M-Sport Ford World Rally Teams

[Fast Eddie WRC]

I hope he didn’t curse him now

But yeah he has been very impressive so far, also credit to the team with the cars reliability. Seems they have learned from the past two years and indeed made the right adjustments

It's great to finally see some light at the end of the tunnel for Fourmaux, the team and the fans. There's been a tough couple of years and a lot of harsh criticism but none of them gave up and kept working hard and believing.

I hope the critics now give some credit where it's due, but I doubt it. They'll just stay quiet and wait to jump on any setback.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Fourmaux interview on Portugal, time loss mystery and straight to the USA for simulator work for fast gravel...

https://www.rallye-sport.fr/a-fourma...llye-portugal/

[mknight]

The difference in reliability of both the car and Fourmaux is indeed impressive.

For the car I wonder if this is due to less development/push for changes, compared to what seemed to be there with Tanak.

For Fourmaux he is much better at driving at little bit less than maximum push and keeping it on the road. That said pacewise he mostly goes around 5th place in similar conditions. Whether that is due to the car not being as fast as others or due to him backing is impossible to tell. Therefore it's kinda early to call him a finished article, especially after the big error in Croatia.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

M-Sport @MSportLtd

22 years ago, a record began.

Since then, M-Sport has achieved an astounding 300 consecutive manufacturer points-scoring finishes in the FIA World Rally Championship.

This week, during Rally Poland, the team will be celebrating this milestone accomplishment !

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Great piece on Dirtfish on how the 300 happened and thanks mostly to the perseverance of Mr Malcolm Wilson...

https://dirtfish.com/rally/how-wilso...eaten-wrc-300/

[mknight]

The contrast to last year continues.

One thing is the reliability which I can understand usually improves over time.

What I struggle more with is the speed. Looking at both Fourmaux and Sesks it seems faster compared with competition than last year with Tanak driving. Assuming the drivers are not faster than Tanak this must mean the car is fast.

[doubled1978]

The contrast to last year continues.

One thing is the reliability which I can understand usually improves over time.

What I struggle more with is the speed. Looking at both Fourmaux and Sesks it seems faster compared with competition than last year with Tanak driving. Assuming the drivers are not faster than Tanak this must mean the car is fast.

I think Fourmaux said a few rallies back they have worked in the Ford simulator in the US and found some improvements, which stacks up when you see the speed is better. I still think they struggle on second pass through the ruts etc, they seem to lose some speed there. Biggest surprise for me was Fourmaux in Croatia, the car has previously understeered terribly on tarmac, but it looked good and his power stage run was exceptional, you don’t do that if the car is crap.
I’m not surprised at Fourmaux, you could see from way back his driving was very good, just the little costly errors in a difficult car, but now he has some experience and a better car, he’s doing great.

I wonder if Mikkelsen regrets turning down the full season with them now.

[mknight]

Sounds a bit like Ford used some of the ex-Tanak money on the car instead.

Good, the championship needs that there are more than two competitive teams, even if it's just 1 car.

With regards to team choices it is always difficult to predict. MSport has a recent history for match-ups made in heaven that turned out really bad, Tanak last year and Breen before. So it was always the riskier choice.

[doubled1978]

Sounds a bit like Ford used some of the ex-Tanak money on the car instead.

Good, the championship needs that there are more than two competitive teams, even if it's just 1 car.

With regards to team choices it is always difficult to predict. MSport has a recent history for match-ups made in heaven that turned out really bad, Tanak last year and Breen before. So it was always the riskier choice.

Yes exactly, the Championship needs all the cars to be competitive. Maybe after this season MSport might have more of a chance getting a good, solid pro to partner Fourmaux, 2 competitive Pumas would be great.
On that note, I was very impressed with Sesks this weekend, he seems to have a good attitude, was quick out of the blocks and didn’t bin it. We have seen guys step up from rally2 and just not be on top of the car, Munster is an example, he’s always a step behind the car, reacting to it rather than driving it. To be fair, this was probably his best showing yet, but Sesks looked like he had a better command of the car straight away. I hope he has a good run in the ‘full’ car in a Latvia and the pressure doesn’t overcome him.

[mknight]

MSport catching up might also mean that development at Toyota and Hyundai slowed down (cause they appear evenly matched).

If that is the case what might be the reason:
- Waiting for the rules decision
- Not easy to develop these cars further

Hope it's the second.