Gus Greensmith: “Driving with a smile”

For the first time this year, M-Sport Ford WRT sera à égalité en nombre de voitures face à Hyundai Motorsport ou encore Toyota Gazoo Racing, qui alignent toutes deux trois i20 Coupe et trois Yaris WRC since the start of the World Championship.

In addition to Elfyn Evans and Teemu Suninen, holders of the team led by Richard Millener, the Briton Gus Greensmith will indeed make his big debut behind the wheel of a WRC on the tracks of Rally from Portugal. A first for the current leader of the WRC2 Pro ranking, where he is mainly entered in 2019 in a Ford Fiesta R5 operated by M-Sport.

A debut that has been confirmed for a long time and which Greensmith, who has passed through the R2 and R5 categories in recent seasons, wants to approach without unnecessary pressure. “I have spent the last ten years of my life preparing for this moment and I can tell you that I feel ready to climb this mountain, admits Greensmith. I expect nothing other than to please myself.

I'm one of the few who get the opportunity to drive one of these cars, so whatever happens I'll drive with a smile on my face and hopefully we can make next weekend a positive for everyone.

It’s also very special for me to make my debut in Portugal. I really love this country and the Porto region. I really feel at home when I leave the airport. Of course the stages are amazing, but it's the Portuguese country and way of life that makes me feel so comfortable. »

The Briton will notably have to face the legendary courses around Arganil, the emblematic location of the event that the peloton will return to this year. For Richard Millener, Team Principal of M-Sport Ford, Greensmith simply has to race, behind the wheel of something clearly different from the R5.

“We are proud to give this opportunity to another young driver and I know how much he is looking forward to it, specifies the manager. It's important that he doesn't put too much pressure on himself as we all know how difficult the transition can be at this level, but knowing Gus he will be determined to make the best of it. »

Gus Greensmith's first laps in the WRC can be followed live and in full throughout the end of the week on our website with our live text.