Zoom The Irish branch of the FST series continues this week-end

Round 2 of the Maxol E85 Ford Fiesta SportingTrophy Ireland kicks off on Sunday 23rd March when the registered crews will line up for the UAC Circuit of Ireland Rally. The event, which is run by the Ulster Automobile Club and based in Newcastle, will see Fiesta crews run as one group just behind the main International field. Competitors face the demanding stages of Sunday's leg, which offer a total of 52 competitive miles.

Round 1, the Galway International Rally, was won by welsh duo Elfyn Evans (18) from Powys, Mid-Wales, and Gareth Roberts. The pairing will lead the nine FST crews away from the start.

Evans, who currently leads the drivers' standings, will be looking to claim a second consecutive win aboard a brand new Fiesta ST built for this event. With his father and ex-Ford works driver Gwyndaf overseeing the young Welshman's progress, he has some invaluable advice available to help him on his title assault.

Alastair Fisher (18) from Enniskillen will be the second car to leave the start ramp. Fisher will be co-driven by Barry McNulty as usual. Fisher, who had bad luck on the first round of the series when a heavy landing after a bridge resulted in a broken driveshaft which eventually cost him the victory, will be aiming to change his misfortune and get through the rally to take maximum points.

The brothers of Tadhg and Shane Buckley from Ballyhaunis in County Mayo will be the third car on the road. A third place overall on round 1 has given Buckley a strong start to the championship, and he will be trying to build on this during round 2.

The fourth Fiesta on the road will be Meilyr Evans (18) from Machynlleth, co-driven again by Andrew Edwards. Evans is competing in both the UK and Irish Fiesta series in 2008. Having only competed in two rallies at the controls of a Fiesta ST, the Welshman has had a strong start to both series, scoring valuable points on both occasions, and his aim at the Circuit of Ireland will be to continue this trend.

Kyle Orr (18) from Dromore will be the fifth car on the road. He will be joined by Connor Harvey's (3rd of the 2007 series) former navigator Tony McDaid. Orr is also competing in both the UK and Irish FST series and, with a strong finish on the first rounds of both championships, he will be hoping to build on his current results. Orr has spent a lot of time developing his pacenote-making skills and has competed in a number of other rallies outside of the series to gain maximum time behind the wheel. He hopes this extra effort will be rewarded with his first FST victory.