Ford Makes Commitment to WRC Despite F1 Exit

Ford made a four-year commitment to the world rally championship on Tuesday, ending fears that they could pull out of that series as well as Formula One.

"World championship rallying will continue to be our headline activity," said Lewis Booth, chairman and chief executive of Ford Europe, in a statement.

"We have signed an agreement with M-Sport's Malcolm Wilson which will ensure Ford remains in the series for the next four seasons," he added.

Ford said an all-new Ford Focus car, to be raced from 2006, would be developed by the British-based team over the course of next season. The team have won the last two rounds of the world championship with Estonian Markko Martin but released Belgian Francois Duval from his contract in September because of uncertainty about the future.

A spokeswoman said Duval had been offered a four-year deal but the driver was also talking to other teams. Martin is out of contract after the season-ending Australian round this month.

While the rally programme is run by Ford of Europe, the US carmaker's Formula One activities with the Jaguar team were funded directly by its North American base in Detroit.

Compelling Case

Ford announced in September they were quitting Formula One after the season that ended in Brazil last month because they could see no compelling business reason for continuing. They have yet to announce a buyer for either Jaguar or engine maker Cosworth, who provided engines for Formula One and the rally team.

A rally spokeswoman said no decision had been taken on continuing the relationship with Cosworth.

Jost Capito, director of the rally team, said there was a clear case for staying in that sport and he praised the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) for proposed cost-cutting measures.

"Our review showed there is a strong business case for Ford's continued involvement," added Capito. "The proposals from the FIA to reduce the costs of competing in the WRC, via revisions to the regulations, convinced us to continue long term.

"While the exact nature of those revisions has still to be finalised, I welcome these moves. We at Ford look forward to working with the FIA and the other manufacturers to make the sport as cost-effective as possible."

Wilson's M-Sport operation has run Ford's WRC programme for the past eight years. Ford have been involved in rallying since before the manufacturers' world championship was conceived in 1973. They last won a title with Finland's Ari Vatanen in 1981.

"Our continuation in WRC is excellent news for the championship and emphasises just how much the sport has developed in recent years," said Capito.