Following its promising start to the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) season, the M-Sport Ford team has hit a bit of a proverbial slump as of late. With multiple podium finishes under its belt, M-Sport Ford finished outside of the top three at Rally Chile, in fact, and then faced more struggles at Acropolis Rally Greece, though driver Adrien Fourmaux scored enough points to remain in fifth place in the championship standings. Now, M-Sport Ford is preparing for the next race on the docket – the 2024 Central European Rally.
The Central European Rally – set to take place on October 17th-20th – presents drivers with a variety of asphalt conditions across 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) across Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic, but this is also that event’s second year of existence – meaning that those same drivers don’t exactly have a ton of experience there, either. Adrien Fourmaux and Alex Coria both participated in the Central European Rally during its debut last year in a Fiesta Rally2 and wound up securing the overall win, and now, both will try to replicate that finish in the Puma Rally1.
That duo will be joined by Grégoire Munster and Louis Louka – who were part of the Rally1 class last year – along with Jourdan Serderidis and Frédéric Miclotte in the Puma Rally1, plus William Creighton and Liam Regan, who will participate in their final event of the season behind the wheel of a Fiesta Rally2.
“This event is quite a special challenge compared to everything else so far this year,” said M-Sport Ford Team Principal Richard Millener. “A remote shakedown, with no chance to visit the service park after this or before the start of the first stage, and then a full day on Friday, again with no proper service. This challenge mixed with the (very likely) difficult muddy conditions will make it a huge challenge for all the crews. I am confident though, that with the continuation of a sensible approach to this kind of event from our drivers, we have a good opportunity to get a top result. Our road position may not be the best for muddy tarmac, but I know the Puma performs very well in these conditions, and the test we had last week was also very productive, so I am looking forward to seeing what is possible!”
No Comments yet