By Bryan Redeker

Here are the observations from having the Fiesta on track;

The Fiesta is easy to drive! I actually found it relaxing to drive around the long sweepers, and thought it was easy to slalom. There is great visibility out the windshield, and you sit high enough to get a good look at the course.

Steering input is deadly accurate. There seemed to be no hesitation from the Fiesta when trying to change directions. Only when I way overcooked a corner did the front understeer. Brandon commented that my slalom was one of the better ones he has seen from me, as I usually stay far from the cones. The Fiesta was precise enough that I felt confident to hug the cones and not hit them.

Mostly neutral is how the car handled on course. The only understeer came from coming in too hot into a corner, and adding too much steering input due to a late turn-in. Some slight oversteer was possible with left-foot braking. The stability control allowed for enough rotation around the sweepers, but never enough to spin. Even with a decreasing-radius turn with a hard braking zone at the end, the Fiesta stayed very composed.

The Fiesta gives great feedback thru the seat, steering wheel, and brake pedal. Brandon thought the brakes were a little grabby for his liking, but I find his Focus to have brakes that stop about 20 feet after I think they should. I think his comments about the brakes are from being used to his Focus and his limited seat time in the Fiesta. I found the brakes to feel great, and only had the ABS come one once. I could stand on the brakes and feel any impending lock-up and adjust as needed. The pedal stayed firm and there were no signs of brake fade. The tires also did not protest the beating they were taking, and actually held up very well for a 2 driver car. The Mustang has overheated the edges of the front tires, but the Fiesta did not seem to suffer this issue. Sadly, the US cars will come with some craptastic all-season tires that serve no purpose. Mine will be replaced with some proper summer tires, and a set of snow tires for the winter.

While the traction control programming is not as intrusive as it was on the SVT Focus, it still needs to be turned off. There has to be a switch to deactivate the traction control when you don’t want it. The system did allow for some wheel spin at launch, but it did seem to stop the engine from making power when exiting corners. The engine fell on its face, and then came back to life. My SVT Focus does the same thing with traction control left on, but that is so sensitive that it will do it if there is a heavy dew on the ground. The Fiesta is not that bad, but still needs to have an on/off switch on the dash.

A more precise gate for the shifter is really needed! For one very slow section of the course, the engine speed in second gear dropped very low. Once the engine dropped out of the optimal rev band, it became very sluggish. The only way to avoid that was to shift into 1^st gear to keep the revs up and power out of the slow part of the track. Since the gates are so vague, I did not dare shift into 1^st when I needed to. My fear is that I would have ended up in 3^rd. Thankfully, the course did not require a fast shift to 3^rd, as that has been proved to be a problem. A quick shift into third can leave you in 1^st or 5^th. Running the course in 2^nd gear cost us many seconds in the slow parts of the track, and the 1.6L doesn’t have enough low end torque to muscle out of the slow parts. My Mustang was great in 2^nd gear since it produces a great deal of torque at a very low rpm. As much as it kills me to say this, a “DSG” style transmission may have helped the Fiesta switch gears faster, but many autocrossers have noted that the paddles are rarely in the right spot to shift around corners. I would rather keep the manual with a clutch; just give me a more precise gate.

Having a knob to adjust the seat back was a nice feature so I could give the backrest a small adjustment. For track use, I usually move the seat a little bit forward, and move the back rest a little bit more vertical. The nice thing about the knob on the Fiesta seat is that I could give it a small turn and find a great spot for the backrest. After I was done autocrossing, a small turn back to the street position and move the seat a notch back. Everything is right back to where I want it to be.

For a small car that sits very high, there was little body roll while going around corners. The car stayed very composed and flat around the course, and did not pitch fore-aft with the application of brakes or throttle. The suspension on the Fiesta is one of its strong points, and really shows that the Ford engineers have done their homework.

            At the beginning of the year when I watched the famed Top Gear episode when Jeremy tests out the new Fiesta, I was shocked when he compared the little Ford to a Lotus and a VW. For me, Lotus is the holy grail of handling. Lotus is the masters of making things go around corners. Lotus is the king of doing more with less. I just could not believe that the company that builds the F-150 could build a car that handles and feels like a Lotus.

            Ford is a huge company, with all sorts of tricks up their sleeves. It was 40 years ago this past June that Ford dominated leMans with a 1-2-3 victory over those red cars from Maranello. It is that same company that used to race in F1, and most recently built the Ford GT. When you get outside the United States, Ford builds some of the very best. Sadly, all of those great things have stayed in Europe while Americans get ho-hum products that are just ok. As I am watching Top Gear I began to think “my goodness, why don’t they bring the Fiesta here”, and then I find out that they are.

            I have been driving the Fiesta for over 2 months now, and I have begun to push the car a little harder around corners. What I am finding is that the Fiesta really is Lotus-like in its handling. The Fiesta feels light on its feet, responds instantly to steering commands, and seems to stop like it has 6-piston Brembo’s on the front. Ford really pulled a rabbit out of its hat with the Fiesta. They also took something from the Lotus playbook, in that Ford made the Fiesta lighter. Each year, cars seem to get heavier and heavier, requiring bigger engines, bigger wheels, bigger brakes, but no real gain in performance. The Mustang is a great example; it just got too big and heavy. In the eyes of many Americans, big and heavy is safe. Probably why a NASCAR is almost 4000 pounds and a F1 car is about a ¼ of that. The Fiesta in no way sacrifices safety with its lightweight, instead it adds things like knee airbags and a boron-steel a-pillar structure.

            Weight is the killer for any good handling car, and the heavier the car is, the more it needs added on to it make it handle well. There is also a penalty from weight in that the more the car weighs, the harder it is to make it change direction. When I go to the track with my V8 Mustang, I am shocked at how quickly I am passed by 4 cylinder Lotuses. Clearly, they have a formula that works. The Fiesta uses that same formula of lightweight, high strength, and outstanding handling. I am guessing that the Fiesta will do very well on the track, since it seems to handle excellent on the street. Jeremy was right; there is a Lotus quality in the way the Fiesta handles. Did you ever think a company that builds trucks could make a B-segment car that handles like a Lotus?

I am so glad to see the Fiesta showing up at more and more motorsport events. Stuff like this is why I bought my first Focus, and why I want a Fiesta. Competition breeds the very best.

Copy of Press Release

FIESTA TAKES ON ESPN’S X GAMES
6/30/2009
Dearborn, Mich. – The new Fiesta Rallycross cars have already created plenty of buzz in the enthusiast community with word of their North American motorsport debut in July’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado.

Now, the anticipation will be even greater as the Swedish Olsbergs Motor Sport Evolution team has announced it will compete in ESPN’s X Games 15 in Los Angeles, Calif., July 30 – Aug. 2. Olsbergs MSE is entering the race with the famous Swedish driver Kenny Brack. The team will also field Ford Fiestas with Rockstar Energy Drink for drivers Tanner Foust and Brian Deegan. All three Fiestas will comply with Rally America Open Class specifications.

Olsbergs Motor Sport Evolution will utilize BFGoodrich Tires at both the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and at ESPN’s X Games 15.

“The new Fiesta is already creating headlines around the world,” said Brian Wolfe, director of Ford North America Motorsport. “The announcement that it would compete at Pikes Peak was greeted so positively by enthusiasts everywhere. Now, to back it up with competition at the X Games will just create even more buzz for the car.”

The X Games, considered the premier action sports event in the world, features athletes from across the globe competing in a variety of sports, ranging from skateboarding, motocross, BMX and rally car racing. X Games 15 will be covered live on ESPN’s family of networks, including ABC, as well as across ESPN’s many digital media assets, including Xgames.com and ESPN360.com.

The three Fiestas will be driven by an all-star lineup, which includes an Indy 500 winner, a former X Games rally champion and a 10-time X Games medalist.

The 1999 Indianapolis 500 winner Kenny Brack, who will drive the 2009 Fiesta 3-door hatchback, is making his X Games debut. Brack was the ’98 IndyCar Series champion and was a factory driver for Ford Racing’s Champ Car entry Rahal Letterman Racing. Brack sustained significant injures in a major accident at Texas Motor Speedway in ’03 while driving for RLR, but he returned to the car at the Indy 500 in ’05, subbing for the injured Buddy Rice and posting the fastest qualifying speed (227.598 mph) of the field. Brack has been retired since ’06, pursuing his music career, but still drives competitively in special events. Olsbergs and Kenny Brack have had a long-term partnership and at present Kenny and Olsbergs are acting as mentors for a new promising Swedish racing star, 17-year old Markus Eriksson.

Rockstar Energy Rally driver Tanner Foust will drive a race-prepared ’09 Fiesta 5-door hatchback. He is a winning competitor in rally, drift, ice racing and time attack with a proven track record of multiple podium placements and national championships. Foust has seen success in Drift and Rally in the last few seasons. In addition to winning the both the ’07 and ’08 Formula Drift Pro Drift Championship, he also took the Silver medal as runner-up in the 2008 Summer X Games Pro Rally race.

Foust won the ’07 X Games Gold Medal in the Pro Rally for the Rockstar Energy Rally team. He was selected to represent Team USA in the annual Race of Champions at Wembley Stadium in London, UK this past December. He teamed with Ford Racing NASCAR star Carl Edwards to do battle with the world’s fastest drivers and riders from Formula One, World Rally Championship, Superbike and Touring Car racing.

Joining Foust will be Moto X star Brian Deegan, a 10-time medalist at the X Games, including three gold medals for Moto X Best Trick (’02, ’03, ’05). Earlier this year, Deegan launched a Pro-Lite class off road truck team in Championship Off-Road Racing under a newly formed Rockstar/Metal Mulisha/Caffaro Motorsports banner. Named one of the Top 100 Action Sports Stars by ESPN in ’04, Deegan has competed at every X Games rally event and will drive a ’08 Fiesta 3-door hatchback.

This will be the first time a Ford race car has been part of the X Games’ Rally competition.

“We are very excited to see the Fiesta competing not only at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, but also at the X Games in LA,” said Jost Capito, director of Ford Global Motorsport Business Development. “The competition will be extremely strong in both events, but we’ve put together a strong team with the Rockstar/BF Goodrich Tires Fiestas and our all star drivers. The Olsbergs Motor Sport Evolution race team is doing an outstanding job in preparing the cars for both of these world famous events.”

             Lately, it seems there have been a number of people saying they want the Fiesta’s seat adjustment to be done by a lever instead of a knob. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why? Does anyone know why you would want a lever for the back rest instead of a knob? For my experience, I can dial in the exact amount of back rest tilt to provide to optimum seat position. According to many performance driving books, you should be able to sit back in the seat, extend your arm to the top of the steering wheel and rest your wrist on the top without stretching. Using that technique, I have found that the lever style seat adjustment rarely ever has the notches in the ratchet mechanism to allow my wrist to be in the right spot. The knob on the other hand can be used to make minute adjustments to achieve the perfect posture. I have also noticed that the Recaro seat in my SVT Focus and Mustang use a knob for seat adjustment. Looking at Sparco, Momo, Corbeau, and Cobra seats, they all use the knob. To my knowledge, no performance seat comes with a lever. For a pure driver’s car, the lever belongs in the trash. Precise adjustments are the key to driver’s comfort. I would be happy if the old crank from the first gen Focus came back for the height adjustment!

            This Sunday, July 5^th, Racetech will be running the Ford Fiesta and Ford Mustang in the annual Grand Valley State University autocross. The Mustang will be running the CP class with other high powered V8’s, and the Fiesta will be running in HS for lower powered four cylinder cars. If you are around the area, please stop by and watch the Fiesta and Mustang dodge cones! Competition starts around 11:00am and goes until 3:00pm.

            I have had a few people ask me what autocrossing is, so I thought I would give a quick explanation. Autocrossing is a timed event in which a car travels thru a course lined with orange pylons. The cars are split up based upon their performance so the playing field is level. Fast reaction time, grippy tires, and smooth controls will always yield the fastest lap times. Each driver will have 4 attempts to go for the fastest time. Time penalties are awarded for hitting or moving cones, so control is key to doing well. Autocrossing is one of the safest forms of motorsports since it is held in a parking lot and only one car is on course. There is no wheel to wheel competition, just one driver, one car, and a clock. A typical course can have 15-30 turns and last around a minute. The tighter the course, the better the Fiesta will do, and the more open courses tend to favor the Mustang. You never know what the course will be like until you walk the course prior to driving on it.

            With the first autocross of the season for the team coming up this weekend, here is the types of things we do to get ready.

            Fiesta:

• 1) Check all lug nuts to make sure they are in spec. They will be checked after each run due to the high amounts of stress they will encounter on track. We have never had one fail or come loose, but double checking is always good
• 2) Clean all the window’s to keep glare from distracting the driver.
• 3) Decide to run on either a full tank or empty tank. A full tank is heavy, but helps move the cg back in the car. An empty tank is light, but produces a more nose heavy car. Half tank is the worst since the motion of the fuel around corners could cause the car to oversteer due to its inertia.
• 4) Add magnetic number plates to the doors for driver and class identification.
• 5) Check tire temps with a pyrometer after each run to see if a tire pressure adjustment needs to be made.

Mustang:

• 1) Items 1-5 for the Fiesta are same for the Mustang except;
• 2) Once at the track, the street tires are replaced with Hoosier R6 race tires.
• 3) Pressures are adjusted cold based on data from last season.
• 4) Sponsor magnet decals are added
• 5) All fluids are checked to ensure they are at the proper level
• 6) The car goes to tech inspection to make sure nothing is unsafe.
• 7) Safety harnesses are checked for frays or tears.

 By Bryan Redeker

            News surfaced a few weeks ago that Ford will be the featured company at this year’s SEMA show. Quickly, my thoughts would tell me that the Fiesta may be getting its aftermarket debut before it is for sale. The Focus ZX3 was at SEMA prior to its release, and the pictures coming from the show in 1999 made me order my Focus before even seeing on in person. Actually, it was the Wings West Focus ZX3 that was shown in magazines in October that lead me to order my ZX3 at the end of the month. The car later showed up at SEMA, along with many more modified hatchbacks. Could the Fiesta be there this year? If so, who is working on them? I am hoping FSWerks has one at their shop and have started making parts. I use a number of their parts on my SVT Focus, and everything they make is top notch! Having a decent number of modified Fiesta’s at SEMA would gain magazine exposure thru the winter, when the Movement has ended, but the car is not out yet. Keeping people excited about the Fiesta from December to May is going to be hard, but a number of SEMA Fiesta’s would be on the right path. The next question is, if the Fiesta is going to be at SEMA, how do I get there? Hmmm, I need to work on this.