The whole Team Condiments thing started a while back. I was the first to get a Focus, picking up my yellow sedan back in late 2011 (holy crap has time flown). When Mario bought his red Focus ST at the start of 2013 and we began attending meets and shows with them together, they started being referred to and known as Ketchup and Mustard. A little while after that Vlad bought a white Focus ST which we started calling Mayo, and that was when Team Condiments really started, as a bit of a joke. After he sold it on Brandon took over with Le Yeti.

Now, some food-related nicknaming scheme was not forcing Mario to buy a car that would be the colour of a condiment but as it happened, Sriracha was a good fit for his new car…

…a 2016 Fiesta ST, finished in the ridiculously sparkly Molten Orange paint!

Since the collision lots of people had been asking what the replacement would be and some were wondering if a Focus RS would be chosen. It was considered but they’re too far out at this point in time, and obviously are a fair bit more expensive than either of the STs. The facelifted Focus STs didn’t catch Mario’s fancy as much as the pre-facelifts but he didn’t want to buy used, so they were off the list too. The FiST was a platform he really liked and after test driving one, he knew that it was the one for him. He remains in the ST family while enjoying something a little bit different – Same same, but different. But still same. It should be noted that he first planned on a Race Red FiST but he specifically wanted a 2016 model for Sync 3 (which seems to be a massive step up over MFT, based on my brief experience with it) and Race Red wasn’t offered for this model year.

Yesterday he got the call that the car was ready to pick up, so after a brief stop to pull some things out of Ketchup we all headed over to the dealership to see his new pride and joy. Mario brought a few other pieces from Ketchup with him and promptly started putting them on before even starting the Fiesta up. First up was his Broadway mirror which Nakai-san had signed back at the RWB reveal.

Following that, his stubby antenna replaced the stock part.

Of course, his YO LOW plate was installed, complete with his new officialThreeTwenty plate frame. +5 WHP right there!

Fortunately the sun was out at this time so I could capture a few photos to show off the paint. I swear I even saw some blue/purple sparkles in it!

I have a full photo of them later, but this car was specced with the matching orange Recaros which look absolutely amazing.

As his last ‘modification’ before leaving the dealer lot, Mario removed the stock shift knob…

…and replaced it with his WC Latheworks ball.

He then put his first few meters on the FiST to bring it around and park it alongside the sedan. Mustard and Sriracha together for the first time!

We then briefly met with Aldrich and his insanely cute puppy Merlin at the dealership, before heading down the road a bit. We wandered over to Garage Box to say hi to Paul and meet up with Kanji, Derrick, and Dave. Having driven it a total of 1 kilometer at this point, Mario decided it was time to remove the Fiesta badge too.

From there we all cruised over to Brandon’s house so that he could see the Fiesta, and then he joined us as we went out for dinner at Opa (sans Dave). Following that Brandon headed back home and the rest of us went downtown for a few final photos of Sriracha. We opted to shoot in front of the graffiti wall that I had used in my Back to the Future shoot but unfortunately most of it had been painted over, which was a surprise to us.

Despite the light disappearing and the graffiti wall being mostly bare, we still hung out for a little longer and grabbed a few shots.

Kanji’s BRZ (MOARLOW) and Derrick’s Camaro (LOWMARO) parked off to the side…

There’s the shot of the seats I promised! Grey inserts were also an option with this paint but why not go orange on orange?

So there it is, Ketchup’s successor! YO LOW 2.0. Sriracha. Mini me. The FiST. Mario’s new blank canvas.

I think I can speak for all of us when I say I’m extremely happy for Mario. It hasn’t been the best month for him but he now has a new little hot hatch to cruise around in and of course it’ll evolve and change a fair bit over the coming months and seasons. Parts are already going on, more have been ordered, and hopefully it’ll look rather different by the time Sunday School rolls around. Stay tuned for updates on Sriracha, as it follows in Ketchup’s footsteps and becomes one unique little ST! This should be good.

-Bill