The Watermans car I’ll drive on Rally Germany is a normally-aspirated, Ford Fiesta R2.
It started life as a road car, before the rally mechanics set to work and took everything off it. Then the shell was strengthened, fitted with a roll cage and put back together using made-for-competition parts. A lot of the car, like the shell and engine block, remain standard, but a lot – like the brakes and suspension – are replaced with high-performance parts.
While the Fiesta might look the same as a road car from the outside, inside it is very different. Safety is of paramount importance, so the driver and passenger seat are replaced by racing-style seats, there is a five-point harness, fire extinguishers and that rally cage with is, in effect, a survival shell.
The DMACK Fiesta Trophy is powered by an EcoBoost 998cc 3-cylinder engine. It’s not the most powerful car, but that’s what makes the competition so great – because it’s how you drive it that makes the difference. All the DMACK Fiesta Trophy cars are equal, so you have to be fast, smooth and mistake free. Even on a rally that takes almost three hours of flat-out driving to complete, every loss of momentum is time lost and potentially the lead lost as well. It’s a great car to impress in, and who knows – if you impress enough, you might end up driving a works M-Sport Fiesta RS WRC and have a genuine shot at becoming World Champion.