Ford head calls for WRC glory

"We hope it’s our championship"

By Franck Drui

27 January 2011 - 12:26
Ford head calls for WRC glory

Ford of Europe motorsport boss Gerard Quinn has called on drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala to deliver the Blue Oval a world championship title this season.

The company last won the WRC manufacturers’ crown in 2007 - its last drivers’ title success was with Ari Vatanen back in 1981 - but starts 2011 rejuvenated following the launch of its new Fiesta RS World Rally Car, which Finns Hirvonen and Latvala will debut on Rally Sweden next month.

Both Hirvonen and Latvala are contenders for this year’s drivers’ accolade, while Ford’s pursuit of the manufacturers’ award could be boosted by the numerical advantage it enjoys with close on 10 Fiestas set to start each round of the series compared to the five DS3 WRCs being turned out by Citroen.

“It’s a huge season for us,” said Quinn. “Not only have we got a new car but we’ve had to get the car to where it is right now and then to make it competitive starting in Sweden. Our main challenge this year will be to win a championship but also to beat the competition. We struggled last season, we had some good rallies but we need to be back winning championships.”

Ford’s preparations for the season-opener in Karlstad suffered a setback when Latvala crashed heavily in a test in Sweden recently, which forced the team to scrap its planned entry on the Arctic Lapland Rally in Finland this weekend. However, Quinn is convinced his charges will hit the ground running when the new season kicks off.

“We’re ready,” continued Quinn. “We’ve done intensive testing since before the end of last year. Obviously with a new car there’s going to be areas of concern and we started off with a pretty big list of issues. But over time with our engineers and our technicians, we have picked those off and resolved all those issues. Hopefully we will minimise and eliminate them by the time we get to Sweden. It’s anybody’s championship right now and we hope it’s our championship.”

WRC

Search

Motorsport news

Pics

Videos