The announcement that Ford won’t be contesting the FIA World Rally Championship as a factory team next year doesn’t affect the brand’s participation in the series in 2013, according to team principal Malcolm Wilson.
Wilson’s M-Sport organisation, which has run Ford’s works World Rally Cars since 1997, will continue in the championship next year and beyond - running as a private team with factory support.
“Onwards and upwards,” said an upbeat Wilson before the start of the Rally Italia Sardegna today. “We’ve enjoyed fantastic support from Ford over the years, and from the technical side we’ll continue to do so. Obviously there’s a commercial shortfall that we have to make up, but we’ll be there next year. The messages of support we’ve received both from our own staff and the rallying community as a whole have been tremendous: more than when we won the championship in fact.”
M-Sport is now looking at securing a title backer for next year, which will help to fund the 2013 campaign. “We’re already very well advanced with the 2013 car, and as long as we find the backing that we need there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be business as usual next season,” added Wilson.
In addition to running World Rally Cars, M-Sport is pressing ahead with development of the new R5 Fiesta and the other lower categories of car, such as the R2 Fiesta.