Ford rally history: 5 legendary eras behind huge WRC return
Ford’s plan to field a full factory team in the FIA World Rally Championship again in 2028, announced Thursday, Oct. 1, puts a spotlight on one of motorsport’s deepest résumés. Ford rally history stretches back more than 50 years, through the Escort, Sierra, Focus, Fiesta and Puma, and includes manufacturer and driver world titles, Motor1 reported.
Ford Racing will again partner with M-Sport, the British team that has run Ford’s rally program for about 30 years, and an all-new car is due in 2029. Total Apex has already covered the announcement itself and what factory status means for M-Sport. Here is the legacy the new program is built on.
5 eras of Ford rally history
1. The Escort years (1970s-early 1980s). The world championship chapter of Ford rally history begins here. Björn Waldegård won the drivers’ title in 1979 in a Ford Escort RS1800, the same year Ford took the manufacturers’ crown. Ari Vatanen added a drivers’ title in 1981 in a privately run Rothmans Escort, according to records of Ford’s world rally program.
2. Sierra and Escort Cosworth (1987-1998). The Sierra RS Cosworth carried Ford into the Group A era, followed by the Escort RS Cosworth. In 1997, M-Sport, based in Cumbria, England, took over running Ford’s rally cars, beginning the partnership that continues today.
3. The Focus era (1999-2010). The Focus WRC brought star power. Colin McRae drove for Ford from 1999 to 2002, and Carlos Sainz had two Ford stints, in 1996-1997 and 2000-2002. The Drive noted that both drove the Focus. Ford won back-to-back manufacturers’ titles in 2006 and 2007.
4. Fiesta and the privateer years (2011-2021). The Fiesta replaced the Focus in 2011, but Ford ended its works sponsorship after the 2012 season. M-Sport kept Fords on the start line anyway and, with Sébastien Ogier, won drivers’ titles in 2017 and 2018 and the 2017 manufacturers’ championship.
5. The Puma Rally1 (2022-2026). The hybrid Puma arrived with a bang when Sébastien Loeb won the 2022 Rallye Monte-Carlo on its debut, DirtFish reported.
How the 2028 return builds on Ford rally history
The next chapter of Ford rally history starts with a stopgap. M-Sport will retire its Puma-branded car and run a modified Rally2 Fiesta under the WRC’s new technical rules in 2027, with direct Ford support beginning that year, Road & Track reported. Full factory status follows in 2028, and the new Ford-designed car arrives in 2029.
Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Racing, tied the move to Ford Racing’s 125th anniversary, which the company has also marked with a 1901 Sweepstakes tribute livery. “Our 50-year legacy in the WRC stands out as one of our proudest because of its direct connection to the fun and exciting cars that came from that,” Rushbrook said, according to Motor1. “We can’t wait to compete again in rally racing in 2028 and beyond.”
From rally stages to showrooms
A thread running through Ford rally history is the link to road cars. Ford says rallying has long shaped them, from the 1970 Escort Mexico to today’s Ranger Raptor pickup, Motor1 reported. The 2029 rally car will draw on one of five “multi-energy” electric and hybrid passenger vehicles Ford plans for Europe.
“Rallying is where Ford’s character faces its toughest test, and where generations of fans come to share the thrill of seeing a car take on the impossible,” said Jim Baumbick, president of Ford Europe.
What the FIA says
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who once drove for Ford himself, said the return adds “real momentum” heading into the championship’s next era. With Formula 1, rally-raid and a planned 2027 World Endurance Championship entry, Ford will have “a presence across four FIA World Championships,” he said, per Motor1. “I had the privilege of driving for Ford during my own career so welcoming them back is a particularly special moment for me.”
The next page of Ford rally history is still blank in places: Ford has not named drivers for 2028 or revealed which road car the 2029 machine will be based on.
Reporting from Motor1, Road & Track and The Drive contributed to this story.