A broken piston has ended the hopes of Darren Windus and Jon Mortimer aboard the Britek Motorsport prepared Ford Fiesta Super 2000 at the Sprint Auto Parts Rally South Australia.
The Japanese Wholesale Spares Fiesta was charging through the third stage of the rally when the engine went off song and the West Australian duo was forced to pull to the side of the road not far from the finish of the stage.
It was a disappointing end following a strong start to the event on the twin super stages at Angaston Oval on the Friday evening.
“Extremely disappointing,” said Windus.
“We had a strong test and shakedown. We really wanted to work our way up the order throughout the opening leg of the rally. We were trucking along really well; then lost some power. We tried to complete the stage but it seized.
“As the day ended up it was pretty tough for a number of the leading teams. So we don’t feel alone in being disappointed.
“I’d really like to acknowledge the fantastic support we got for this event from Tim Lynas and everyone at Lynas Valley Ford at Tanunda. Also Narva Automotive Lighting & Electrical have come on board for the remainder of 2008. It’s the encouragement and support from all our partners that makes us strive to chase success in the Australian Rally Championship.”
Britek Motorsport Chief Rally Engineer Marcus Clarke has had a quick examination of the engine.
“It’s a broken piston,” said Clarke.
“We will really need to look through the engine back at the workshop to isolate the cause, but it’s a different issue to what we have experienced in the past.
“The pre event test and start to the rally shows the car has enormous potential, we will just have to wait until the next round in Tasmania to show that.”
The next round of the Australian Rally Championship is the Tasmania Tarmac Challenge on 4-5 October.
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