The reasons behind Ford's impending WRC factory return
by Tom Howard · AutosportThe American marque will make a full factory return to the WRC, having had a half-factory status with M-Sport over recent years
Ford’s decision to rejoin the World Rally Championship as a fully fledged manufacturer was a "fairly easy decision", according to its global director Mark Rushbrook.
The American marque has announced plans to run a full factory effort alongside partner M-Sport from 2028 and has committed to developing an all-new car for 2029.
Ford has still been in the WRC through M-Sport since it withdrew its full factory programme at the end of 2012, but Thursday’s announcement marks a significant shift in its stance towards the series.
When asked by Autosport why Ford is returning, Rushbrook says the decision to rejoin the WRC boiled down to a combination of reasons.
“We were very involved with the Ford Puma WRC car in 2022,” he said. “We didn't come in as a full factory then, but we were full force on developing the car with M-Sport, but the time wasn’t right to go full factory in the competition.
“It was great to win the first event with the car with [Sebastien] Loeb in Monte Carlo. But now the time is right because I don't think as a company we were leaning into rallying in the right way in that time frame.
“But today with Jim Baumbick here leading Ford of Europe, he's a product development expert. That's all he's done his entire career. I've worked with him for 25 years, developing great products together.
"So when I learned he was coming here to lead Europe, I was excited because I knew that would mean great things for our products that we're going to go into the Ford dealerships.
“But he's leaning into it because he knows what he's doing in motorsports, so he's all in leading into rallying as well. So to have Ford of Europe truly embracing this opportunity, as well as Ford in total, Ford Racing in total.
“To embrace it globally, it's a special time for the company, and it happened to line up with the change in the promoter and the change in the technical regulations.
"Was it any one of those individually that did it? Maybe, maybe not. But really, all three in combination made it a fairly easy decision.
“We see it [the future of the WRC] as positive, which is why we're coming in as a full factory in terms of what the FIA has done with the regulations and what the vision that the promoter has. With the competition that's here and we need to be here and we think it's got a strong future.
"So to be coming back in and to have M-Sport as a partner and to come back in as a factory together with them. It's a special opportunity for our company.
"We're looking forward to these next two to three years to develop the new car and then continue racing from then on."
Ford’s return to the WRC comes at a time when it is likely the championship will host a round in the USA next year for the first time since 1988.
“It [the USA rally] wasn't a deciding factor. We've been hoping for, asking for a rally in the U.S. since 2018 or 2019. It was close to happening as we went into the COVID era and that derailed it a little bit," added Rushbrook.
“But it's great to see what is hopefully happening there, and it means a lot for us. We say we're America's race team, so we're a global company. We race globally. WRC is global, but to have a WRC event in the US would be pretty special."
Speaking at the launch announcement held at the WRC season finale in Sardinia, it was confirmed that there will be five new Ford car products coming soon with four of those leaning into Ford’s rally heritage.
It appears one of these products is likely to form the base of Ford’s 2029 WRC car.
“There is not anything we can talk about right now [regarding the 2029 car] but we have a lot of opportunity with five new products coming to Europe. Four of them will be rally bred," said Rushbrook.
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