M-Sport Ford, measured ambitions for the Swedish Rally

Team M-Sport Ford addresses the Rally of Sweden 2024 (February 15-18) as title holder. Victorious with the Ford Puma Rally1 hybrid, Ott Tänak has since joined Hyundai, and the chances of repeating such a feat for Malcolm Wilson's men will necessarily be less great.

Onwards & upwards with @safetyculturehq 😎 Bring on 🇸🇪#WorkplaceOperationsPartner pic.twitter.com/ZIxL1gWiBn

- M-Sport (@MSportLtd) February 6, 2024

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On the momentum of a top 5 in Monte-Carlo, the French Adrien fourmaux tackles the only icy event of the season with relish, but serenity. « The challenge in Sweden will be very interesting for me, it’s been two years since I rode on snow”, he says.

“I really enjoy driving the car on snow, it’s a really nice feeling we get at these speeds and it’s very unique. So I'm looking forward to it! The objective will be to regain our sensations on the snow, to compare our pace with that of the more experienced crews and to see if we can obtain a good result like we did in Monte. »

Adrien Fourmaux confirms that the test day conducted earlier in the week went well “The sensations were good. We will see. It is always difficult to know how the rally during testing, as conditions can be very different. »

His Luxembourg teammate, Grégoire Munster, has even less experience in Sweden. “The big challenge will be getting to know the car on this particular surface. We had the opportunity to drive on snow once last year with the Fiesta Rally3, but this time we will have a lot more speed in the corners. So this is an additional challenge: we have to adapt the pace notes to the different speed of the Puma. We will also try not to get stuck in snowdrifts, which can happen very quickly! »

M-Sport will have to cope without the presence of Richard Millener. The Team Principal is awaiting the birth of his second child and will remain in the UK next week. “Even though I won't be there, I'm sure my replacement, one Malcolm Wilson, will be more than capable of taking care of everything!

I have no doubt that the team and drivers will be able to replicate a performance similar to that of Monte Carlo, and so I am very excited to see what we can do. The testing team really did a fantastic job of giving our drivers the best foundation before heading to Sweden.", he advances.