Ford Racing last week announced that it will return to the FIA World Rally Championship as a full factory team from 2028, and has chosen M-Sport, its rally partner of 30 years, to help bring the programme to life.
The announcement marks the return of one of the biggest names in motorsport and rallying history, and comes hand-in-hand with Ford’s focus on a new European range of rally-inspired vehicles, which will come to market from 2028 onwards.
It was in 1979 that Hannu Mikkola along with Arne Hertz that gave Ford their first WRC Rally NZ win in a Ford Escort RS1800. Success again in New Zealand didn’t come until 2006 with Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautianin (Ford Focus RS WRC 06) with the pair repeating the victory in 2007 (Ford Focus RS WRC 07).
A third Finnish driver gave Ford their fourth and last win in NZ in 2010 with Jari-Matti Latvala and co-driver Miikka Anttila (Ford Focus RS WRC 09) – main photo.
For M-Sport, the news reunites the team with the manufacturer whose factory backing it last carried in 2012. That era produced some of the most memorable moments of the partnership, not least M-Sport’s first WRC manufacturers’ title as Ford’s factory team in 2006, with Marcus Grönholm and Mikko Hirvonen.
“From my early rallying days, Ford has been front and centre of both my racing career and my business,” commented Malcolm Wilson OBE, M-Sport Chairman. “This announcement is such an exciting one, both for M-Sport and for the sport of rallying. Ford is in many ways synonymous with rallying and it feels like they are back where they belong.
“I’m very proud that, after 30 years together, they have once again chosen M-Sport to be alongside them.”
The same era also saw the start of a record-breaking run for Ford and M-Sport together: a 24-year streak of manufacturer points-scoring finishes in the World Rally Championship. Beginning at Rallye Monte-Carlo in 2002, the landmark record stood at an impressive 231 rally finishes and continued unbroken across every WRC round until the end of the 2025 season.
Work on the programme begins immediately, with Ford Racing and M-Sport collaborating on the development of a new car due to debut in 2029, and Ford Racing taking a direct role in the WRC campaign from 2028 onwards.
In the meantime, M-Sport will contest the 2027 season with the Ford Fiesta Rally2, updated with a WRC kit that allows it to meet the new WRC27 FIA regulations coming into force next year. From 2028, Ford Racing and M-Sport will race the Fiesta together, while development of the new car continues behind the scenes ahead of its launch in 2029.
The update gives the Fiesta a new aero package, with a fresh look to the front bumper, wings and rear wing, while a revised engine restrictor and updated electrical components bring the car up to specification for the new 2027 technical regulations.
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