Contrary to what you might think, the diminutive Ford Fiesta has multiple personalities. City car par excellence, it can easily transform itself into a rally racer to be reckoned with.
Ford Canada recently invited Auto123.com to take part in a condensed version of the Ford Fiesta Rally Experience. The event was held at American rally racing champion Tim O’Neal’s Rally School & Car Control Centre; Tim also competed in Canadian rallies during the 80s and 90s.
The vast piece of land O’Neal acquired near Dalton, New Hampshire, is a perfect playground for safely learning the ins and outs of rally racing and emergency avoidance manoeuvres.
They use regular Ford Fiestas; technicians deactivate all the driving aids (like traction and stability control), lighten the cars and install a safety cage, safety harnesses, racing shocks and a skid plate.
The course and roads are made of earth and clay and regularly soaked by a tanker to make sure they keep their slimy, slippery consistency.
The day essentially deals with the importance of weight transfer and the left foot braking technique. Why? Because reaction times are much quicker than with traditional right foot braking.
By leaving your left foot on the brake pedal, you can spin the car around and drive through a slalom course almost without turning the wheel! To spin the Fiesta around (or any other front-wheel-drive model), you simply need to keep a constant pressure on the gas pedal, slightly turn the wheel in the direction of the turn and lightly apply the brakes with your left foot. As the back of the car is unballasted, it skids easily. Let go of the brakes and the skidding stops.
Because we’re not used to placing our left foot on the brake pedal, the technique can be a bit tricky in the beginning. You tend to brake way too hard. But as you go through the slalom course, you refine your technique and finally manage to waltz effortlessly between cones.
The instructors then teach you about threshold braking, the pendulum turn and how to get out of sticky situations.
“The goal is to expose students to all sorts of situations that make them uncomfortable so they can learn a multitude of ways to handle them,” says O’Neal.
“The course isn’t designed to make you a rally racer, but a better driver who is ready to face any number of ordinary emergency situations. Instead of panicking, you’ll probably know what to do now,” he adds.
Ford Canada recently invited Auto123.com to take part in a condensed version of the Ford Fiesta Rally Experience. The event was held at American rally racing champion Tim O’Neal’s Rally School & Car Control Centre; Tim also competed in Canadian rallies during the 80s and 90s.
The vast piece of land O’Neal acquired near Dalton, New Hampshire, is a perfect playground for safely learning the ins and outs of rally racing and emergency avoidance manoeuvres.
They use regular Ford Fiestas; technicians deactivate all the driving aids (like traction and stability control), lighten the cars and install a safety cage, safety harnesses, racing shocks and a skid plate.
The course and roads are made of earth and clay and regularly soaked by a tanker to make sure they keep their slimy, slippery consistency.
The day essentially deals with the importance of weight transfer and the left foot braking technique. Why? Because reaction times are much quicker than with traditional right foot braking.
By leaving your left foot on the brake pedal, you can spin the car around and drive through a slalom course almost without turning the wheel! To spin the Fiesta around (or any other front-wheel-drive model), you simply need to keep a constant pressure on the gas pedal, slightly turn the wheel in the direction of the turn and lightly apply the brakes with your left foot. As the back of the car is unballasted, it skids easily. Let go of the brakes and the skidding stops.
Because we’re not used to placing our left foot on the brake pedal, the technique can be a bit tricky in the beginning. You tend to brake way too hard. But as you go through the slalom course, you refine your technique and finally manage to waltz effortlessly between cones.
The instructors then teach you about threshold braking, the pendulum turn and how to get out of sticky situations.
“The goal is to expose students to all sorts of situations that make them uncomfortable so they can learn a multitude of ways to handle them,” says O’Neal.
“The course isn’t designed to make you a rally racer, but a better driver who is ready to face any number of ordinary emergency situations. Instead of panicking, you’ll probably know what to do now,” he adds.