Toyota and Hyundai were the two most active manufacturers in 2021 in seeking events away from the WRC for their regular drivers to compete in their World Rally Cars.. With the arrival of 2022, these vehicles have given way to the hybrid ‘Rally1’ and it seems that M-Sport has taken the baton when it comes to allowing its drivers to drive the Ford Puma Rally1 away from the four walls of the World Championship. Pierre-Louis Loubet was present at the South Belgian Rally, while Jourdan Serderidis has competed in the Rally des Ardennes.
While Loubet’s presence at the South Belgican Rally was limited to his involvement with the Ford Puma Rally1 in the event’s security caravan, Jourdan Serderidis has had the option to compete in a real way in the Rallye des Ardenes. And considering that it was the only ‘Rally1’ on the entry list, which even included a limited number of R5 or ‘Rally2’ vehicles, the result could not be other than victory for the Greek driver. In fact, Serderidis won the Rally des Ardennes with plenty of scratches, twelve in twelve sections.
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Beyond the final result of the rally, with Jourdan Serderidis signing the predictable victory with an advantage of 1 minute and 48 seconds over Bastien Rouard and his Skoda Fabia R5, the Greek finished satisfied with his performance at the Belgian event. In the end, Serderidis has been able to take new steps with the Ford Puma Rally1 and learn some of the secrets of the car in a quite peculiar asphalt rally, since its sections usually have a lot of loose gravel and sand. A perfect setting to discover the limits of your new car.
It should be remembered that Serderidis was present at the Hannut Rally, also in Belgium, with the same goal, accumulate kilometers with his new car. And it is that in addition to being the first M-Sport client to buy a Ford Puma Rally1, specifically the unit with which Loeb won the Monte Carlo Rally, the Greek driver plans to have a program of at least two or three rallies in the WRC with the Puma Rally1. Although seeing how he is facing this start of the season, it cannot be ruled out that this figure may even increase.
What does seem certain is that Jourdan Serderidis has returned to strengthen ties with M-Sport after competing for the last three seasons with Skoda machinery. A regular customer of the Cumbrian trainer, the purchase of the Ford Puma Rally1 represents a reunion with the team after competing in the last Acropolis Rally with a Ford Fiesta WRC. What’s more, M-Sport uses this collaboration to continue accumulating data on the behavior of its ‘Rally1’ on tarmac ahead of Rally Croatia.
Photos: M Sport