Ford Fiesta RS WRC

Ford Fiesta RS WRC
Mads Østberg driving his Ford Fiesta RS WRC at the 2016 Rally de Portugal.
CategoryWorld Rally Car
ConstructorFord Europe/M-Sport
PredecessorFord Focus RS WRC
SuccessorFord Fiesta WRC
Technical specifications[1]
ChassisReinforced body with welded, multi-point roll cage
Length3,963 mm (156.0 in)
Width1,820 mm (72 in)
Wheelbase2,480 mm (98 in)
EngineFord EcoBoost engine 1.6 L (98 cu in) 4-cylinder, 16-valve turbocharged
Transmission6-speed M-Sport / X-Trac six-speed semi-automatic transmission gearbox with hydraulic shift
Weight1,200 kg (2,646 lb)
TyresMichelin
Pirelli
DMACK
Competition history (WRC)
Notable entrantsUnited Kingdom M-Sport World Rally Team
Czech Republic Jipocar Czech National Team
United Kingdom DMACK World Rally Team
Netherlands Ferm Power Tools World Rally Team
United Kingdom Ford World Rally Team
Qatar Qatar World Rally Team
Norway Adapta World Rally Team
Notable drivers
Norway Mads Østberg
Czech Republic Martin Prokop
Poland Robert Kubica
Wales Elfyn Evans
Italy Lorenzo Bertelli
Estonia Ott Tänak
France Eric Camilli
Norway Henning Solberg
Saudi Arabia Yazeed Al-Rajhi
Belgium Thierry Neuville
Finland Juho Hänninen
Finland Mikko Hirvonen
Finland Jari-Matti Latvala
Norway Petter Solberg
United Arab Emirates Khalid Al Qassimi
Russia Evgeny Novikov
Qatar Nasser Al-Attiyah
United States Ken Block
Argentina Federico Villagra
Netherlands Dennis Kuipers
DebutSweden 2011 Rally Sweden
First winSweden 2011 Rally Sweden
Last winUnited Kingdom 2012 Wales Rally GB
Wins
6

The Ford Fiesta RS WRC is the World Rally Car built for the Ford World Rally Team by Ford Europe and M-Sport for use in the World Rally Championship 20112016. It is based upon the Ford Fiesta road car, and replaced the Ford Focus RS WRC, which competed in various versions since 1999. It is also built to the new World Rally Car regulations for 2011, which are based upon the existing Super 2000 regulations, but is powered by a turbocharged 1.6-litre engine (1.6 L turbo Ford EcoBoost engine[2]) rather than the normally aspirated 2-litre engine found in Super 2000 cars. M-Sport and Ford introduced a Super 2000 version of the Ford Fiesta at the beginning of 2010, which forms the base of the WRC car.

Stobart Ford World Rally Team drivers Matthew Wilson and Henning Solberg have carried out much of the development work on the car during 2010, with Per-Gunnar Andersson and M-Sport managing director and Ford team director Malcolm Wilson have also driven the car.[3]

From 2017 onwards, it was replaced by the Ford Fiesta WRC, but some private owners still enter this car to participate in rally competitions.

WRC victories (Fiesta RS WRC)

No. Event Season Surface Driver Co-driver
1 Sweden 2011 Rally Sweden 2011 Snow Finland Mikko Hirvonen Finland Jarmo Lehtinen
2 Australia 2011 Rally Australia Gravel Finland Mikko Hirvonen Finland Jarmo Lehtinen
3 United Kingdom 2011 Wales Rally GB Gravel Finland Jari-Matti Latvala Finland Miikka Anttila
4 Sweden 2012 Rally Sweden 2012 Snow Finland Jari-Matti Latvala Finland Miikka Anttila
5 Portugal 2012 Rally de Portugal Gravel Norway Mads Østberg Sweden Jonas Andersson
6 United Kingdom 2012 Wales Rally GB Gravel Finland Jari-Matti Latvala Finland Miikka Anttila

RRC version

In 2012, the RRC version of the Fiesta was launched to comply with the regional rally rules of the FIA; it is basically a Fiesta RS WRC, only with an S2000-specification rear wing, a slightly different front bumper, a lighter flywheel and a 30mm restrictor instead of a 33mm one found in the WRC variant. The Fiesta's with RRC specification can be converted to WRC specification in 6 hours.[4]

WRC-2 victories (Fiesta RRC)

No. Event Season Driver Co-driver
1 Sweden 2013 Rally Sweden 2013 Saudi Arabia Yazeed Al Rajhi United Kingdom Michael Orr
2 Mexico 2013 Rally México Qatar Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari Republic of Ireland Killian Duffy
3 Argentina 2013 Rally Argentina Qatar Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari Republic of Ireland Killian Duffy
4 Australia 2013 Rally Australia Qatar Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari Republic of Ireland Killian Duffy
5 Portugal 2014 Rally de Portugal 2014 Qatar Nasser Al-Attiyah Italy Giovanni Bernacchini
6 Argentina 2014 Rally Argentina Qatar Nasser Al-Attiyah Italy Giovanni Bernacchini
7 Australia 2014 Rally Australia Qatar Nasser Al-Attiyah Italy Giovanni Bernacchini
8 Spain 2014 Rally Catalunya Qatar Nasser Al-Attiyah Italy Giovanni Bernacchini
9 Mexico 2015 Rally México 2015 Qatar Nasser Al-Attiyah France Matthieu Baumel
10 Argentina 2015 Rally Argentina Qatar Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari United Kingdom Marshall Clarke
11 Portugal 2015 Rally de Portugal Qatar Nasser Al-Attiyah France Matthieu Baumel
12 Italy 2015 Rally Italia Sardegna Ukraine Yuriy Protasov Ukraine Pavlo Cherepin
13 Australia 2015 Rally Australia Qatar Nasser Al-Attiyah France Matthieu Baumel
14 France 2015 Tour de Corse France Julien Maurin France Nicolas Klinger

Ford Fiesta RS WRC 'Evolution'

In Rally Finland 2014 M-Sport launched a facelifted version of the Fiesta RS WRC. Despite the change on the front of the car, it's still the same under the bonnet. M-Sport later revealed the 'Evolution' version would come in 2015.

Before Rally Portugal 2015, M-Sport launched the 'Evolution' specification of the Fiesta RS WRC. Unlike the first version's engine which was built by Pipo Motors, the new Fiesta RS WRC's engine is completely built by M-Sport, with technical support from Ford. The car has also undergone a full redesign under the bonnet with further developments to the cooling package, transmission, electronics, wiring harness and differentials.

See also

References

  1. ^ Evans, David (10 February 2011). "WRC Preview: Tech Insight". Autosport. Vol. 203, no. 6. Haymarket Publications. pp. 60–61.
  2. ^ "PARIS SHOW PREVIEW FOR ALL-NEW FORD FIESTA RS WORLD RALLY CAR | Ford Motor Company Newsroom". Archived from the original on 2010-10-06. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
  3. ^ http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=376511&FS=WRC [dead link]
  4. ^ "Ford Fiesta RRC". Archived from the original on 2012-11-14. Retrieved 2013-02-03.