Ford Fiesta fastest at X Games seeding

CARSON, Calif., July 31, 2009 – The Ford Fiesta debut at the X Games was memorable as Kenny Brack and Tanner Foust powered their production based Fiesta rally cars to the top of the speed charts in seeding for Sunday’s X Games 15 Rally Competition. Ten-time X Games medalist Brian Deegan driving a Fiesta in his first X Games rally event was fourth overall, a mere six-hundredths of a second behind his arch rival and 2008 X Games rally champion Travis Pastrana who was third.

Brack, the 1999 Indy 500 winner, and Foust were the only drivers to break into the 57-second barrier on the all asphalt portion of the rally course. Brack topped all drivers with a lap of 57.006-seconds while Foust posted a lap of 57.396-seconds.

“It was a good run,” said Brack who will face 12th seeded Jimmy Keeney in the first round of eliminations. “It was tough because the track we ran in qualifying was the track I didn’t get to run on Wednesday because of a mechanical problem. I only had one lap on that track during the practice this morning. The Fiesta ran fantastic. I think the package of the Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta with BFGoodrich tires is obviously a very good combination. Sunday will be totally different because they will add the gravel section to the course. There will be a couple of sections going from gravel to asphalt and actually to cement where it will be extremely slick and we hope that we get a practice run on the entire course on Sunday morning. Of course we have the big jump that I have never done before, so who know this might turn out to be the easy part.”

Tanner Foust posted the second quickest time on Friday, but as a top-four finisher from last year he already has a first round bye in hand.

“That was a pretty successful qualifying effort,” said Foust. “Andreas Eriksson’s [Olsbergs MSE team manager] strategy with tires, the Fiesta and the method that the ROCKSTAR and Olsbergs team go about setting up for runs that that count, has been a great learning experience for me. It has really paid off. Of course Kenny showed his true colors at the very end as he comes in P1 in the qualifying which is great and now I am going to take him into the drivers lounge and figure out what kind of suspension changes he has made over the last two days. I saw Kenny’s lines on video and they were perfect. I am still coming to grips with the car. I knew that the Fiesta would be good, but I thought it might be difficult to apply the Fiesta to the X Games track, but these cars are incredibly capable machines. The cars that the Fiesta is going against aren’t regular Subaru’s and Mitsubishi’s, but they are quarter-million dollar rally cars that have been used over the years and tailored by very professional teams just for this purpose. So the fact that these Fiesta’s are able to just be thrown in and in basically two days be set up to be competitive and even take the top two qualifying spots, that really says a lot for the Fiesta platform itself and that is promising for us this weekend.”

Brian Deegan has won ten X Games medals in his action sports career, but he has faced a huge challenge in 2009 as a rookie in the rally class at X Games 15. Deegan showed his championship pedigree in qualifying by bringing his Ford Fiesta in fourth overall.

“Actually in the end I did better than I expected,” said Deegan. “Once I got in there I felt real comfortable driving the Fiesta and I drove at about 75-percent because I just didn’t want to mess up. I think I still have some more for the main event. I just wanted to beat [Travis] Pastrana, that’s my goal. That has always been my goal since I started X Games and we have had this battle since Day 1. This is really my first real rally event and I had to work my way into this and fortunately I ended up on the best team here with ROCKSTAR, Olsbergs and Ford and in the end I think it will be the advantage I need. I’ll pour it on a little bit in the dirt section where I’ll be at home more because I race trucks on dirt and ride dirt bikes so I am looking forward to that section.”

The three Fiestas’ will sit quietly in their pits on Saturday, which is a down day in X Games Rally Competition. Saturday night, following the Motocross finals, the Home Depot Center will be converted to the rally finals set-up.

The first round of eliminations will follow a brief practice on Sunday morning where Kenny Brack will be the top-seed in Round One and Brian Deegan the second seed. Tanner Foust and the other top-four finishers from 2008 will meet the first round elimination winners.

X Games 15 Rally Competition will be seen live on ABC Sunday, August 2 from 3:00 – 6:00 pm Eastern.

About Fiesta

In Europe, the Fiesta name has long been synonymous with outstanding driving dynamics, design and value. The all-new Ford Fiesta is taking that three-decade heritage to U.S. consumers for the first time in 2010.

The Fiesta already is a hit in Europe and Asia, where it went on sale last year and earlier this year, respectively. The all-new Fiesta is the fastest-selling Fiesta model ever in Europe, helping boost Ford of Europe’s market share in 2009. Fiesta is Ford of Europe’s best-selling model in 2009.

In 2010, the Fiesta will be produced at plants in Germany, Spain, Mexico, Thailand and China for sale in markets around the world. The Fiesta for the North American market will be built at Ford’s assembly plant in Cuautitlan, Mexico.

Opening practice at Pikes Peak

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 15, 2009) – The driving duo of Marcus Grönholm and Andreas Eriksson have a wealth of rally experience and numerous championships between them, but their first encounter with Pikes Peak in the 2009 Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta left them feeling like the rookies on legendary mountain course. An up and down morning practice session left the duo hungry for a second shot at the 12.4-mile course, but realistic that success at Pikes Peak is something that is not easily obtained.

“We had a few problems this morning, but the car is really nice to drive,” said two-time WRC champion Marcus Grönholm. “The handling is perfect, but because of the altitude we were struggling through the hairpins and there wasn’t so much power, but when it [power] was coming it was ok. We need to work with our engineer on mapping and things like that. We need a little bit of experience for this race to be competitive and we know that it will be difficult on Sunday.”

“It was exciting morning for us,” said Andreas Eriksson, four time Swedish Rally champion. “We have been on the mountain a couple of days since we arrived and it is a really beautiful view up there, but in the race car you only see the corners. I guess the tourist session is over. This is a hard race because of the altitude and that caused us problems this morning, but we will solve them. That’s why we come with two cars because you have a double chance to get it right. I had a little problem with the gearbox and some other small stuff, but Marcus’ car is getting better and better so we will work on it all day and all night in order to get it better for tomorrow. I am really looking forward to running the gravel part in the high altitude tomorrow. I have been warned that it is even worse than this day so Friday night could be good. Everything we are trying to do we are trying to be the best that we can and I think we will be competitive on Sunday. It is a long way and it is a hard mountain to climb.”

The 800 horsepower Fiestas will return to the track on Thursday morning at 5:30 a.m. local time for the second of three practice sessions. On Thursday morning the duo will tackle the top third of the course.

The 87^th annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is Sunday starting at 9:00 a.m. local time. Dubbed ‘The Race to the Clouds,” the Pikes Peak Hill Climb is the second oldest race in North America.

Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta Reveal

Rare sighting: Wilk out in Round 1

NORWALK, Ohio, June 28, 2009 - Under most circumstances, Tim Wilkerson would put a first-round loss out of his mind and deep in the rearview as soon as it happened, preferring to look ahead and not backwards, but this was no normal first round. This time, as disappointing as the finish might be, Wilkerson was pleased and upbeat about how his Levi, Ray & Shoup Shelby reacted, how it posted its best run of the weekend, and how safely it made the lap, never in any danger of spinning the tires like it had all weekend. This time, he didn't mind looking back, with a nod and a smile.

Unfortunately, the 4.322 might have been Wilkerson's low e.t. for the event, but by virtue of qualifying 16th he had to face Mike Neff, the No. 1 qualifier, in the opening stanza. Neff's 4.250 was the quickest run of the round, and Wilkerson's 4.322 was not enough to trip the win lights.

Getting to that point on Sunday was a battle, in every sense. Wilkerson suffered through his first truly difficult qualifying weekend of the year, smoking the tires on three of the four runs while limping the fourth one to a pedestrian time of 4.482 to squeak into the field 16th. He knew, laying in bed awake on Saturday night, that he had to fix his hot rod, and he had to do it Sunday.

"We were suffering from the same sorts of problems everyone was dealing with, on a tricky track under tough conditions," Wilkerson said. "Basically, though, everyone else did pretty well on Friday night, and we just went A-to-B really soft, to make sure we got down the track. We weren't the only ones smoking the tires out there, though, so we had some company.

"I laid awake half the night thinking about it, and we had a pretty good plan this morning. The car did exactly what we asked it to do, and the run was so safe we probably left three or four hundredths on the table, but when you put yourself in that No. 16 hole, you probably need the other guys to mess up and they didn't. They kicked our butts, but we feel a lot better about our race car now than we did last night. Now we move on, and we can do that smiling and eager to get back at it."

Sunday threw its own share of curves at the entire Funny Car class, as it dawned overcast and cool. Teams did their warm-ups under those conditions, and made their tuning calls based on that favorable environment. As soon as pre-race festivities were over, however, a downpour roared into Summit Motorsports Park, drenching the fans and the race track, but when that storm quickly departed, the sun came out, the temperature went up, and steam began to rise from the massive asphalt pit area. It was, in effect, a whole new day.

"It really was like a totally new day," Wilkerson said. "We left the head gaskets the same, but we brought with us new blower pulleys, and we put different tires on the car. You just had to react on the fly, because once it quit raining and the sun came out, the track was dry in a hurry. There really wasn't time to mess around much, and maybe that was good. You give crew chiefs enough time, and sometimes they'll talk themselves into all sorts of goofy stuff."

As the fourth pair, Wilkerson and Neff saw what was out there. Even with the sun on the track, most pairs were making good laps, and high 4.20s seem to be the currency of the day for purchasing win lights. Wilkerson knew he had a shot, but not a great one.

"By that point, like I said, you're kind of hoping the other guys mess up, but if they don't you want to make a good solid lap. I told myself, all night long, that we were not going to smoke the tires. We didn't and it was real nice lap, actually the quickest lap by any loser in round one, but they beat us. We're okay though, I know that. I wasn't so sure about it last night, but I know we're okay now."

Next up, after a weekend off, the "Western Swing" will be upon us, starting with the Denver race on July 10-12. The countdown to the Countdown continues, with an optimistic Tim Wilkerson still very much in the mix.

Courtesy of Team Wilkerson

This Week in Ford Racing: NASCAR Edition

Loudon, N.H. — The last time the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series raced at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a Ford ended up in victory lane as Greg Biffle started the 10-race Chase with his second win of the season.

Ford drivers Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte and Biffle talked about the flat one-mile oval and their hopes for Sunday’s race.

MATT KENSETH – NO. 17 DEWALT FORD FUSIONDO YOU FEEL YOUR TEAM IS MAKING PROGRESS?“At times. It’s not like a steady uphill graph where we’ve been doing a little bit better every week and we keep getting better and we’re almost there. We have about a four-week run where we were running pretty good and then we had a couple weeks where things didn’t go right.

"The Pocono race, we performed really well and our fuel mileage wasn’t good enough and the way we pitted at the end, we didn’t get a good finish. Then at Michigan we just ran pathetically terrible. We left a wheel loose and lost a lap, got that back, and then couldn’t make it to the end on fuel without running half-throttle and ran around half-throttle to make sure we made it on fuel.”

THERE ARE ONLY 10 RACES LEFT UNTIL THE CHASE. ARE YOU EYEING THAT AS A POINT WHERE YOU WANT TO GET ALL OF THESE ISSUES WORKED OUT AND THEN RUN FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP?“You want to win every week. You never try to say, ‘Oh man, we need to be great when we get here.’ You want to be great every week and bring your best stuff and run the best you can. Honestly, I don’t even know where we are in points, but I know we’re not in a position where we can start thinking about the Chase. I mean, if we don’t get running better and finishing better, we’re not even gonna make the Chase, so we’ve got to worry more about getting the best finish we can get each and every week and get as many points as we can each and every week.”

THOUGHTS ON LOUDON.“I don’t know what to expect from week to week lately, so I don’t know. Greg won the last race there, so that’s good, but since we started running these style of cars at Loudon the last few races, we as the 17 have not run very well there. I honestly don’t know what to expect. We’re gonna try some different stuff there we haven’t done before, and, hopefully, we’ll get there and be okay.”

GREG BIFFLE – NO. 16 3M FORD FUSIONYOU’VE VOICED SOME CONCERNS ABOUT FLAT TRACKS THIS YEAR. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT LOUDON?“I think we’re going to be good. I’m optimistic. We’re going back with the same setup, the same everything, just like we were and I’m pretty confident. I’m not going back there with a chip on my shoulder saying we’re going to win this thing, I’m going back saying we’re going to run in the top 10 and continue our good run and make the Chase. I’m going to use it as a tool to do that and think about coming back later on when we’re in the Chase hopefully and try to win that one.”

To read the rest of this interview visit: http://www.fordracing.com/news/detail/?article=36541

This Week in Ford Racing: Growing up Force

Dearborn, Mich. — John Force, driver of the Castrol Edge Ford Mustang Funny Car, is the most accomplished and decorated drag racer in the history of the sport. In honor of Father’s Day, his daughters Ashley, Brittany and Courtney Force talk about how it was growing up with a father in racing and what it’s like to race on their father’s team.

HOW WAS IT GROWING UP WITH A FATHER IN RACING?ASHLEY FORCE—driver of the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang Funny Car“It was all we ever knew, so we don’t know any differently, but it was very exciting to be a young kid whose dad is on TV, whose classmates and teachers follow racing and, it’s something that would always come up. It was fun for us. We would have barbeques on Sunday and have our friends over to swim and we would run out, Mom would call at us when it was time for Dad’s run and we would all run in our suits and stand outside the window. She wouldn’t let us inside because our suits were wet, but we would all stand outside the house and watch the race through the screen door. It was a lot of fun. We got to travel a lot, go to a lot of different places throughout the country and go to his races and it was fun.”

BRITTANY FORCE—driver of the Brand Source A-Fuel Dragster“It was really tough because he was gone a lot of the time and it was pretty much my mom that was always at home raising us. My dad always jokes that my mom would yell ‘Dad’s home,’ and we would all run to the TV to watch him on ESPN, ESPN2 and watch him on TV, but you know having him travel all the time was hard because he did miss some birthdays, or cheerleading competitions or whatever it was.

"Now that we’re grown up and we’re involved in racing, we really understand where he’s coming from and that he’s worked so hard and he’s worked from absolutely nothing all the way up to having this big empire that he has with all of these drivers and teams. We’re really proud of him and we know how hard he’s worked and it’s just kind of how life is and we got used to it so we wouldn’t know any different.”

COURTNEY FORCE—driver of the Brand Source A-Fuel Dragster“Well, it was a lot of fun but it was complicated at the same time. It was real hard not seeing him because I would be in school when I was little and he would always be at the race track. Actually when he would come home I would cry to him, ‘Please don’t go back to the races,’ and he would be like, ‘No, I have to. I’ve got to work, you know. You’ve got to go to school,’ and I would be like, ‘Please don’t go. I just want you to stay here.’

"I didn’t really understand much about it and then when I grew up I got involved with racing and loved being out at the race track and understood why he was gone every weekend, but when I was little I didn’t really know. I would always ask, ‘Why does he have to leave, why is he gone, he’s only home for a couple days a week?’ So it was hard but after a while after I learned about it, it was okay.”

To read the full interview please visit: http://www.fordracing.com/news/detail/?article=36517

This Week in Ford Racing: Alison MacLeod

Dearborn, Mich. — Alison MacLeod, driver of the East Enterprises No. 6 Ford Racing Technology/Beast Chassis, is the winningest female driver in the USAC history. She currently is second in the USAC Regional Midget series point standings and has won the last two events in which she has raced.

ALISON MACLEOD— DRIVER EAST ENTERPRISES NO. 6 FORD RACING TECHNOLOGY/BEAST CHASSIS BEASTCAN YOU GIVE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF YOUR SEASON SO FAR?“So far this year we’ve had five or six races and we’ve started off pretty well. We started with a fourth and then we ended up with a third, a second and then we got two wins, so we’re hoping to keep that at the winning point and hopefully go on from there. We’ve improved every race and it’s been a good season so far.”

YOU’RE ON A HOT STREAK. WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE TO CONTINUE THAT HOT STREAK FOR THE SEASON?“It’s always tough when you constantly go to different tracks but you just have to nail everything, it takes a lot of luck. We’ve been pretty lucky the last few races to have a lot of things fallen right into our hands, and that’s what it’s going to take for anybody to win a race. For us to win the race we’ve just got to keep it up and get our qualifying, get the car handling well, get the engine running well and have a little bit of luck.”

YOU HAVE THE RACE THIS FRIDAY AT ANDERSON SPEEDWAY, AND SO FAR THIS SEASON YOU’VE FINISHED FOURTH AND SECOND AT THAT TRACK. WHAT’S THE KEY TO GETTING A WIN THERE THIS WEEKEND?“At Anderson it’s a tough track since it’s all momentum, so all the cars are really close together. It’s going to come down to qualifying, getting a little bit of luck with the inversion and just getting the handling down pat and getting it there. We were so close this last time, we just got hurt a little bit on the start and that’s what kept us from the win, but hopefully we’ll go back this time and have a little bit of better luck on the starts.”

To read more from Alison visit: http://www.fordracing.com/news/detail/?article=36512