The 'Cumbrian Maranello' where Ford's WRC giants are born

The seeds were sown from a trip to Ferrari’s famous Maranello base 30 years ago and, after a decade of graft, M-Sport now has its own piece of Fiorano on its doorstep. This is the vision of M-Sport founder Malcolm Wilson that became reality this year when the final pieces of the project finally came together. The result is a 1.7-mile FIA Grade 3 test track that is surrounded by a new ultra-modern behemoth of a workshop.

Approaching the Cumbrian village of Dovenby, there’s a sign that reads ‘Welcome to Dovenby, please drive carefully’. It’s a touch ironic, since within 100 metres of that sign is the headquarters of World Rally Championship powerhouse M-Sport.

Although tucked away in the Lake District countryside, it’s an imposing 115-acre site featuring the Dovenby Hall stately home that dates back to the 12th century. It houses a facility that wouldn’t be out of place for any Formula 1 team, and even its old workshops are bigger than those of the Aston Martin F1 team, reckons a former employee who now works at M-Sport. But this is a story that began in 1991.

“Ferrari is where the vision began – it goes back even further to when I was driving for Ford in the WRC and Alex Fiorio was my team-mate and his father [Cesare] at the time was the Ferrari F1 team principal, so we went and stayed with him during our Monte Carlo recce,” recalls Wilson.

“So, of course, I got the opportunity to go to Maranello and I was straight out on the test track in an F40. To be honest that was where the seed was planted. I suppose at the end of the day it was a dream, but we made the dream a reality.”

There’s plenty of creative thinking behind this mammoth undertaking that was only completed at the end of last year. This new test track and facility is dual-purpose.

The recently-finished facility has a full test-track on-site

Photo by: M-Sport

Although M-Sport is not short of places to test its rally cars, with access to the Greystoke forest stage roads just 30 miles away, the test track not only acts as a valuable tool to design, build and construct its own rally and race cars, but provides a facility for any manufacturer or OEM to hire for use as a proving ground or launching new vehicles. In fact, Wilson hopes the facility will become a new revenue stream to the point where it’s so busy that M-Sport will struggle to use the test track for its own vehicle development.

No stone has been left unturned with the facility, including a lavish reception featuring a turntable to showcase vehicles. The track itself can be used in several layouts and includes a skid pan, while in a pitlane, adjacent to a 750-metre start/finish straight, are four pit garages that include dedicated offices for engineers to base themselves to pore over data. Upstairs is a bespoke track control office that overlooks the circuit and its fuel store. There are even plug-in hybrid points that have already been used for the team’s new WRC Puma Rally1 hybrid during its development phase.

Corporate boxes overlook the track, while downstairs M-Sport plans to move the majority of its operations from its old workshop into this new facility. It will house its shell shop, engineering bays, engine shop and all the manufacturing departments.

"The end product is exactly what I envisaged and dreamed about. It’s now down to the younger people in this company to drive the whole thing forward in the years to come" Malcolm Wilson

It’s not been an easy project, with COVID-19 intervening. That, plus the loss of the Bentley GT3 racing contract and its deal to run the defunct Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy, resulted in the team reverting to its rally car-building roots, prompting some difficult decisions.

“Motorsport has been my life and this place has been my life for the last 20-odd years,” Wilson adds. “We have almost fulfilled all of the site, and the last development as far as I’m concerned is the test track and the new engineering and manufacturing centre.

“I started to look at it in 2010, but you can imagine all the issues around the planning side of things. Getting something approved in this part of the world was not easy. The challenging part was we were about 70% through the build when COVID kicked off, and you can imagine the kind of investment we have had to make here.

“That put us in a really difficult position, as well as losing the Bentley and the Jaguar contracts, so it meant we had to make around 100 people redundant – and I didn’t expect to get to this point of my life and face that situation. It was a very difficult period. If we hadn’t done it, we probably wouldn’t be here today.”

Wilson's M-Sport outfit is benefitting from increased Ford support in 2022

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

But the new test track offers a chance to diversify the business and grow again. Aside from its rally projects, M-Sport has won the contract to build the new TOCA British Touring Car Championship engines and has even picked up work from the nuclear industry, while car manufacturers have also begun to book the new facility.

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“I’m really proud of it, of course,” smiles Wilson. “You can do all the marketing and presentations, but I feel it’s one of those places where you have to go and touch it and feel it.

“Looking at the COVID situation now, it’s not making it easy, but we have done a few quite big launches here and the feedback has been great. The end product is exactly what I envisaged and dreamed about. It’s now down to the younger people in this company to drive the whole thing forward in the years to come.”

While M-Sport has significantly raised the bar with its new facilities, it’s hoping to do the same with its all-new Ford Puma in the WRC. Ever since the launch of the Puma back in July at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, there has been a wave of hope and anticipation that this car will take the team back to the top of the rally tree.

This is not just blind optimism, and only a quick glance at the history books highlights why the team is buoyant. M-Sport has proven quite a force when new regulations are introduced. The team nailed the previous set of rules in 2017, winning a drivers’ and manufacturers’ double with its Fiesta and Sebastien Ogier at the wheel.

It’s been a barren few years for the team, with its last WRC win on Rally GB in 2018 with Ogier, but there is genuine hope that the drought will come to an end this year. For the WRC’s new hybrid era, M-Sport elected to focus the majority of its resources into developing its new Puma throughout 2021. The change in regulations was key to Ford stumping up increased backing from the US to help develop the car.

And the stars appear to be aligning for M-Sport to offer a serious challenge to Toyota and Hyundai and even mount a title tilt, with new signing Crag Breen spearheading the attack, flanked by Gus Greensmith and Adrien Fourmaux, and with the WRC’s greatest, Sebastien Loeb, in a cameo role.

Wilson has full faith that the new Puma can replicate the success of the Fiesta when it was introduced in 2017

Photo by: Bastien Roux

“2017 was an incredible year for me and, because of the extra support and resources we have been given by Ford to design and develop the new Puma, I have to say I’m really excited,” says Wilson. “I know how good the 2017 car was and I have every confidence with what the guys have done with this car – and to be honest I have more confidence with this car than the 2017 car.

"It’s going to be difficult going against Hyundai and Toyota, but the feedback from all the drivers who have driven the cars is very positive. That sends out a great confidence boost to everybody as well" Malcolm Wilson

“I can’t wait until Monte Carlo. I’m really happy we’ve been able to secure Craig Breen as a driver and the timing is right for him and us – in his last three rallies he’s been on the podium. We are certainly trying to mould the team around Craig because we feel it’s the right time, and we have Adrien and Gus.

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“It’s going to be difficult going against Hyundai and Toyota, but the feedback from all the drivers who have driven the cars is very positive. That sends out a great confidence boost to everybody as well.

“There is no question that Elfyn [Evans, Toyota] has had a great couple of seasons, he’s going to be really strong and we know what Ott [Tanak] and Thierry [Neuville] are like as well. If Craig can build on what he has done in the last few rallies and our car is as good as I hope it is, then I’d certainly hope we could be in with a shout.”

With Breen spearheading its lineup, Wilson believes M-Sport can challenge for glory in 2022

Photo by: Bastien Roux

The opposition M-Sport has to beat

Despite increased backing from Ford, M-Sport cannot afford to relax and will face a stern challenge from reigning WRC manufacturers’ champion Toyota and rival Hyundai. Both factory teams have faced similar challenges in developing their new cars for the season, and neither team can be sure of how their new creations will fare until the stage times start coming in at Monte Carlo.

Toyota has developed its all-new GR Yaris, which takes design cues from the new Yaris road car, but that’s where the similarities end. Speaking at the official launch, Toyota sporting director Kaj Lindstrom was pleased with the effort from his team in developing the GR Yaris, but expects the car will undergo minor changes as the season progresses.

“A lot of work has been put into it to get the package ready and we are happy with it, let’s see,” said Lindstrom. “The whole package is completely different and for the drivers there is nothing to compare it to, it is so different from the previous car.

“I think it’s never easy if something is fundamentally wrong on the car, but I believe we have investigated everything and we are in that situation that for sure there will be some minor changes, but nothing major on the car itself.”

Hyundai has perhaps faced the most challenges in preparing its new i20 N, starting with being the last marque to give the green light to commit to the new Rally1 regulations. Added to that, its team principal of six years Andrea Adamo left the squad in December, citing personal reasons, just days after Thierry Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe walked away from a testing crash that significantly damaged their new test mule.
While the team searches for a new boss, powertrain manager Julien Moncet has been appointed deputy team director and he is confident that the development of the i20 N has not been affected.

“It has been really challenging and really sudden and a brand-new world for me and a lot of new things to learn,” says Moncet. “I try to do my best, but thankfully the structure of the team is still in place and it has had no impact in the development of the car.”

While nobody knows which team has done its homework best in the off-season, there are no question marks surrounding Toyota’s and Hyundai’s ability to produce championship contenders.

M-Sport will face fierce competition from Toyota and Hyundai in 2022

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool