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True Street: This is how you motorsport

 

315 MK2 LV Ford Focus RS

 

In the automotive enthusiast scene, bench racing is a dominant form of motorsport. Excuses are rife, cars are seldom ready and drivers are wary of committing to racing in an event or breaking their pride and joy.

Sydneysider Cameron Mort is living motorsport, excuse-free.

At just 22, the ultra-keen Ford fan has competed in more motorsport events than enthusiasts twice his age, logging times at Sydney Motorsport Park, Wakefield, Baskerville, Marulan, Wakefield, Mt Panorama as well as hill climbs and drag strips around the state.

Proud owner of one of only 315 MK2 LV Ford Focus RSs ever brought into the country, Cameron’s is finished in the distinctive Ultimate Green scheme. The RS is his first performance car.

“I’m pretty into it,” Cameron says. “I went with the RS for something different. I’ve always liked Ford hatchbacks and older Fords.”

315 MK2 LV Ford Focus RS

His interest in motorsport is self-motivated. “There is no family connection or anything. I just got into this to enjoy it myself!” he says.

Powerful FF cars are often marred by torque steer, something the RS is renowned for. Rather than being a hindrance, it’s one of Cameron’s favourite parts the car.

“That’s the fun of it: that’s what I enjoy, sort of fighting the car. It’s got a bit of character, it’s not like AWD or an automatic where it goes where ever you point it, it’s got some personality.”

315 MK2 LV Ford Focus RS

Running a quick 1:12.03 in his first Nulon Nationals Wakefield Time Attack last year, with the RS bone stock, the green skittle has since under the knife.

Earning himself the nickname ‘Mortune’ among his Club Deutsche car club peers, Cameron has imported parts himself from the UK via email to up the power and tune the car.

“I’ve done a bit of work to it; I do most of the work myself,” he says.

315 MK2 LV Ford Focus RS

Stanced aggressively on a set of KW Clubsports and sport-focused sway bars, the RS’s five- cylinder turbo has been gifted the full gamut of breathing modifications, liberating every possible pony.

An Elevate plenum sucks cold air into the turbine through a Mountune intake and pushes it through an Airtec intercooler, with fuel and power managed by a six-bar fuel pump, uprated Siemens injectors and Collins Performance CP420 tune (the toughest tune they offer).

From turbo flange to rear bar, the Mongoose three-inch exhaust pops, burbles and howls, giving an already distinctive car a very unique noise.

These modifications equate to 400 horsepower in a very tractable, fun package.

315 MK2 LV Ford Focus RS

Putting that to the ground via the front wheels is a recipe for wheel spin. Smoky fenders look cool when staging at the strip, but the all-rounder nature of Cameron’s Focus means leaving the line clean is a top priority.
With a chassis celebrated for gorilla grip, Cameron was struggling to hook up with the stock rubber during more spirited moments.

Looking to launch harder, corner cleaner and place higher, he beaded a set of Toyo Proxes R888s to a set of crisp white 18-inch Team Dynamics wheels.

“They were recommended by a friend who had them on his Focus. I am really happy with them. They have definitely made a difference.

“Managing the air pressures is easy, and they come up to temp fast,” Cameron says.

With massively reduced wheel-spin off the mark, the R888’s provide sticky grip, wet or dry.

Most recently, Cameron competed in the Bulahdelah Hillclimb. The second round of the 2015 Nulon Nationals, the event claims to be the fastest public road hill climb in the country.

Beating a field packed with M3s, turbo 911s, GTRs, Evos of varying vintage and all manner of hyper-modified machinery, Cameron pulled a very quick 38.74 through Bulahdelah’s tight and technical Wooton Way.

“At Bulahdelah they gripped the whole time even at the start, just from a quick little burnout and ambient temperature they were still gripping really well,” says a humble, happy Cameron.

What’s next? A casual trip to Germany, with the express purpose of driving a caged, coilovered and race-modified Focus ST on the Nurburgring.


About: Nulon Nationals is a series that brings Australia’s car clubs together to battle each other in multiple motorsport disciplines, testing steering skills while pushing the boundaries of cars that are too often built for just one racing discipline.

Round 1: Motorkhana on the Sydney Motorsport Park Skid Pan on Saturday 17th January 2015.

Round 2: Hillclimb on the Old Pacific Highway at Bulahdelah on Saturday & Sunday 28th & 29th March 2015.

Round 3: Track Sprint at Wakefield Park Raceway on Friday 10th July 2015.

Round 4: Airport Drag Racing at Cootamundra Airport on Saturday 12th of September 2015.