Dmack Trophy winners tackle WRC 2 prize drive events

Three drivers from the 2016 Drive Dmack Fiesta Trophy will tackle at least two rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship WRC 2 series this year. The one-make Dmack championship has offered prize drives for three years – what Dmack says is the biggest prize in world rallying. The brand adds that the Trophy has “effectively become the Junior WRC for 2017”.

Overall winners from 2016, Welshmen Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss, will compete in Poland and Finland at the wheel of the M-Sport-run Ford Fiesta R5. Finnish star and runner-up Max Vatanen will be first to sample the action when he starts Rally Portugal. He will also tackle his home round of the WRC in Finland – an event he won during last year’s Dmack Fiesta Trophy. Finally Northern-Irish star Jon Armstrong will drive in Germany and Spain – hoping his Tarmac experience will help him secure a solid result.

The bonus seventh round at Wales Rally GB will go to the driver who scores the most points in WRC 2 across their pair of events, so there won’t be any cruising for the three stars as they step-up to four-wheel-drive. The trio will run on Dmack’s new 2017 range of tyres for WRC, on which six stage victories on gravel and asphalt have been won this season.

Osian Pryce said: “It’s fantastic to have confirmation that we’re competing in Poland and Finland with the Dmack Fiesta R5 this year. Those events were the ones I really targeted and wanted to go for. I want to thank both Dmack and M-Sport for what’s coming this season. All too often you hear drivers complaining that there aren’t enough doors opening in this sport – we gave one door a bit of a push last year and it’s opened really nicely for us.”

Max Vatanen said: “I’m really looking forward to taking up the prize drive. It’s the right step in my career and it’s up to me to make the most out of it with the great combination of Dmack tyres and M-Sport’s Fiesta R5. Winning my class on my home soil of Finland last year is the highlight of my rallying. Having the opportunity to do it in WRC 2 this year is a dream come true.”

Jon Armstrong said: “I’m very excited to take control of the Dmack Fiesta R5 in Germany and Spain this year. We showed great speed on both events last season, so we are confident of setting some competitive times and getting good results. It’s a dream come true to drive in WRC 2, I want to thank Dmack and will aim to make the most of the opportunity I’ve been handed.”