M-Sport has started to prepare the Rally RACC de Catalunya with a test on asphalt in the province of Barcelona. Craig Breen and Gus Greensmith have been in charge of starting this test session with the Ford Puma Rally1.
The WRC heads into the final stretch of its 2022 season with a good dose of asphalt. Although the New Zealand gravel stages are yet to be raced, teams have started preparations for the final two rounds of the year. With the Rally RACC de Catalunya in the lead, M-Sport has started a test on the roads of Barcelona.
The Ford Puma Rally1 has obtained its only victory of the season on asphalt, so the team has high hopes for the last two rounds of the championship. At the RACC Rally they will have the first opportunity to re-green their laurels with Craig Breen as Big Trick for the team to fight for the top positions. In fact, the Irishman was the first to get into the Ford Puma in these tests.
M-Sport has achieved its only victory of the season on the asphalt of the Monte Carlo Rally
The first day of testing, with Craig Breen, It was carried out around Sant Pere de Torelló, in the region of Osona, in the province of Barcelona. Specifically, M-Sport has chosen the Collsaplana stages, well known by fans for their connection with the Rally Costa Brava, without going any further.
Gus Greensmith has taken over to his teammate and drove the Ford Puma Rally1 during the team’s second day of testing in Catalonia. A second day that has not taken place very far from the first stage, since the British driver has been able to test the hybrid car of the coach from Cumbria between Alpens and El Cobert de Puigcercós.
Craig Breen was the first to get behind the wheel of the Ford Puma Rally1 in these tests.
desire to shine
The Ford Puma Rally1 has shown good performance on asphalt, beyond Loeb’s triumph in the Montecarlo Rally or the podium achieved in this same event by Craig Breen. In fact, the Irishman fought for the top positions at Ypres until he went off the track, the same circumstance that affected his teammates within the ‘top 5’.
It is true that in Croatia the performance of the ‘Rally1’ of the coach was more discreet, but that does not mean that the Ford Puma does not move well on the black tar. On the return to asphalt at the RACC Rally, the team has a great opportunity to compete for podium positions. Adrien Fourmaux also has a preference for this surface.
Gus Greensmith has also driven the Ford Puma Rally1 in the province of Barcelona.
The history of the Acropolis
Although the last round of the WRC that has been contested has been on gravel, the acropolis rally made it clear that M-Sport can give Toyota and Hyundai a lot of war. In fact, Sébastien Loeb and Pierre-Louis Loubet were fighting for the lead of the Greek date until one had a breakdown and the other a puncture that took them away from the head.
With everything, Pierre-Louis Loubet finished fourth in the Greek stages, while Craig Breen was fifth. Good precedent, even if it is on another surface, to face the RACC Rally of Catalunya with charged batteries.
Photos: singing passats