Ford commits to German WRC 'dress rehearsal'
Ford has added its weight to the entry for July's ADAC Rallye Deutschland, the event at the head of the queue to join the World Rally Championship
Ford will enter two works-run Focus RS World Rally Cars for WRC regular Francois Delecour and Austrian driver Raimund Baumschlager, prefering to rest Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz, who are both running full WRC programmes.
The Blue Oval is set to be joined by entries from Peugeot, which intends to run reigning world champion Marcus Gronholm, Skoda and Hyundai. Skoda looks likely to run its German driver Armin Schwarz, with Hyundai tipped to field its asphalt specialist Piero Liatti.
The route for the asphalt-based rally combines elements of the Hunsruck and Deutschland events, but in a more WRC-friendly format, with a compact route and centralised servicing. Its inclusion in the WRC could be as early as 2002, depending on the success of this year's event.
Martin Whitaker, European Director of Ford Racing, said: "The World Rally Championship is clearly Ford's most important global motorsport activity, but top class rallying outside the world championship can also provide a splendid platform on which to demonstrate our products."
Share Or Save This Story
History repeats as 70th anniversary of Mallory Park is celebrated
How Sutton's BTCC steamroller overcame Snetterton challenges
Rossi faces key decision: Who will replace di Giannantonio at VR46?
Red Bull reacts to Verstappen’s criticism – why ‘I told you’ moments are needed
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments