Maciej Woda (M-Sport): “The Fiesta Rally3 can bring surprises”

Si M-Sport working on the development of its future Rally1 hybrid, the Poland division of Malcolm Wilson's entity took advantage of the first weeks of 2021 to refine its work on the Ford Fiesta Rally3, one of the great novelties of the season.

Intermediate level between the two-wheel drive Rally4 and the four-wheel drive Rally2, and designed to allow drivers to understand the world of 4×4 cars, the Rally3 should make its grand debut in 2021, mainly as part of theERC.

The first returns from participation in the SM OK Auto-Ralli in Finland earlier in the year, with Ken Torn at the wheel, are encouraging for the management of M-Sport Poland.

“It fits perfectly where we wanted it,” admits Maciej Woda, boss of M-Sport Poland. It is not there to compete with the Rally2s but must constitute a perfect step between the Rally4s and the Rally2s.

If you look at the difference in overall performance between a Rally2 and a Rally4, you're talking three and a half to four and a half seconds per kilometer. Our goal for the Rally3 cars would be about one second per kilometer slower than a Rally2 car.

But I still think that a very good driver in a Rally3 car is going to fight with a Rally2 driven by a less experienced driver. The car may bring some surprises in my opinion. »

21 bodies have already been assembled by M-Sport Poland, which estimates that it will be able to deliver 20 assembled cars as soon as possible. The next stage of development will be to show off the capabilities of the Fiesta Rally3 on asphalt.

“The feedback we received from different test drivers and from different customers who tried the car in Poland and Finland indicates that the car is very, very easy to drive, continues Woda.

Which is very, very important both for young drivers who are moving from two-wheel drive to four-wheel drive, but also for gentlemen drivers who want to have this car for fun. »