Ford extends WRC for two years

The announcement of Petter Solberg with Ford for next year allowed the blue oval manufacturer to confirm its presence in the WRC for two more years. Gerard Quinn is convinced of the positive impact of the discipline.

Published on 15/12/2011 à 15:09

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Ford has just formalized the return of Petter Solberg with the manufacturer in 2012, the Norwegian coming to support Jari-Matti Latvala. The future of the blue oval WRC seemed vague until now but the American firm finally took advantage of this announcement to ensure its presence alongside M-Sport for the next two years. The Fiesta RS WRC will compete well against the Mini JCW WRC, the Volkswagen Polo R and the Citroën DS3 WRC, even if they will lose financial partner Abu Dhabi from 2012.

“We feel the time is right to make this announcement”, comments Gerard Quinn, sporting director of Ford Europe. “We must be confident in the stability of this Championship and ensure its success. We chose to remain in the competition after having received several positive responses from our partners (Castrol will remain present in 2012 and 2013). The WRC is the toughest competition for production cars. Through the WRC, we will send a clear message to our customers. »