Published: 11/04/2015
Copart, M-Sport and DMACK have created an incentive for Group N Fiesta ST owners to compete at the 2015 Wales Rally GB International. The exciting scheme will help celebrate the final opportunity to compete in the UK round of the FIA World Rally Championship, as the homologation for the Ford Fiesta ST comes to an end this year, meaning it is the last year that a Fiesta is eligible to run in international events.
One of our entrants into the Copart Fiesta Trophy is Tim Rodgers who is from Lincolnshire and is also a Copart Member. We were interested in finding out more about his love for rally. Below is a quick Q&A piece with him.
- How did you become interested into rallying?
I am not sure how I became interested in Rallying, it started at a very early age. If I was ever given pocket money, I would spend it on matchbox cars and try and buy the ones with stickers on which turned out to be race/rally cars. I also remember being at primary school; we were asked to write about something we liked. I wrote about and drew pictures of rally cars! None of my family competes or is into Motorsport, so where my interest comes from I just don't know! At the age of 14, I started grass track racing in a Mini and then progressed onto rallying when I had passed my driving test doing my first event in the early ‘90s.
- How many rallies have you previously entered?
have entered events as and when I could afford to so in the early years they were few and far between, so I took up co-driving to feed my passion for the sport, but the driving seat is where I wanted to be. I did several events in ‘04, ‘05 and ‘06 and then became a BARS (British Association of Rally Schools) instructor working at several schools.
• Have you purchased any vehicles from Copart to use in these events?
I started using Copart to buy damaged cars to repair. My main career is I am a vehicle body repairer and refinisher, and then I bought a Fiesta which I built into a rally car. It was a stolen/recovered car and most of the parts that had been stolen; wheels, seats, trim, which were parts I didn't need to make a rally car, so it was a cost effective option. I had a massive accident in Scotland in 2014, so I purchased a donor car from Copart to repair the crashed car and I also bought a 2nd Fiesta ST to use as a recce car for rally GB. I paid a fraction of the cost for the car against buying one from similar car sales sites. I have the skills to repair and paint them; I just need to find the panels which are readily available. I tend to keep an eye on the Copart auction lists and buy things that I know will easily sell or something I would like to keep for a while myself. As a family we have a main car and our second car is changed every 6 months or so with something I have
purchased from Copart and repaired, and the previous car has sold for a profit to fund the change.
• What made you enter this year’s Copart Fiesta Trophy?
I had always wanted to do Rally GB and I have made the effort to do it this year as it is the final year the Fiesta ST is homologated to do the event. I put a plan together and went on the hunt for funding via sponsorship. I had a deal with 3 large companies, but it all fell through at the 11th hour! I pressed on with my plans to enter the event and then I heard that John Pritchard had put a challenge together to recognise the Fiesta's final WRC round, I signed up straight away and the fact there is some prize money is a massive bonus. Prize money is very rare and a breath of fresh air in rallying, I can assure you. The chance to win some of the money back I have had to put into the project is great.
- What do you make of your chance this year?
Well, I have committed a lot of time and my own money into doing the challenge. As every Rally driver will tell you... we didn't come here to come 2nd! I feel confident, we will be at the sharp end but it is a long event and all the cars are evenly matched so it will be a very interesting battle between the Fiesta ST crews. I have never used the DMack tyres before but I have heard good reports about them. Sadly I won't get time to test them prior to the event so stage 1 will be interesting! I can maybe answer the question better on Sunday afternoon in Llandudno of how I think I will get on!
Good Luck to Tim and everyone competing in Copart’s Fiesta Trophy.
To follow Tim and the rest of the entrants, click here.
