DEARBORN, Mich., March 2, 2016 – Ford’s RS competition legacy continues this season for a
new generation of motorsports fans.
Teased at the conclusion of Ken
Block’s Gymkhana EIGHT released earlier this week, Ford Performance confirms
Block’s Hoonigan Racing Division team will field two factory-supported 2016
Ford Focus RS race cars in the FIA World Rallycross Championship.
“RS is a worldwide brand with a rich
heritage that motorsports enthusiasts know and love,” said Dave Pericak, global
director, Ford Performance. “Our RS badge has a natural connection to racing,
and we have a passionate, dedicated team on the project. We’re excited to honor
the history of Rallye Sport by pushing every aspect of performance and design
to the limit.”
For more than 50 years, Ford
Performance’s Rallye Sport badge has been reserved for racing and production
vehicles that push the limits of performance and innovation. Known for
aggressive design and pioneering technology, Ford vehicles wearing the RS badge
have seen success for decades in stage rally series including winning
participation in FIA World Rally Championship with drivers like Björn
Waldegård, Marcus Grönholm, Mikko Hirvonen and Colin McRae.
The Focus RS build is a global
collaboration between Ford Performance, Block’s Hoonigan Racing Division and
U.K.-based M-Sport. Featuring all-wheel drive, a new EcoBoost® engine producing 600 horsepower, and
a 0-60-mph launch time of less than two seconds, Ford Focus RS Rallycross cars
are optimized for competition.
Mark Rushbrook, motorsports
engineering manager, Ford Performance, says the intention has been to develop a
Rallycross car that lives up to the RS badge.
“We’ve dedicated the same level of
cutting-edge tools, technical resources and engineering know-how from our Le
Mans GT and NASCAR programs, and working with M-Sport brings renowned expertise
in rallycross and stage rally vehicle development,” said Rushbrook. “Ken,
Andreas Bakkerud and Hoonigan Racing give us insight from the competition and
driver perspectives. Our three organizations have a great working relationship,
and we’re all looking forward to seeing the Focus RS in action.”
"I'm really happy to be
expanding my relationship with Ford Performance," said Hoonigan Racing
Division’s Ken Block. "To have official factory support for my race season
in 2016 and beyond as I enter the FIA World Rallycross Championship full-time
is absolutely incredible. It opens up a ton of powerful resources that myself
and my team will be able to benefit from in terms of engineering prowess,
research, development and racing experience from different fields. Plus, have
you seen the car that they've created for me to go race in? My mind was
blown when they showed it to me in Dearborn a few months ago. I absolutely
cannot wait to get behind the wheel and start testing."
Malcolm Wilson, OBE, managing
director for M-Sport, believes that together, they’ve produced a very special
race car. “Working closely with our colleagues at Ford Performance and Hoonigan
Racing Division, a huge amount of work has gone into this project,” he said.
“It’s been an extremely exciting, rewarding venture – one we hope yields
considerable success. I’m confident we have a winning formula for the season
ahead.”
A Ford driven by Ford-Autocraft employee
Brian Melia was at the birth of rallycross in February 1967 – his Lotus Cortina
finishing second in the Lydden Hill event created especially for ITV’s “World
of Sport”. The BBC adopted rallycross later that year and the sport’s future
was assured, with the first British Rallycross Championship won by Tony
Chappell in a factory-prepared Ford Escort Twin Cam in 1968.
The Focus RS Rallycross cars will
debut at the FIA World Rallycross event in Portugal, April 15-17, with Block
and Bakkerud behind the wheel. The global 12-race series takes place in 11
countries on three continents.
