Countdown to Rally of Portugal

When the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team arrives in Faro for the Vodafone Rally of Portugal they will usher in a new era in the sport. For the first time ever, Ford arrives as the most successful manufacturer in the history of the sport.

When Jari-Matti Latvala crossed the finish line of the final stage in Rally New Zealand earlier this month, the delight was etched across his face - once he realised he’d actually won. Once he’d got beyond the joy of winning, it then dawned on him that he had been the driver to re-write the World Rally Championship’s record books. Gone was Lancia’s joint-ownership at 74 wins - a figure which had stood since 1992 - to be replaced by a big Blue Oval 75. “It’s incredible to have this record,” said Latvala. “To be the driver to break this number is a real honour.”

Slightly - just slightly - older than Latvala, Ford of Europe’s senior motorsport manager Gerard Quinn was more able to put the achievement into context. “The history which goes into those 75 wins is incredible,” said Quinn, a man who has worked at Ford for much of his career - and witnessed first hand the glory years of the Escort. “Look down the list and see the drivers who have won for Ford, the likes of Bjorn Waldegaard, Ari Vatanen and more recently in the 1990s, Francois Delecour; it’s incredible and they’re all part of this story as well. But to be here when Ford has become, officially, the world’s most successful team in the World Rally Championship is something we’re not going to forget.”

With typical pragmatism, the BP Ford Abu Dhabi team is not about to rest on its laurels - all 75 of them. No. Instead, it’s already deeply focused on the Atlantic-side battle which lies ahead of them in Portugal. The Ford boys and girls are chasing win number 76. And, if they did manage to garner back-to-back WRC wins, it would likely be enough to bag them the lead in the Manufacturers’ championship race as well.

Who’s going to win?

The fight for this year’s Manufacturers’ crown has been one of the talking points of the season so far. We’re approaching the halfway stage and there’s absolutely nothing to split BP Ford Abu Dhabi and Citroen Total. It’s a fascinating and electrifying fight for supremacy between the two big boys of world rally.

For the first two rounds, Ford held the upper hand, but from Jordan onwards ’les rouges’ have been at the top of the tree. A chaotic final Rally New Zealand morning on the Tasman Coast cost Citroen precious points in the makes’ race as Ford outscored Citroen by 10 points to narrow the margin between the two teams to just five points as they start next week’s Vodafone Rally of Portugal. In new money, five points equates to next to nothing: a seventh place is worth six - which demonstrates just how close the scrap is.

Crucially, neither Citroen or Ford has managed the perfect score this season yet. Neither has bagged the one-two which would lift them a massive 43 points. Twice Ford has taken manufacturers’ points for first and third (in Sweden and New Zealand) with Citroen managing that feat in Jordan, but both firms will have an eye on the top two steps of the podium in an effort to elevate themselves above their rival.

And, if recent for is anything to go by on the roads inland from Faro and the event’s base in the Algarve Stadium, Citroen has to be the favourite for the win as Sebastien Loeb has won the event for the last two years.

The Vodafone Rally of Portugal has only been in the south of the country for the last two editions. Prior to that, the event ran in the Porto region, which is why the organisers included a roadshow in the country’s second city. The roadshow will include a 950-metre superspecial stage in the City Hall area. As Loeb, Latvala and the rest of the World Rally Championship stars arrive in the streets, it’s likely to be a certain Kimi Raikkonen who’s going to be most at home.

The Formula 1 star is no stranger to driving quickly through the streets, having contested the Monaco Grand Prix nine times and won it once in 2005. Equally, the streets of Porto are well used to being pounded by Formula 1 cars - in 1958 and 1960 the city’s Boavista street circuit played host to victories for Sir Stirling Moss and Sir Jack Brabham.

But it’s back down south where Ford and Citroen will fight this one out. Running so close to the Atlantic coast, the weather on the Vodafone Rally of Portugal can be notoriously fickle, with rain coming quickly or, conversely, strong winds drying wet roads equally quickly.

But, with two wins from two, Loeb’s on top. Not only does the Frenchman bring a comfortable lead to the sixth round of the series, but he’s also likely to be on the highest of highs after his simply stunning run through Saturday in New Zealand, when he rocketed back up the leaderboard after dropped his C4 on Friday. Unfortunately for him, a brace of Sunday spins cost him the lead and a possible fourth straight win.

But, the combination of a rare Loeb error and a similar problem - after a faultless first two days - for Sebastien Ogier allowed Latvla to power past and take Ford’s 75th and biggest win.

But the big question now is will Latvala and his Finnish team-mate Mikko Hirvonen put daylight between Ford and Lancia with number 76 in Portugal next week?