JUNIOR TRIO ANNOUNCED FOR DMACK CHARGE

Armstrong, Greensmith and Pryce to DMACK Trophy Photos: Kevin Glendenning, Jakob Ebrey, mcklein-imagedatabase.com

British drivers Osian Pryce, Jon Armstrong and Gus Greensmith will lead the challenge for this year’s Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy.

The final entry for this year’s DDFT has yet to be confirmed, but organisers are expecting up to 15 cars to start the opening round at Rally Portugal in May.

All three British drivers have experience of M-sport-built Ford Fiesta R2s but only Greensmith has competed in Fiesta R2T before.

M-sport managing director Malcolm Wilson is delighted to have three British drivers upholding the honour of the home nations.

He said: “Securing three of the UK’S top young talents is fantastic news for this year’s Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy. It’s great to see the series go from strength to strength and the calibre of driver we are able to attract. The previous winners of our one-make series include Elfyn Evans and Craig Breen, both of whom have gone on to secure factory drives, proving how effective the series is as a stepping stone to rallying’s highest level.”

Pryce started two Junior WRC rounds last season and ran at the front in Portugal and Poland – only missing a Mikolajki win after his DS 3 R3 was plagued by a day two misfire. He admits, however, he had no hesitation in stepping down a class from R3 to R2 for DDFT.

“From an economic point of view, DDFT makes such good sense,” said Pryce. “Of course, we want to win, but if we don’t win, we come away with good, cost-effective experience of five key world championship rounds and that’s invaluable to our career right now.

“Last year, I was really apprehensive about going to Portugal and Poland – I just didn’t know what to expect in terms of pace or from the events. We’ve shown a bit of speed now and going to those rallies for the second time should be a little bit more straightforward; we have, for example, got a set of pacenotes to work from this year.”

Armstrong won the Vatanen Touch Trophy award last season, which gained him an entry into the Drive DMACK shootout. The Kesh youngster then beat off tough competition to win the shootout and a subsidised year in the DDT.

“After winning the shootout it’s been a long wait,” said Armstrong. “We’ll be doing a few tests in the one-litre car before the season starts, and this year is all going to be about finishing rallies. I’m really looking forward to it.”

In just his fourth season in rallying, 19-year-old Greensmith returns for a second year in DDFT – and this time he’s ready to fight for the title.

“The whole aim is on the championship for me this year,” he said. “Everything is geared towards fighting for the championship. I’ve got Alex [Gelsomino] onboard and that’s massive for me: he has loads of experience.”