The team principal of M-Sport Ford, Richard Millener, says that his team aims to make a turnaround for the rest of 2023 after the difficult first half of the season following Ott Tanak's advice for a reset.
The first half of this season was very difficult for the Malcolm Wilson's team despite Ott Tanak's win in Sweden as the Puma faced many issues, including problems with the hybrid unit, the engine, the turbo etc. The most distinguishing examples of the unreliable Puma are the retirement of Tanak on the first day of Rally Mexico with a turbo issue as well as his having started with a five-minute penalty on his home event after his mechanics fitted a new engine at the end of Shakedown. So far, M-Sport Ford and Hyundai have joint victories as Tanak and Thierry Neuville have won in Sweden and Sardinia respectively compared to Toyota trio who have claimed seven wins in total. Finally, it must be mentioned that M-Sport Ford has secured only another podium finish with four rallies remaining as the Estonian driver completed Croatia Rally at the second place of the overall classification.
"I’m not going to lie, it’s been a really tough season so far", Millener said.
"Ott talked of needing a reset after Rally Finland and I think we’re all there with him.
"We’ve had a few issues in the first half of the year, but on top of that I don’t think we’ve had the rub of the green.
"I’m not about to start crying about bad luck, but that’s about the only luck we’ve had!
"The guys are fairly bushed right now.
"We’ve done Estonia to Finland back-to-back with a remote rebuild in the middle and that takes its toll.
"We’re ready for a break right now.
"We need to take some time, spend time with families, switch off a little bit from the WRC and then come back charged and really ready to hit it hard from Greece onwards.
"We know we’ve got a car with the speed to win and there’s never a question over Tänak’s speed and ability to win rallies and championships".
Source: wrc.com
Photo Credits: M-Sport
Post a Comment