Harper Adams University are set to join the Prestone MSA British Rally Championship this season with a freshly-built M-Sport Ford Fiesta R2 National. The Harper Adams Motorsport Team are proud to announce a new partnership with the M-Sport World Rally Team as they prepare to enter Britain’s premier rallying series.
Harper Adams is the first and only University in the UK who are fielding their own team at this level, with all of the positions from the driver, to service crew being filled by students studying at the University. This is a unique opportunity available at Harper Adams University and is a first for them as they branch out from the traditional agricultural background.
The driver on the seven-round series is James McDiarmid, (21) studying Automotive Engineering. McDiarmid has driven single venue tarmac and gravel events with experience at many events in the Scottish Tarmac Rally Championship; including finishing the Tour of Mull on four occasions.
In the hot-seat will be Max Haines-Messenger (21) who is also studying Automotive Engineering. Logistics Manager Will Coldicott, and Engineer Dan Markham will be joined by first and second year students.
The Ford Fiesta arrived at the university mid-November, with the team working hard alongside their studies to strip and prepare the car. Just before Christmas the shell returned from paint and is now in the process of being built ready for some pre-event testing.
The team will be starting their Junior BRC campaign at the Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally. They will also be entering all of the BRC events across: Northern Ireland, Belgium, Scotland, England, Wales and the Isle of Man; along with various other events throughout the season.
M-Sport introduced the team to CA1 Sport and Autotek to gain some experience with servicing and the organisation required to run a team for BRC season during the 2016 season and the Harper Adams Motorsport Team are thankful to the entire team at M-Sport including: Richard Millener for the time and trust invested in us; Phil Bradshaw for the continued technical support and knowledge throughout the build process; and finally to Malcolm Wilson for making all of this possible.
Harper Adams Motorsport Team is based out of Harper Adams University in Newport, Shropshire. You can find them at the Autosport Show on stand number (7110).
