M-Sport is the only structure that has cars on each and every rung of the FIA rally pyramid. The Ford Puma Rally1 is the jewel in the crown, but below the new hybrid model are the ‘Rally2’, ‘Rally3’, ‘Rally4’ and ‘Rally5’ versions of the Ford Fiesta. All in all, the presence of the Cumbrian preparer’s second vehicle by power at the Monte Carlo Rally will be very limited and there will only be two Ford Fiesta Rally2 units in the hands of drivers and private structures in the WRC2 category.
In this aM-Sport is not in a hurry to designate the driver or drivers who will represent the team in the WRC2 class of the World Rally Championship, which means that Malcolm Wilson’s line-up will not have any representative in the silver category of the World Rally Championship of Rallies during the 90th edition of the Montecarlo Rally. And it is not for lack of suitors and drivers that are on M-Sport’s radar, but because of the doubts that exist when defining the team’s program in WRC2.
Doubts that have come from a job focused almost exclusively on the development and final homologation of the Ford Puma Rally1, a model of which there will be up to four units in contention at the Monte Carlo Rally. The Ford Fiesta Rally3 will also have a wide presence, while the WRC2 project will start running in successive tests until the decision on the driver line-up is made. And at this point, with Adrien Fourmaux in the premier class and Teemu Suninen outside the structure, the proper name is Jari Huttunen.
Richard Millener himself has revealed his doubts about the project: “We have been quite at the limit with the ‘Rally1’. Preparing for the Monte Carlo Rally has been the most important thing for us. Once we have passed the first test We will give the program greater importance with our ‘Rally 2’. Everyone knows how important Fiesta Rally 2 is to us. It is vital and we want to continue racing in WRC2, but we have to find the right team.
Richard Millener has not given names, but Jari Huttunen is the driver who has sounded the loudest to compete in WRC2 with M-Sport. He already did it last year in the last rally of the season, in Monza, with a more than acceptable performance. However, the agreement has not been completed and everything indicates that M-Sport does not close the doors of Huttunen, but it does not rule out other options if a satisfactory agreement for all parties is not finalized.