Fiesta St
Sitech Racing’s 350bhp Mk7 Fiesta ST is a Knockhill circuit star that doubles up as a fantastic daily driver...
Sitech Racing’s 350bhp road and track weapon.
Fast Ford has been extolling the virtues of the seventh gen Fiesta ST ever since the model’s release back in 2013, and it came as no surprise to us to learn that readers and tuners alike were snapping up the brilliant Blue Oval in droves. It’s a seriously impressive car and is an absolute hoot to drive, but you don’t have to take our word for it – just ask former McLaren Formula One team mechanic and owner of Sitech Racing, Simon Smail.
Simon has always had a soft spot for quick Fords, and cites his obsession with a Series 2 RS Turbo as the reason behind his departure from the garages of star drivers David Coulthard and Kimi Räikkönen. “I enjoyed working on my treasured Escort more than being involved with McLaren’s MP4-17 racing car! Ultimately, I decided to leave the world of F1 in 2003 and established my own RS tuning company near Edinburgh where I could indulge my passion while earning a bob or two at the same time,” he explains.
The business grew at a phenomenal rate as word got out that Simon’s experience as a skilled mechanic and expert engineer was available for hire. Sitech’s portfolio of services expanded accordingly, and the firm soon found itself stacked with orders from keen customers wanting
“You don’t need to do a lot to make it a worthy track car”
to squeeze more power out of their Rallye Sports. It was even receiving visits from fellow Ford enthusiasts who were prepared to travel overseas in order to take advantage of what was on offer. “A Focus RS owner drove to us all the way from Moscow,” confirms Simon. “It took him nine days to complete his round trip. Needless to say, he arrived back home with a car that was much quicker than when it had started its epic journey!”
Years of developing performance enhancing solutions for a colourful back catalogue of fanciful Fords provided the perfect foundation for Sitech when it came to investing in a new product line. “The bulk of our work is concentrated on the Mk2 Focus RS at present, but the business needs to keep evolving to ensure that it stays on top of scene trends and to remain at the forefront of the Ford tuning scene,” continues Simon. It was with this in mind that he bought a brand-new Mk7 Fiesta to use as a development vehicle at the back end of 2013.
The car in question was a standard 180bhp, 1.6-litre ST;