The WRC has officially opened a new era. He did it tonight, at Red Bull’s Hangar 7 which is located just outside Salzburg and the same thing did M-Sport. The WRC Plus chapter closed, exciting in the initial part and depressing in the final part with financial problems due to the golden two-year period with Sébastien Ogier and the COVID pandemic.
But tonight a door closes and a new chapter of a new story opens, a new adventure for everyone with the introduction of hybrid propulsion, but also new cars. The Ford Fiesta WRC Plus is in a museum that rests, while the veils fall from those who collect the inheritance. A car not only hybrid in propulsion, but also in its essence.
Half Fiesta, half Puma. A hybrid dictated by marketing needs linked to the brand, Ford which thanks to its racing department has developed the new creature with M-Sport, but with touches of another model – the Fiesta, in fact – in order not to penalize it considering the volumes of the crossover which is doing so well in automotive sales in Europe.
The Puma Rally1 Hybrid EcoBoost was the first new generation car to begin testing in April 2021 with a Fiesta-based car. A few weeks later, however, M-Sport announced that it would use the Ford Puma as the car for the next three years of the WRC. And this is where M-Sport Ford worked to make an interesting collage.
Ford Puma Rally1 livery
Photo by: Drew Gibson
Body of the Fiesta, front and rear of the Puma. Marketing reasons, first of all. But perhaps also the compromise to have more support from Ford Performance, as it actually was throughout the course of 2021 in the design and construction of the car.
During development tests, which continued up to and including December, they saw the Puma change. The latest updates arrived in the tests carried out in recent days in the south of France, in the Alps, with the appearance of a new front splitter with an incorporated upper flap that joins the wheel arch. a solution very similar to that adopted by Toyota, but there is also a second version, without upper flap, but only with a vertical bulkhead that divides the air flows.
Over time, slits have been opened next to the large central vent that brings air to the 380 horsepower 1.6 turbo heat engine, directly derived from the one used up to last season. The side vents are intended for cooling the front brakes. For the cooling of the rear ones, however, M-Sport has chosen two very large and vertical openings just in front of the rear wheel arches. The corridor that attaches itself to the rear wheel arches is very interesting.
Ford Puma Rally1 livery
Photo by: Drew Gibson
One of the main features shared by the three Rally1 cars are the large air intakes above the rear wheel arches. These are used to convey the air to the electrical package consisting of a 100 kW motor, inverter and batteries, located above the rear axle of the Rally1. The aspect that differentiates these loopholes, however, is the positioning and the shape chosen by the respective designers.
M-Sport Ford has adopted a solution similar to Toyota as regards positioning, that is, under the side windows (while Hyundai has set them right in the middle pillars), but with a shape that could be much less penalizing from the point of view drag (resistance to advancement). These slits are much smaller than those adopted on the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 and better shaped, as if they were one with the bodywork.
The rear of the Puma is very interesting. The rear wing has a philosophy taken from the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 also because they share the same designer Christian Loriaux. Very square line, wide vertical profiles to comb the whirlpools and create aerodynamic load.
Ford Puma Rally1 livery
Photo by: Drew Gibson
In the lower part, however, there is another choice shared by the three teams, namely the hot air vent in the rear apron which has the task of making the air flow out more quickly from the bottom of the car and thus generate aerodynamic load. . On the Puma, then, the exhaust is placed on the right side of the car body like Toyota, while Hyundai has chosen to place it in the center.
Another big breaking point compared to past seasons is the livery. Of course, an aspect that cannot interfere with the performance of the car, but it will certainly steal the eye of enthusiasts and onlookers. Blue, the color of Ford and M-Sport, remained, but to a small extent. Now the great protagonist is purple, crossed by lightning to give a clear idea of the presence of the electric motor, as well as all its components (inverter and battery pack) that complete the hybrid propulsion. Purple on the nose that fades to blue on the whole car body with lightning bolts and lightning bolts crossing it. Then the Red Bull sponsor appears on the sides, as well as in 2021 thanks to the presence of Adrien Fourmaux and Sébastien Loeb.
Beyond the technical side, M-Sport Ford presents itself with a new spearhead. Craig Breen has been hired after 2 very good years part-time with Hyundai Motorsport. For the first time in his career, at the age of 30, he will have the opportunity to be the top driver of a team that has the clear intention of fighting for the world titles.
It will be the Northern Irishman who will also be the most experienced, because alongside confirmed Gus Greensmith and Adrien Fourmaux for the whole season. In Monte-Carlo there will then be the guest-star Sébastien Loeb, fresh from the excellent second place in the 44th edition of the Dakar at the wheel of a Hunter of the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team. The material to do well seems to be there. Now is the time to reap what is sown. Since Monte-Carlo.
Ford Puma Rally1 livery
Photo by: Drew Gibson
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