Welshman Simon Hughes was in imperious form this weekend as he took a comfortable victory on the Red Kite Stages rally in South Wales. The 23 year old from Deganwy was over two minutes ahead of his closest challenger and led the Llandovery based event from start to finish, setting fastest time on every stage.
The Fiesta SportingTrophy regular was driving the Ford Focus WRC05 owned and driven by Vodka Kick boss Steve Perez. The 2004 National Rally Champion had offered a fully funded drive in the car as the 'VK Sprinters Cup' during the 2006 Fiesta SportingTrophy season. Steve then selected Simon as the winner, thanks mainly to his tally of nineteen fastest special stage times during the course of last year - double the amount of his rivals.
Simon had the briefest of shakedowns prior to the event, with just 20 test miles under his belt on the day before the event. After some welcome advice from current British Rally Champion Mark Higgins, Simon and his Berwickshire based co-driver Claire Mole made the journey south to Llandovery for the 45 stage mile rally.
If Hughes was nervous about the task of piloting the £500,000 Ford Focus WRC05 for the first time, it didn't show. The Welshman shot into the lead of the event, catching the car in front by the end of the first stage. From then on, Hughes just got better and better, stretching his lead stage by stage. Stage 5 of the event nearly caught the youngster out as he overshot a junction and stalled the car. Sensibly, Simon didn't rush in getting the car re-started, and soon he was on his way again. Such was the pace that Hughes was going at, he still set fastest time in the stage despite being 20 seconds slower on the stage than he had been on the morning run!
The recently rebuilt Focus WRC had performed faultlessly all day, and Hughes and Mole kept their pace up right until the end. Simon's winning margin of two minutes and six seconds was a fitting result for a fine debut drive in the sophisticated machine.
"I feel like an astronaut today as it was like driving a spaceship!" said Hughes. "The car was just amazing. I have never experienced anything quite like it. The power and the grip that the car has is exceptional.
Flat out in 6th gear was so easy to drive as the car works better the faster you go. I must say a big thank you to Steve Perez, Vodka Kick and BTR Preparations for all their help and support prior to and during the event. The car was faultless, and the team were very supportive towards me which I fully appreciated. I must also thank Mark Higgins for his advice during the shakedown. Things couldn't have gone better for us on the day. We just concentrated on doing our own thing rather than looking at what other people were doing. To win by over two minutes was a real bonus, but the most important thing today was to justify Steve's decision to pick me as the winner, and return his car without a scratch on it. Fortunately, we were able to do both'.
Hughes heads to Norway next for Rally Norway, a round of the FIA World Rally Championship. The all snow and ice event is a round of the International Fiesta SportingTrophy where Simon will be keen to build on an excellent start to the 2007 season.
Headline image courtesy of GEOFF MAYES IMAGES.
