New Record Holder
The record this year was not set by Thierry Neuville or any other big time WRC name. Instead it was set by a WRC 2 driver. WRC 2 is a support series for the main show and the cars are not as powerful or heavily modded as the main event. Eyvind Brynildsen, the WRC 2 driver, however, has set the record for the longest jump when he took his Ford Fiesta out for a spin.
The Car
He was behind the wheel of his Ford Fiesta R5 rally car and shattered the earlier record by an entire meter. This meant that he was walking away with the Colin's Crest Award which is named in honor of the late, great Colin McRae. A meter doesn't seem like too much of a difference but when you consider the car he used to pull it off, the feat becomes extraordinary.
When you consider how far the jump was and how long the car was in the air, one meter is impressive as well. If it was one inch, that would not be that big of deal and perhaps even controversial. But one meter leaves no ambiguity. This is a fantastic jump and the Fiesta handled it and came out standing.
How he did It
At the beginning of the jump, Brynildsen was traveling at approximately 165 km/h in 5th gear. He said that he was no longer sure it was a jump. He felt like he was in orbit. His car was feeling like a low flying spaceship. Maybe he was!
This rally driver from Norway had decided before beginning the race that he was going to try and break this record on the famous Colin's Crest part of the course.
Past Winners
The first recipient of this award was Khalid Al Qassimi back in 2008 when he managed a jump of 36 meters. The next winner was Ken Block in 2011 with a recorded 37 meter jump.
After the Jump
Speaking with the official website for the WRC, Brynildsen said that Neuville (who has smashed the record twice in the past) did not believe his Fiesta R5 could move that fast. Brynildsen then said that Neuville was free to go for a ride with him if he had any doubts. He said that the corner combination before the crest was perfect and they had built up quite a bit of speed. He had already decided that if everything was going according to plan, he would try breaking the record and so he put his foot on the gas and continued to floor it.
Then he was airborne as if was a low flying bird.
The Ford Fiesta R5 WRC was built by the Ford World Rally Team in the year 2011 which is based on the commercial road car concept of the Ford Fiesta. In 2014, a new face lifted version of the Ford Fiesta R5 WRC was unveiled.
A few cosmetic changes were made on the outside, most notably in the front of the car, however the engine and the hardware remained the same under the bonnet. In the year 2015, another version was launched which was simply called the Evolution. This was before the Portugal rally took place. M-Sport completely rebuilt the engine of the Fiesta. A team from Ford helped them achieve the feat.
