Ford pleased with RS WRC06's debut
Ford team principal Malcolm Wilson is confident the 2006 version of the Focus RS WRC will be faster than its predecessor, despite the rule changes which had been expected to slow World Rally Cars next season
The biggest change for 2006 comes in the car's transmission - with passive differentials replacing the current electronically-controlled ones - making the new machines more challenging to drive on loose surfaces.
Ford are the first team to reveal their new car, with the RS WRC06 making its competitive debut at this morning's shakedown for Rally Australia.
The car was quick out of the box, with Roman Kresta posting the team's best time - 3.4 seconds slower than Petter Solberg's benchmark.
Wilson said: "I'm very pleased and very encouraged with what I've seen this morning. In theory, these cars should be slower, but we've proved here that they're not going to be.
"The car is, obviously, still in its very early stages. Neither driver had driven the car before he got here, so everything was new for them. The guys did some damper adjustments at shakedown, but they didn't even get down to sorting out settings for anti-roll bars.
"It's great to see this kind of pace, when we know there's so much more to come from the car and from the drivers."
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