M-Sport Ford relies on improved Puma for fast World Cup in Croatia…

12.04.2024 – 18:03

Ford Works GmbH

Cologne (sensitive)

• The factory-backed rally team is taking two Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1 cars to the fourth round of this year’s World Rally Championship.
• After two third places, Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria will travel to Croatia in third place in the drivers’ championship.
• Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka want to use their asphalt experience in fast, technical but very demanding stages.

Mixed road conditions in the Sea Mountains, snow and ice tracks in Sweden, then dust and mud on the “Safari” in the Kenyan savannah and now the more or less quality asphalt roads of Croatia: the start of the year for the The world of 2024. is one open case for real experts of all sides behind the wheel. After two podium results in a row, M-Sport Ford believes it has a good chance of getting a better result in the fourth round of the season. The factory-backed team is sending two of the 368 kW (500 hp) Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1s to the race. They will be tested by crews Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria from France and Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka from Belgium. The third car is the Williams Creighton/Liam Regan Fiesta Rally2. The Irishman won the World Junior Championships last year.

Rally Croatia, which has only been part of the World Cup calendar since 2021, has quickly made a name for itself as a spectator magnet: in each of the last two years, more than 300,000 enthusiastic fans showed up on the special stage (WP) and. it created an amazing atmosphere. The tracks have a very special character with the ever-changing grip conditions, sometimes narrow and sometimes wide and many places where the rally cars take off in spectacular jumps. Added to this is the changeable weather, which can make tire selection difficult with sudden downpours, while participants who start later will find the slopes increasingly dirty.

M-Sport brings the modified Puma Hybrid Rally1 to the service yard in Zapresic, not far from the capital of the province Zagreb: The all-wheel-drive turbo hybrid cars each receive a new rear wing, which is intended to improve the aerodynamics at very fast speeds. measurements.

Adrien Fourmaux travels to Croatia with a big chest and is third in the drivers’ standings. The Frenchman had the best results of his career so far with third places in Sweden and Kenya. He would like to continue this journey on the paved roads of southeastern Europe. In 2021, Fourmaux competed in this World Cup meeting for the first time with a car from the top category and they immediately took fifth place. Since then, he has been able to further improve his asphalt qualities, as he emphasized with a WRC class 2 victory in the Central European Rally last season.

Grégoire Munster feels especially comfortable on asphalt roads. The Belgian with a Luxembourg license showed this, for example, with his WRC 2 victory at Rally Japan. Now he wants to put what he has learned into practice behind the wheel of the Puma Hybrid from the Rally1 category and show that he is also a competitor in the top class.

William Creighton is expecting his first World Championship rally with an approximately 213 kW (290 hp), also all-wheel drive Fiesta Rally2 on asphalt. The Irishman has already made it clear that he has mastered that lesson in the rally championship in his country and the British series. He has already competed in the Junior World Championships in Croatia three times since 2021 – so he should be familiar with the characteristics of the route.

In addition to the three cars used by M-Sport, a total of 17 Fiesta Rally3s will participate in the Junior World Championship only. These all-wheel drive vehicles are based on a 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbo engine that produces 173 kW (235 hp).

“I am proud of what we have been able to achieve with our team in this early phase of the World Rally Championship – we have clearly chosen the right path,” emphasizes M-Sport team boss Richard Millener. “Adrien Fourmaux has done a great job with two podium finishes. Now it will be exciting to see what he can do with his experience and track knowledge in Croatia. Grégoire Munster has already shown his skills and determination. Unfortunately, it was not always the case for him I’m lucky But he feels especially good on the pitch step, it has a good environment.

Adrien Fourmaux / Alexandre Coria (F/F, Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1, starting number 16); World Cup Ranking: 3rd; Rally Croatia starters: 5 Best results: 59th place (2021)

“The Croatian Rally is a very special event for me: I sat behind the wheel of a ‘World Rally Car’ for the first time and finished fifth in 2021,” confirms the 28-year-old Fourmaux. another. However, it is one of the most difficult asphalt meetings on the World Cup calendar because the constantly changing grip conditions are difficult to assess. We can also often ‘cut’ in the inner curves. . . , i.e. shorten. But this requires great precision and represents a great challenge for all teams.

Grégoire Munster / Louis Louka (NL/NL, Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1, start number 13). World Cup ranking: 17; Rally Croatia starters: 2 Best results: 26th place (2023, 11th in WRC2)

“I’m happy that it’s back on the asphalt again – I feel better on this surface,” said the 25-year-old Munster. “Our test before this rally was very promising, I was able to develop a good feeling for the Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1. Race Croatia they’re characterized by fast stages, but also a lot of climbs, dips and extended inside curves, which means a lot of dirt gets on the Road. That makes it more difficult, but that’s what I like.”

Williams Creighton / Liam Regan (IRL/IRL, Ford Fiesta Rally2, Startnummer 30). Rally Croatia starts: 2 Best results: 24th place (2021, 5th in the Junior World Championship)

“I had good experience with the Fiesta on the tarmac in the Rally of Ireland and Great Britain, so now I’m looking forward to putting this into practice in Croatia,” said 26-year-old Creighton. “However, this event will be a challenge for us to the reason for the asphalt sometimes slipping and the high level of competition in the WRC2 class. We rely on a successful test before the start and we will also put a lot of effort into creating details. After that, I hope we can improve as much as we can during the demonstration period.”

Ford Works GmbH

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Ingo Behrendt
Ford Works GmbH
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