Following last weekend’s championship winning success, M-Sport continued the trend this weekend – the company’s range of Ford Fiesta rally cars claiming a further two titles alongside nine rally victories and 27 podiums.
In Jordan, Nasser Al-Attiyah confirmed his 11th FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) with an emphatic start-to-finish victory behind the wheel of his trusted Ford Fiesta RRC.
Winning the event by a huge 29 minutes and 31 seconds ahead of fellow countryman and Fiesta RRC driver Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, the Qatari won all but three special stages on his way to his 59th MERC victory and 11th MERC title.
Al-Attiyah wasn’t the only Fiesta driver securing championship success. In South Africa, Mark Cronje piloted his Ford Fiesta S2000 to victory and championship glory at the Polokwane Motor Rally.
The South African has taken his Fiesta S2000 to five victories and seven podium finishes over the course of the season, and brought his year to a sensational close – with rally victory and championship laurels.
There were also six victories for M-Sport’s latest global rally car – the Ford Fiesta R5. In Portugal, Carlos Vieira was victorious at the Rali de Viana do Castelo. In Spain, Santiago Carnicer sprayed the winning champagne at Rallye Ciutat de Xixona, with Juan Carlos Aguado having the same privilege at Rallysprint de Tierra Orillas del Tuerto.
Łukasz Habaj celebrated victory at Poland’s Rajd Dolnośląski. Davide Caffoni secured the win at Rally del Rubienetto in Italy. And in the UK, David Bogie piloted his Fiesta R5 to the top step of the podium at the ever-popular Cambrian Rally which attracted more than 170 entries.
M-Sport’s top-specification Ford Fiesta was also reaping considerable success – Manuel Sossella piloting his Ford Fiesta RS WRC to victory at the Trofeo ACI Como Rally in Italy.
But it wasn’t just M-Sport’s latest crop of globally successful rally cars enjoying the spoils as previous models also continue to produce notable success on a global scale. The Ford Focus RS WRC claimed podium finishes in Italy and Ireland, while the Ford Fiesta ST secured a double podium in Sweden.
All in all, M-Sport cars delivered two titles, nine victories, 27 podiums, five one-two finishes and two clean-sweeps of the podium this weekend alone.
M-Sport Managing Director, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said:
“I cannot tell you how fantastic it is to see so many incredible results coming through from so many of our valued clients around the globe. A huge congratulations to both Nasser [Al-Attiyah] and Mark [Cronje] on their championship success, but also to every Ford Fiesta driver who enjoyed the taste of champagne this weekend.
“I know how much time and effort goes into any rally programme – no matter how big or small – and each and every one of this weekend’s results are thoroughly deserved.
“To know that our products are yielding so much success for our clients proves the high level of engineering expertise and customer support we have at M-Sport. We will keep pushing to ensure that we can continue to support our clients in the best way possible – helping each and every one add to the fantastic results we continue to achieve together.”
RALLY RESULTS
Jordan Rally, MERC (15-17 October 2015)
1st overall – Nasser Al-Attiyah / Matthieu Baumel – Ford Fiesta RRC
2nd overall – Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari / Marshall Clarke – Ford Fiesta RRC
Polokwane Motor Rally, South Africa (16-17 October 2015)
1st overall – Mark Cronje / Gerhard Snyman – Ford Fiesta S2000
2nd in class – Richard Leeke III / Rikus Fourie – Ford Fiesta R2
Rajd Dolnośląski, Poland (16-18 October 2015)
1st overall – Łukasz Habaj / Piotr Woś – Ford Fiesta R5
2nd overall – Jakub Brzeziński / Bartłomiej Boba – Ford Fiesta R5
3rd overall – Grzegorz Grzyb /Robert Hundla – Ford Fiesta R5
4th overall – Tomasz Kuchar /Daniel Dymurski – Ford Fiesta R5
5th overall – Zbigniew Gabryś / Artur Natkaniec – Ford Fiesta R5
1st in class - Marcin Górny / Zbigniew Cieślar – Ford Fiesta R2
2nd in class – Rafał Kręcioch / Marcin Roik – Ford Fiesta R2
3rd in class – Paweł Suchorzebski / Mateusz Martynek – Ford Fiesta R2
Trofeo ACI Como, Campionato Italiano WRC (16-18 October 2015)
1st overall – Manuel Sossella / Gabriele Falzone – Ford Fiesta RS WRC
2nd overall – Paolo Porro / Paolo Cargnelutti – Ford Focus RS WRC ‘08
3rd overall – Alessandro Perico / Mauro Turati – Ford Fiesta RS WRC
4th overall – Marco Signor / Patrick Bernardi – Ford Focus RS WRC ‘08
5th overall – Giuseppe Silva Marco / Pina Giovanni – Ford Focus RS WRC ‘08
Rally del Rubinetto, Italy Nazionale Zona 1 (17-18 October 2015)
1st overall – Davide Caffoni / Massimo Minazzi – Ford Fiesta R5
2nd overall – Simone Miele / Fabio Grimaldi – Ford Fiesta RRC
Rallye Ciutat de Xixona, Spain (17 October 2015)
1st overall – Santiago Carnicer / Víctorantiago Buades – Ford Fiesta R5
2nd overall – Javier Polidura Francisco/ Amadeo Aguirre – Ford Fiesta R5
1st in class – José Tomás Pérez / Ismael Miralles – Ford Fiesta R2
Cambrian Rally, UK (17 October 2015)
1st overall – David Bogie / Kevin Rae – Ford Fiesta R5
3rd overall – Josh Moffett / John Rowan – Ford Fiesta RS WRC
2nd in class - Kit Leigh / Tim Leigh – Ford Fiesta R200
3rd in class –Josh Cornwell / Dai Roberts – Ford Fiesta R2
1st in class – Owain Rowlands / Caron Tomlinson – Ford Fiesta ST
2nd in class – Jon Ambler / Chris Sharpe-Simkiss – Ford Fiesta ST
2nd in class – Chris Wheeler /Y an Griffiths – Ford Fiesta MS1
Rallysprint de Tierra Orillas del Tuerto, Spain (17 October 2015)
1st overall – Juan Carlos Aguado / Núñez Valle Núñez – Ford Fiesta R5
Rali de Viana do Castelo, Portugal (16-17 October 2015)
1st overall – Carlos Vieira / Luís Ramalho – Ford Fiesta R5
Říha Group - Partr Rally Vsetín, Czech Republic (16-17 October 2015)
2nd overall – Martin Koči / Lukáš Kostka – Ford Fiesta R5
3rd overall – Simone Tempestini / Dorin Pulpea – Ford Fiesta RS WRC
Rally Porta del Gargano, Italy (17-18 October 2015)
2nd overall – Francesco Rizzello / Pasquale Fiorito – Ford Fiesta R5
3rd overall – Pietro Azzarone / Vincenzo Paglione – Ford Fiesta R5
Kåtmyraslaget, Sweden (17 October 2015)
2nd overall – Eddie Lundqvist / Linus Johansen – Ford Fiesta ST
3rd overall – Jari Liiten / Tobias Nilsson – Ford Fiesta ST
Mayo Forest Rally, Ireland (18 October 2015)
2nd overall – Michael O'Brien / James O'Brien – Ford Focus RS WRC ‘08
1st in class – Stephen Dickson / Tommy Hayes – Ford Fiesta ST
Rikspokalen, Sweden (17 October 2015)
2nd overall – Mattias Jirvelius / John Stigh – Ford Fiesta R5
1st in class – Jacob Jansson / Andreas Johansson – Ford Fiesta R2
Petrobras Rally de Carapegua, Paraguay (16-18 October 2015)
2nd overall – Miguel Zaldivar / Fernando Mendonca – Ford Fiesta R5
Finale de la Coupe de France des Rallyes Samer, France (16-17 October 2015)
2nd overall – Michel Morin/ Carol Morin-Townshend – Ford Fiesta R5
Mecsek Rallye, Hungary (16-18 October 2015)
3rd in class – Antal Kovács / Gergő Istovics – Ford Fiesta R5
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