Ford Focus RS Wins First Time Out
The debut win of the new Ford Focus at the Rallye Monte Carlo in the hands of Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen last week was a hugely emotional moment for the BP-Ford World Rally Team. Their triumph on the world’s most famous rally provided a perfect beginning to Ford’s 2006 season in the FIA World Rally Championship, with the new Focus RS World Rally Car.
The 2006-specification Focus RS WRC, based on the Focus ST road car, was developed in what is considered a very short time, just a few months after its launch. On its first full competitive appearance, with Grönholm and Rautiainen behind the wheel for the first time, it conquered the treacherously icy and snowy roads of the French Alps to beat the world’s best by 61.8sec.
It was a stunning performance by the 37-year-old Grönholm. The Finn is known as a loose surface specialist, but on the most demanding asphalt event in the 16-round championship he overcame Rallye Monte Carlo master Sebastien Loeb, who has won here for the past three years. It was Grönholm’s first asphalt victory and the 19th win of his career. His previous best result on this rally, which he freely admits is not his favourite, was fourth in 2004.
Ford Team RS director Jost Capito watched with delight as Grönholm and Rautiainen celebrated on the finish podium at Monaco’s Palace. “This result is more than we dared hoped for,” he said. “We knew the new Focus RS WRC would be good but we couldn’t forecast that we would conquer one of the toughest rallies in the championship on our first full competitive event with a new car and driver line-up.”
BP-Ford team director Malcolm Wilson was equally overjoyed. “This is the team’s reward for so many extremely late nights and so much hard work in the development of the new Focus RS WRC. I believe this is just the start for us and we all look forward to more results of this kind as the season progresses.”
And the winning driver? Grönholm admitted that a debut victory was beyond his wildest dreams. “I didn’t think a victory was possible here before the rally. My dream was a podium. But this is the best feeling. Victory is always special, but under the circumstances, this is more than special. It is a fantastic day for everyone in the team and one that I will always remember,” he said.
