BP FORD ABU DHABI WORLD RALLY TEAM
Highlights: |
| 2008: | First and second in the Rally of Turkey secured Ford's 100th consecutive points finish in the WRC - a feat never before achieved. Jari-Matti Latvala became the youngest driver to win a WRC round in Sweden at just 22 and Hirvonen became the first driver ever to score points in all rounds of a WRC season. |
| 2007: | Ford claims FIA Manufacturers' championship for the second consecutive year and the Ford Focus RS WRC 08 was introduced in Finland. Marcus Grõnholm wins in Sweden, Sardinia, Greece, Finland, Turkey and New Zealand. Mikko Hirvonen claims victories in Norway, Japan and Great Britain. Abu Dhabi partnership is formed before Rally Finland. |
| 2006: |
Ford claims FIA Manufacturers' championship for the first time since 1979. Marcus Grõnholm wins in Monte Carlo, Sweden, Greece, Finland, Turkey, New Zealand, Great Britain and Mikko Hirvonen claims his maiden victory in Australia. |
| 2005: |
50th consecutive points finish in the WRC. Since 1973 and 411 world rallies no other manufacturer has scored in more than 36 consecutive events. The Ford Focus RS WRC 06 made its debut in Australia. |
| 2004: | Markko Märtin wins in Mexico, Corsica and Spain. |
| 2003: | Introduction of a radical and revolutionary new Focus RS WRC car, which took rally car design and technology to new frontiers. The car was a huge success and Markko Märtin claimed victories in Greece and Finland. |
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Profile:
From the legendary Escort to the modern Focus WRC, Ford has been a mainstay of the World Rally Championship since the early 1970s. This year, the team begins another quest for rallying's top honour with the Finnish duo of Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala hoping to collect Ford a third consecutive Manufacturer's title.
The most recent chapter in Ford's WRC story started when British champion and Blue Oval stalwart Malcolm Wilson won the deal to run Ford's campaign for the start of 1997. The Escort Cosworth that Wilson's M-Sport team inherited was long in the tooth, however, and the best Carlos Sainz could manage was wins in Indonesia and Greece on the way to third in the Drivers' standings.
Juha Kankkunen and Bruno Thiry impressed at times 1998, but work had already started on the new Focus WRC. It made a long-expected debut in Monte Carlo in 1999, and big-money signing Colin McRae showed its promise. McRae went on to win the tough Safari and Portuguese events, but a troubled second half of the year denied the team a title.
