The 2023 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) season has thus far produced mostly positive results for M-Sport Ford, The Blue Oval’s official rally racing team. Earlier this year, the team scored a fifth place finish at Monte Carlo, claimed victory in Sweden, and stumbled a bit to ninth overall in Mexico before earning second place in Croatia. This past weekend saw the M-Sport team continue its battle for points at Rally de Portugal, where it unfortunately missed the podium last season due to some mechanical mishaps, but this time around, it fared much better overall.
Despite facing some adversity, Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja went on to finish fourth overall, adding four power stage points to help in their quest to win a championship. The duo managed to win stage two but suffered not just one, but two punctures on stage four, which ultimately kept the pair off the podium. Regardless, both managed to post impressive results through the rest of the event to score much-needed points.
Meanwhile, M-Sport Ford Rally2 driver Pierre-Louis Loubet secured an opening stage win, though he soon slipped down to fourth place by Friday – just 0.9 seconds from a podium finish – and suspension issues ultimately sealed his fate. In WRC2, Adrien Fourmaux recorded four stage wins in his Fiesta Rally2, though punctures in two consecutive stages saw him slip to tenth overall in that particular category.
“It’s been a tricky weekend, but I think we’ve come out the other side with a lot of positives,” said M-Sport Ford team principle Richard Millener. “Ott’s pace at the beginning of the rally was fantastic and he continues to show us what both he and the car can really do. As usual, he’s given us plenty of feedback and things to work on as we move forward, but ultimately, we are still second overall in the drivers’ championship which is something we should be really proud of.”
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