The M-Sport Ford World Rally Championship (WRC) team has thus far enjoyed quite a bit of success in the 2024 season, having kicked things off with podium finishes at both Rally Sweden and Safari Rally Kenya. What makes that streak even more impressive is the fact that the M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 racer is also fresh off some tweaks for the new season, though one of the biggest – an updated rear wing – hadn’t yet made its debut. That new part did wind up on the Puma racer for this past weekend’s Croatia Rally, however, and it helped the M-Sport Ford team continue its hot streak.
Fresh off a pair of podium finishes, Adrien Fourmaux and Grégoire Munster were obviously eyeing a three-peat, and got off to a good start on Friday by setting the second-fastest stage time, though looming rain on Saturday made tire selection a bit tricky. Surprisingly, conditions remained dry, though M-Sport’s decision to stick with a mostly soft and wet tire setup resulted in a stage win and fifth overall finish.
That left Sunday, when Fourmaux added a second-place finish in the first stage, though a mechanical issue forced him into the pits soon thereafter. He and his co-pilot wound up finishing with a 15-minute time loss due to that repair, though the duo came back even stronger in the final stage. There, M-Sport Ford set the fastest time, resulting in Fourmaux’s first Power Stage win, adding 13 points to his tally and securing third overall in the drivers’ championship heading to Portugal while Grégoire Munster and Louis Louka scored a tenth place finish in WRC2 as well.
“Croatia never fails to deliver drama and it certainly did that today,” said M-Sport Ford Team Principal Richard Millener. “After an incredible battle at the front of the field all weekend, it was turned on its head in SS18. Sadly for us it meant Adrien fell away from the battle, but being the great mechanics he and Alex are, they stayed cool, fixed the car and carried on. With the new points system it also meant we still had a lot to play for. An absolutely sensational Power Stage performance proved to Adrien he is more than capable of winning rallies outright, so although it wasn’t a perfect day, it was still fantastic.”
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