2017 Wrc Fiesta
Ahead of the Italian season finale, M-Sport managing director Malcolm Wilson is looking for a good result to sign off on a car which helped deliver five world titles in two seasons. Next year the Fiesta will be replaced by the new hybrid-powered Puma WRC Rally1 car.
"Obviously we've been running the Fiesta for a decade now," said Wilson, "but the difference for us came in 2017 and 2018, when we won the manufacturers' title and then back-to-back world championships with Sébastien [Ogier] and Julien [Ingrassia].
"That was the best possible way to start what would be the last generation of the Fiesta. Those sort of results, that sort of performance, really inspired the whole team and reminded them what it's like to be the best in the world."
The Fiesta replaced the Focus as M-Sport's WRC challenger in 2011, with Mikko Hirvonen victorious on the car's debut in Sweden (pictured above). That model won six rounds before the evolution version, introduced in 2017, added a further nine event wins.
"And still today the Fiesta WRC has the performance – we've seen that with some of the stage times Adrien [Fourmaux] and Gus [Greensmith] have been putting in," added Wilson.
"There's no doubt, the Fiesta will always hold a very special place in the history of M-Sport and it would be a fantastic way to sign off on that car if we could put in a strong result in Italy this week. We know that both guys go very well on Tarmac and I'm sure they're keen to end 2021 on a real high."
As well as reflecting on a world championship winning generation, Wilson is looking forward to the future.
Preview – FORUM8 ACI Rally Monza
Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans duel for the FIA World Rally Championship in a last-round shootout in Italy this weekend as the ...
Read More"The Puma coming next year is so, so exciting for us," he said. "We're working really closely with Ford on this car and I have no doubt – especially with Craig [Breen] joining us – we're going to right back to where this team belongs.
"I look back with real emotion and real happiness at what we achieved with the Fiesta, but the future for this team is looking really bright. What we're after this week is one final hurrah for the Fiesta in Monza."
• Full coverage from FORUM8 ACI Rally Monza will be available on WRC+ All Live here, including every stage broadcast as it happens as well as key interviews, features and expert analysis from the service park.
Source: https://www.wrc.com/en/news/2021/wrc/m-sport-bids-fond-farewell-to-ford-fiesta/
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