M-Sport Encouraged by Croatia Performance
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team's EcoBoost-powered Ford Fiesta WRCs excelled at Croatia Rally with Adrien Fourmaux delivering an impressive drive to fifth place on his inaugural event at the highest level of competition, and Gus Greensmith showcasing a vast improvement in seventh.
Considered by many as the driver of the weekend, Fourmaux produced a sensational performance on his FIA World Rally Championship debut with the top-specification Fiesta. Already challenging the established elite, nine top-five stage times included two second-fastest times, and the young Frenchman displayed all the hallmarks of a future star.
Identifying where to push and where to be more cautious in their approach, he and co-driver Renaud Jamoul delivered the perfect balance between speed and consistency. And even when they made a small mistake this morning - running wide on cold tyres and losing over a minute beached off the road - they remained calm and were straight back on the pace to consolidate a very impressive and well-deserved fifth-place finish.
Gus Greensmith has also had an extremely positive weekend, delivering his best drive of the season so far. A world rally car is fueled by confidence as much as anything else, and the young Brit has taken a lot of confidence from the introduction of experienced co-driver Chris Patterson.
Looking more comfortable behind the wheel, the young Brit produced a more assured drive and considerably reduced the gap to the leaders with a string of competitive stage times including the fourth fastest time through yesterday afternoon's opening speed test.
A hydraulic issue this morning meant he had to forgo a deserved sixth place, but the youngster is enjoying his driving again, something which has always been vital in pursuit of the top times.
Elsewhere in the WRC 2 category, Teemu Suninen and Mikko Markkula delivered a stage-winning performance to bring their EcoBoost-powered Ford Fiesta Rally2 home in second place overall.
Were it not for an off-road excursion through the opening day of competition, the Finns would have had victory in their grasp, but regrouped to secure a positive result whilst proving the power and performance of M-Sport Ford's latest global rally car.
28th April, 2021