The fifth round of the Kick Energy Fiesta SportTrophy takes place this weekend at the Manx International Rally, based in the seaside resort of Douglas.  The event sees the FST reunite with the British Rally Championship (BRC) and allows competitors to compete in the dual format option of the FST series whereby registered crews may take part in the FST event and also the full two day BRC event or the double-header BRC Challenge event.  The FST event starts on SS1 of the event and finishes after SS8.

The Manx sees a new challenge for all crews in that it is the first of two Tarmac events for the 2009 series.  With a number of Irish crews who specialise on asphalt competing against the regular top FST UK crews, it should be an interesting and exciting battle for the victory.

The championship is currently jointly led by Matt Edwards (24) from Cockermouth and Kyle Orr (19) from Dromore.  Edwards is competing in the BRC Challenge part of the event and comes to the island with no Tarmac experience in his Fiesta ST.  Edwards has a new navigator in the form of Rob Fagg who is a local from the island and the new pairing will hope to use this advantage to their maximum.  Although an outright win on his first attempt at tarmac will be a tall order Edwards hopes to score as many points as possible in order to retain his lead in the series whilst also closing the deficit to the leader of the BRC Challenge series, in which he currently lies sixth overall.

Orr had a slightly disappointing result on the previous round of the FST UK series, the RSAC Scottish rally, finishing fifth overall.  However, the talented Irish youngster will hope that his tarmac experience from previous years in the FST UK and Irish series will give him an upper hand in the fight for the win on the Manx.

Craig Breen (18) from Waterford and co-driver Gareth Roberts come to the event as strong favourites for the win.  Breen has shown impeccable form on the FST Irish Tarmac rounds this year winning the last three events in a row.  Breen will be competing on the full International event and is currently three points off the series lead in the UK; therefore, his aim this weekend will be to score highly and to leave the island with the championship lead.

Mark Donnelly (17) from Omagh and navigator Paddy Robinson struggled on the last round of the UK series with the organiser's route notes; but with the ability to complete a recce on this event and make their own tailored pacenotes, the crew will be more confident and ready to tackle the competition.  Donnelly has been close to victory a number of times this year but has never quite realised his dream, so this weekend they will hope for their first maximum points haul.

Kris Hall (19) from Appleby and navigator Robbie Durant come to the event fresh on the heels of a victory on the previous round of the series.  After struggling to keep up with the front-runners on Rounds 2 and 3 of the series, Hall will now hope to continue his winning streak and get back to the top of the standings. 

Stefan Davis (26) from Aylesford and new navigator Tim Line return to the series after missing out the previous two rounds.  Davis' main aim for the event is to score points in the BRC and aim for the BRC Pirelli Star Driver nomination, but coming so close to the win on Round 1, his winning potential should not be underestimated.

For Harry Hunt (20) from London and new navigator Kris Killip, the event will be a new challenge for the crew.  With Hunt now eligible for his international competition licence, he is able to compete in the full International event and face two days of daunting competition.  Hunt retired on SS1 of the previous event after getting stuck in a ditch and therefore will aim to finish this event.  The fact that Hunt competed on the Manx National Rally earlier this year coupled with local navigators Killip's experience should mean that the pairing are well prepared for this event.

Tom Watson (18) from Glanamman and co-driver Ken Bowman are in the same situation as Hunt, with the advantage of having an international licence they have also decided to enter the full BRC event.  Watson has been competing in as many events as possible this year and, having competed in some Tarmac rallies including the Jim Clark leading up to this event, he will hope to be on the pace and challenge for a top spot finish.

The final two entries for the event are Billy Coleman award winner Ross Forde (25) from Galway and navigator Gary McElhinney and Robert Barrable (21) from Dublin and navigator Seamus O'Grady.  With both of these crews new to the series this year, they have made headway in raising their pace to that of the leaders in a very short period of time.  Forde and Barrable will look to continue this trend on the Isle of Man and hope to come away with maximum points scores.

With all of the crews bar Edwards, Barrable and Forde competing in the full International event, it will be an interesting weekend to see the progress of the FST crews against the more powerful 4WD cars entered into the event.

The Kick Energy FST UK has a prize fund in excess of £18,000, with £750 for the winner of each round down to £75 for eighth place.

Current joint championship leader, Matt Edwards, said:

"This weekend will be all about staying out of trouble and maintaining a steady pace; a finish on my first Tarmac event will be the highest priority. It would be nice to be heading the championship come a week today; however, I have to be realistic in realising that many of my closest competitors have had much more experience on Tarmac than I have. Obtaining points, as well as building experience on a new surface, is key."