M-Sport Ford celebrates a milestone in World Rally Championship as the team has scored manufacturer points for the championship for three hundred rallies in a row.
The journey of M-Sport Ford in WRC began in 2002 with Carlos Sainz and Colin McRae when they finished third and fourth overall respectively with the Focus WRC in Monte Carlo 22 years ago. The team's 100th and 200th consecutive manufacturer point finishes marked at Rally Turkey and at Rally Mexico in 2008 and in 2016 respectively. Over six continents, 29 countries, and 84,365 km of rallying, the relentless efforts of 29 drivers, 38 co-drivers, and the entire M-Sport team have been instrumental in reaching this important milestone. After the introduction of Focus WRC, the British squad continued its journey in WRC by presenting the Focus RS WRC in 2006 and Marcus Gronholm managed to secure his debut victory with that car at Rallye Monte Carlo. Another high point of that season was Rally New Zealand where Gronholm and Mikko Hirvonen did the 1-2 for M-Sport Ford and helped their team to win the championship. However, the most important achievement of the team was at Rally Wales seven years ago when Elfyn Evans claimed his maiden WRC win with the Fiesta while Ott Tanak's Powerstage finish gifted the third manufacturer title to M-Sport Ford. In addition to these, Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia became the 2017 WRC Driver and Co-driver Champions respectively. The Malcolm Wilson's team accomplished the 300th consecutive manufacturer point finish at Rally Italia Sardegna earlier this month while the team will celebrate this achievement over the coming weeks with video highlights of selected team members, past and present, social media posts, commemorative stickers and a special front grille carried on the competition cars during Rally Poland.
"Reaching 300 consecutive scoring events is a testament to our team's unwavering dedication and commitment", Malcolm Wilson said.
"Their relentless effort, combined with the support of Ford Motor Company, truly embodies the spirit of performance and reliability that drives us to excel in the World Rally Championship.
"I would like to thank every single member of staff, driver, co-driver and fan that has been with us along the entire, or parts of the journey.
"This simply wouldn’t be possible without any of you and I am tremendously proud of what we have achieved.
"I now look towards trying to achieve 350!".
Photo Credits: M-Sport
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