Ford World Rally Team
The Ford World Rally Team, also known as the Ford Motor Co. Team prior to 2005, was Ford Motor Company's factory World Rally Championship team. It was a regular competitor in the series from the 1970s until withdrawing following the 2012 season.
History
1978 season
Ford ended the 1978 season with a win for Hannu Mikkola on the season ending Lombard RAC Rally at the hands of an Escort RS1800. He was followed by Björn Waldegård and Britain's Russell Brookes in similar machinery.1979 season
Ford won the World Rally Championship in 1979 with the Ford Escort RS1800 and drivers Hannu Mikkola, Björn Waldegård and Ari Vatanen.1980–1985 seasons
Ford did not officially enter any cars for these seasons after winning the 1979 World Rally Championship season, they instead concentrated on development of the Ford Escort RS 1700T, however this programme was cancelled in 1983. A new car was required to compete with four-wheel drive Group B rivals like the Audi Quattro S1 and Peugeot 205 T16. Lessons learned from the RS 1700T programme were used in the development of the RS200, which hit the stages in 1986. However, Ari Vatanen did win the 1981 drivers championship in a Rothmans liveried Ford Escort RS, but this was run by David Sutton Cars and not the official works Ford team.1986 season
Having spent time away from the sport developing the Ghia styled RS200, Ford made a return to the world rallying stage at the second round in Sweden. Ford's new RS200 featured four-wheel drive, a turbocharged Cosworth BDT engine generating 450 bhp and a new blue and white Ford Motorsport livery.Ford employed the services of Swedish drivers Stig Blomqvist and Kalle Grundel, but they would each only be entered on four rallies in a season overshadowed with tragedy. Grundel achieved a podium finish on the RS200's debut in Sweden, a result that would not be bettered all season, the following round in Portugal saw an RS200 driven by Joaquim Santos leave the road, killing three spectators, Ford withdrew their entry for that rally.
Fifth place for Grundel on the Lombard RAC Rally marked the end of the road for the RS200, as Group B rallying was banned for 1987, Ford finished fifth in the manufacturers championship behind rivals Peugeot, Lancia, Volkswagen and Audi.
1987 season
Ford started the post Group B era with the Sierra XR4x4, which had the benefits of 4WD, but was not as powerful as its rivals, and then replaced it with the RWD Sierra RS Cosworth which was more powerful, but lacked grip and traction on the gravel rallies that dominate the World Rally Championship.Stig Blomqvist was entered into the Monte Carlo, Swedish and New Zealand rounds of the championship in a white Texaco sponsored Ford Sierra XR4x4, he could only muster a 6th-place finish on his home rally, after being disqualified and crashing out of the other two rallies.
The Sierra RS Cosworth proved to be far more successful in comparison, it would not win during 1987, but it did achieve a number of podium finishes. The car debuted on the Safari Rally, again driven by Stig Blomqvist, but would retire following a fire, its next outing would be on the island of Corsica. Blomqvist would again retire with turbo failure but his teammates Carlos Sainz and Didier Auriol fared much better, finishing 7th and 8th respectively. Ari Vatanen paired up with Blomqvist on the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland, their speed and experience helping to negate some of the advantage of 4WD that their rivals enjoyed. They finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Ford finished the season with 2nd and 3rd places for Blomqvist and Jimmy McRae, again against more capable rival machinery. Sporadic appearances throughout the season with cars that were compromised in one way or another meant that Stig Blomqvist would finish in a lowly 7th position in the drivers championship, whilst Ford could only manage to finish 5th in the manufacturers championship.
1988 season
Ford entered the 1988 World Rally Championship season using both the XR4x4 and the Sierra RS Cosworth models, the Texaco sponsorship had gone, and the cars now featured a corporate blue and white striped Ford colour scheme, similar to that seen on the Ford RS200 in 1986. The services of Stig Blomqvist, Carlos Sainz and Didier Auriol were retained from 1987, each driver being entered on the rallies in Portugal, Finland and Italy. Blomqvist would also be entered for Round 2 in Rally Sweden, whilst Sainz and Auriol were entered in Corsica. A three car team of Blomqvist, Sainz and Mark Lovell were entered for the season closing Lombard RAC Rally.Blomqvist kicked off Ford's season with 2nd place on his home round in a Rallysport Sweden prepared Sierra XR4x4, the best result for the 4WD Ford, and something that would not be bettered. The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth would return for Round 3 in Portugal, and Blomqvist would use it to finish in 5th place, but only after Sainz and Auriol had both retired from the event. Ford would return to winning ways in Corsica; Didier Auriol steering his green and white Panach' sponsored Sierra around the island ahead of opposition from Lancia, for his first victory, and Ford's 23rd in the top flight. Sainz would collect points for 5th in Corsica and then 6th in Finland, another rally where Auriol would finish on the podium, this time in 3rd place, two places ahead of Blomqvist.
Auriol's luck ran out on the San Remo rally in Italy, suffering an accident that would force him to retire, Sainz and Blomqvist would finish low down the order in 5th and 7th places respectively. For the final round in Great Britain Swedish and Spanish crews would finish in 6th and 7th places, whilst Lovell would finish in a disappointing 17th place in his bright yellow Sound 2000 sponsored Ford Sierra RS Cosworth. Ford would finish the season 2nd behind Lancia in the Manufacturers Championship, with a total of 79 points.
1989 season
It was evident from previous seasons that Ford did not have a car that was fully capable of challenging Lancia and their Delta Integrale, so for the 1989 season the Blue Oval was absent for most of the rallies, entering cars for the Corsica and Lombard RAC Rally rounds only.Three cars were entered in Corsica, a Q8 liveried car for Gianfranco Cunico, a yellow Sound 2000 sponsored car for Mark Lovell and a third car for French driver Pierre-César Baroni. Lovell would retire after suffering from a misfire, Baroni would retire after an accident, and Cunico would go on to finish 7th overall. The Italian driver would suffer the misfortune of retiring after an accident on his second Ford outing in Great Britain. Ford would finish 13th in the Manufacturers standings after scoring just six points for the season.
1990 season
Results over the past few seasons had proved one thing; in order to return to winning ways Ford would need a powerful, turbocharged car with 4WD capabilities. The 3-door Sierra RS Cosworth was no longer being sold by Ford, so they instead utilised the new Sierra RS Cosworth 4x4 4-door saloon model, which went on sale in 1990.The new car was still powered by a Cosworth developed turbocharged engine, but delays sourcing a suitable gearbox meant that it would not be used until the end of the 1990 World Rally Championship season. The team retained the Q8 sponsorship from the 1989 World Rally Championship season, the cars again being painted blue with cream coloured bumpers, but the driver line-up had almost completely changed, only Franco Cunico remained. He was now joined by Pentti Airikkala and Malcolm Wilson who had been teammates at the Rothmans Rally Team 10 years previously.
Ford's season kicked off in Finland, where all three drivers left the start ramp, but would not see the finish, Airikkala suffered a gearbox problem, Cunico suffered an accident and Wilson withdrew after a service infringement. Results weren't much better on Cunico's home rally in Italy, where he and Wilson again both retired and Airikkala finished in a disappointing 11th place. Airikkala was seeded in car number 1 for the final round in Great Britain, but he and Wilson would again retire, the only Ford finisher being Alessandro Fiorio who had replaced Cunico. Ford would finish 8th in the championship, with a total of 22 points.
1991 season
The 1991 World Rally Championship season was an opportunity for Ford to push for victory again, and to evolve the Sierra RS Cosworth 4x4; lessons learned on the stages would be used to simultaneously develop the Ford Escort RS Cosworth. The cars were again predominantly blue with title sponsorship from Q8, but now featured extra sponsors like Autoglass and Noberasco, which were displayed in white sections on the bonnet and rear flanks of the car. British driver Malcolm Wilson returned, and was joined by a relatively unknown French driver called Francois Delecour. Both drivers were entered on six of the European rounds of the Championship, with Delecour also entering the Catalonia Rally in Spain. A third car was shared by Alessandro Fiorio and Gwyndaf Evans, and a single car was made available for Ari Vatanen at Rally Finland.Delecour surprised many with his pace on the season-opening Monte-Carlo Rally; after a spirited drive, he finished in third place, leading home teammates Wilson and Fiorio, who finished 7th and 10th respectively. This feat was not to be repeated in Portugal, where all three cars retired after going off the road. Delecour also failed to finish in Corsica after suffering differential issues, while Wilson finished in fifth place. The rough and rugged stages of the Acropolis Rally were renowned for breaking cars, and that turned out to be the case for the Sierra RS Cosworth 4x4 as all three cars retired with mechanical ailments. A single car was entered for Vatanen on his home rally in Finland; he kept the car on the road and won eight stages on his way to 7th place.
The San Remo rally would prove to be more fruitful than the Acropolis had been when the Q8 cars returned, all three cars would finish this rally in the top ten, with Delecour finishing 4th overall ahead of Fiorio in 9th and Wilson in 10th. 1991 was the inaugural year for the Catalunya rally and was only registered as a round of the drivers championship, two cars were entered, one for Delecour and the other for Jose Maria Bardolet, a pairing that would secure 3rd and 4th positions respectively. To end the season, Gwyndaf Evans joined Wilson and Delecour. It would not be a happy hunting ground for the British drivers on their home rally, the Lombard RAC Rally, both drivers retiring in the forests of Wales on day 2, their French teammate would go on to finish in 6th place. A winless season left Ford finishing the manufacturers championship in fourth place, with 54 points.