Brendan Reeves wins in the USA

Australian rally star Brendan Reeves has given the new Ford Fiesta R2 a perfect US debut at the New England Forest Rally, winning the two-wheel drive class.

Reeves completed the rally's 13 forest stages, situated in the north-eastern state of Maine, over 12 minutes ahead of his nearest two-wheel drive competitor.

Even more impressively, Reeves finished sixth outright, with only much more powerful four-wheel drive machinery ahead of him, driven by the likes of multiple US champions David Higgins, Ken Block and Travis Pastrana.

The US has been a happy hunting ground for Reeves, who took five wins from five starts in the 2013 and secured the 2WD championship in the previous-generation R2.

It was Reeves' extensive experience with the Fiesta R2, including two seasons in the WRC Academy in 2011-2012, which led to British engineering firm M-Sport selecting him to drive the new car in its US debut.

The new Fiesta R2 is powered by a 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder EcoBoost engine, which despite its diminutive capacity produces an incredible 132kW/250Nm.

'Brendo' has had a long relationship with MOTOR, lending his driving services on many occasions, and hopefully this further success leads to the opportunity his speed undoubtedly deserves.

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