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Ford Focus RS WRC

Jari-Matti Latvala, winner of the Neste Oil Rally Finland 2010, driving his Ford Focus RS WRC 09 in Muurame shakedown.

The Ford Focus RS WRC is a car built for the Ford World Rally Team by Ford and M-Sport and based on the Ford Focus Climate 2-litre production hatchback, developed to compete in the World Rally Championship. The RS stands for Rallye Sport and the WRC for World Rally Car, the car's FIA specification. The Focus RS WRC was in competition from 1999 to 2010, winning 44 world rallies and two manufacturers' world titles. It was replaced by the Ford Fiesta RS WRC.

Like all contemporary World Rally Cars, the car is heavily modified from the production version, with which it shares only the basic shape and some parts of the bodyshell. The car features four-wheel drive, rather than the front-wheel drive of the road car. The engine used in the 2007 Focus WRC is based on Ford's 2.0 Litre Duratec from other models in the Focus range as rallying rules do not permit the standard 2.5-litre engine of the Focus ST or road going RS. As with most rally cars, the 2.0-litre engine is heavily modified and performance was increased using a turbocharger. The 2009 Ford Focus WRC uses a Ford 1998cc Pipo built l4 Duratec WRC engine (four cylinders, 16 valves, bore 85 mm and stroke 88 mm), Pi electronic engine management system, Garrett turbocharger (with required 34 mm inlet restrictor), air intercooler, and a catalytic converter.

The car's transmission is a permanent four-wheel drive with M-Sport designed active centre differential, Pi electronic differential control units, M-Sport/Ricardo five-speed sequential gearbox with electro-hydraulically controlled shift and an M-Sport/Sachs multi-disc carbon clutch. The brakes are 300 mm (11.8 in.) Brembo ventilated discs with Brembo four-piston monoblock calipers for gravel. The weight is a minimum of 1230 kg (2712 lb.), the length 4362 mm (171.7 in.), the width 1800 mm (70.9 in.) and the wheelbase 1800 mm (70.9 in.). The power is 300 horsepower (220 kW) at 6000 rpm and 550 Nm (406 ftlb) of torque at 4000 rpm.

History

	2010 Ford Focus RS WRC pulling away on tarmac MENU 0:00
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Carlos Sainz driving an RS WRC 01 at the 2001 Rally Finland.

The first version of the car was built in 1999 to replace the Ford Escort WRC. It debuted in the Monte Carlo Rally with Colin McRae and Simon Jean-Joseph behind the wheels of the two cars. It was immediately on the pace, setting many fastest stage times, but the use of an illegal water pump meant that the two cars were excluded from the event. McRae gave the Focus its first win two events later on the Safari Rally Kenya finishing over 15 minutes ahead of the second placed Toyota of Didier Auriol.

In 2003, Ford released a newly designed Focus RS WRC, named Focus RS WRC 03, for competition during the second part of the season. The car, with most parts redesigned from the ground up, featured a lighter body shell and a new aerodynamically enhanced front bumper and wing. Markko Märtin drove the car to two world rally victories. The 2004 and 2005 Focus RS WRCs were evolutions based on the RS WRC 03. The Focus RS WRC 04 won three events with Märtin at the wheel. By 2005, the car was no longer very competitive and Ford had a winless season.

From the last rally of the 2005 season, Ford campaigned a brand new model, the Focus RS WRC 06, following the launch of the new road-going version of the car. The engine chosen for this Focus was a Duratec motor developed by the French engine specialist Pipo Moteur. The car took twelve world rally wins, starting with the 2006 season opener Monte Carlo Rally in the hands of Marcus Grönholm.

Mikko Hirvonen driving an RS WRC 08 in Germany.

The Focus RS WRC 07 is based on the 2006 model, and according to Ford's technical director Christian Loriaux "the changes on the new car are mainly to save weight and to improve efficiency, driveability and performance at the bottom end of the range."The car debuted very successfully at the 2007 Rally Finland as Ford's Finns Grönholm and Mikko Hirvonen finished in first and second. It later made history at the 2008 Swedish Rally when Jari-Matti Latvala used the car to become youngest-ever driver to win a world rally.

The Focus RS WRC 08 is based on the 2007 model. The Focus WRC 08 was in competition for the first time with its new front aero design at the 2008 Rallye Deutschland. The 2008 version of the Focus RS WRC includes design style changes as well as engine improvements. Style changes to the grill area reflect the looks of the recently previewed Focus RS Mk II road sport car. The 2008 RS WRC was driven to its only victory at the 2008 Rally Japan.

The 2009 version of the Focus RS WRC debuted at the 2009 Rally d'Italia Sardegna, leading Ford to a 1-2. It includes small design style changes. Style changes were made to the lights frame and rear bumper to bring the look closer to the Focus RS Mk II 2009 road sport car. The 2009 Focus RS WRC remained the last of Ford's WRC cars based on the Focus. It was replaced by the Ford Fiesta RS WRC after the 2010 season.

The Ford Focus RS WRC appeared in 173 World Rally Championship events, winning 44 and collecting 142 podium places.

WRC Victories

No.	Event	Season	Driver	Co-driver
1	47th Safari Rally	1999	Colin McRae	Nicky Grist
2	33º TAP Rallye de Portugal	1999	Colin McRae	Nicky Grist
3	36º Rallye Catalunya-Costa Brava	2000	Colin McRae	Nicky Grist
4	47th Acropolis Rally	2000	Colin McRae	Nicky Grist
5	Cyprus Rally 2000	2000	Carlos Sainz	Luís Moya
6	21º Rally Argentina	2001	Colin McRae	Nicky Grist
7	Cyprus Rally 2001	2001	Colin McRae	Nicky Grist
8	48th Acropolis Rally	2001	Colin McRae	Nicky Grist
9	21º Rally Argentina	2002	Carlos Sainz	Luís Moya
10	49th Acropolis Rally	2002	Colin McRae	Nicky Grist
11	50th Inmarsat Safari Rally	2002	Colin McRae	Nicky Grist
12	50th Acropolis Rally	2003	Markko Märtin	Michael Park
13	53rd Neste Rally Finland	2003	Markko Märtin	Michael Park
14	18º Corona Rally México	2004	Markko Märtin	Michael Park
15	48ème Tour de Corse - Rallye de France	2004	Markko Märtin	Michael Park
16	40º Rallye Catalunya-Costa Brava (Rallye de España)	2004	Markko Märtin	Michael Park
17	74ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo	2006	Marcus Grönholm	Timo Rautiainen
18	55th Uddeholm Swedish Rally	2006	Marcus Grönholm	Timo Rautiainen
19	53rd Acropolis Rally	2006	Marcus Grönholm	Timo Rautiainen
20	56th Neste Oil Rally Finland	2006	Marcus Grönholm	Timo Rautiainen
21	7th Rally of Turkey	2006	Marcus Grönholm	Timo Rautiainen
22	19th Telstra Rally Australia	2006	Mikko Hirvonen	Jarmo Lehtinen
23	36th Propecia Rally New Zealand	2006	Marcus Grönholm	Timo Rautiainen
24	62nd Wales Rally of Great Britain	2006	Marcus Grönholm	Timo Rautiainen
25	56th Uddeholm Swedish Rally	2007	Marcus Grönholm	Timo Rautiainen
26	2nd Rally Norway	2007	Mikko Hirvonen	Jarmo Lehtinen
27	4º Supermag Rally Italia Sardinia	2007	Marcus Grönholm	Timo Rautiainen
28	54th BP Ultimate Acropolis Rally of Greece	2007	Marcus Grönholm	Timo Rautiainen
29	56th Neste Oil Rally Finland	2007	Marcus Grönholm	Timo Rautiainen
30	36th Propecia Rally New Zealand	2007	Marcus Grönholm	Timo Rautiainen
31	4th Rally Japan	2007	Mikko Hirvonen	Jarmo Lehtinen
32	63rd Wales Rally of Great Britain	2007	Mikko Hirvonen	Jarmo Lehtinen
33	57th Uddeholm Swedish Rally	2008	Jari-Matti Latvala	Miikka Anttila
34	2008 Jordan Rally	2008	Mikko Hirvonen	Jarmo Lehtinen
35	9th Rally of Turkey	2008	Mikko Hirvonen	Jarmo Lehtinen
36	5th Rally Japan	2008	Mikko Hirvonen	Jarmo Lehtinen
37	6º Supermag Rally Italia Sardinia	2009	Jari-Matti Latvala	Miikka Anttila
38	56th Acropolis Rally of Greece	2009	Mikko Hirvonen	Jarmo Lehtinen
39	66th Rally Poland	2009	Mikko Hirvonen	Jarmo Lehtinen
40	58th Neste Oil Rally Finland	2009	Mikko Hirvonen	Jarmo Lehtinen
41	20th Repco Rally Australia	2009	Mikko Hirvonen	Jarmo Lehtinen
42	58th Rally Sweden	2010	Mikko Hirvonen	Jarmo Lehtinen
43	40th Propecia Rally New Zealand	2010	Jari-Matti Latvala	Miikka Anttila
44	60th Neste Oil Rally Finland	2010	Jari-Matti Latvala	Miikka Anttila