four rounds left to go the battles at the head of the field in the two Mondello Park promoted Fiesta Championships are hotting up. The Patch Tyre Equipment Fiesta ST Championship is essentially a two horse race as reigning title holder David Maguire holds a slender lead over fierce rival Shane McFadden, with the rest trailing well behind. A similar story in the Mondello Park Fiesta Zetec series sees Mark O’Donoghue lead the way from Owen Purcell.
The popular Fiesta Championships move into their final stages this Sunday (August 13th) at Mondello Park, with both classes racing twice as part of the Carlow Car Club’s event. The single day race meeting takes place on the National Track and will be the penultimate Car Race event of the 2017 season with just the season ending Leinster Trophy still to come.
David Maguire and Shane McFadden have dominated the Patch Tyre Equipment Fiesta ST Championship since round two, sharing all of the wins, bar one, since John Denning’s season opening victory. Over the last couple of events Maguire has managed to slowly creep away from his rival, but the gap remains such that even the slightest error could severely damage either driver’s championship challenge. Michael Cullen disrupted the Maguire – McFadden winning streak at the last Mondello Park event by taking his first win of the season, and himself and Brendan Fitzgerald look like the only drivers capable of regularly challenging the top two.
In the Mondello Park Fiesta Zetec ranks Owen Purcell has been the revelation of the second half of the season. Having given best to Mark O’Donoghue in the early part of the year, Purcell has gradually upped his game to first challenge and then beat the championship leader, who at one stage looked uncatchable in the championship chase. Purcell’s run of four wins on the trot has given him a realist chance of taking the title, but he will need to continue his top form if he is to do so, as O’Donoghue retains a five point lead going into the final four events.
The Patch Tyre Equipment Fiesta Championship and Mondello Park Fiesta Zetec Championship will both have a qualifying session on Sunday morning followed by two races per class on Sunday afternoon. For more info on the Mondello Park Fiesta Championships see each series facebook page.
