Goodwood Festival of Speed - 8-11 Jul 21

Ford and M-Sport Reveal New Puma Rally1 WRC Prototype; Electrifying Hybrid Performance Breaks Cover at Goodwood

Posted: July 9, 2021 7:42 AM

The M-Sport Ford World Rally Team (WRT) today revealed for the first time a prototype of the new Puma Rally1 rally car that will help usher in an exciting new era of electrified competition in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) from 2022.

Making its global public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, West Sussex, U.K., the M?Sport Ford Puma Rally1 features a next-generation hybrid powertrain that seamlessly combines the performance of a championship-winning, turbocharged 1.6-litre EcoBoost petrol engine with a sophisticated 100 kW electric motor and 3.9 kWh battery.

The ultimate expression of the fun-to-drive appeal offered to customers in the Ford Puma compact SUV, 1 the new rally car also reflects Ford’s commitment to going all-in on electrification. The company earlier this year announced that 100 per cent of its passenger vehicle range in Europe will be zero-emissions capable, all-electric or plug-in hybrid by mid-2026; moving to all-electric by 2030.

The electrifying performance of the Puma Rally1 prototype will from July 8-10 be demonstrated on the famous Goodwood hill climb, driven by M-Sport Ford WRT driver Adrien Fourmaux and M-Sport Ford test driver Matthew Wilson, before being used as a development car ahead of the 2022 season.

“Ford is 100 per cent committed to an electrified future, and the white heat of competition has been responsible for many of the innovations that appear in our road cars today,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance. “The M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 will put hybrid power to the ultimate test, and prove that the technology is capable of delivering thrilling performance.”

M-Sport Ford earlier this year announced its commitment to a new three-year agreement introducing hybrid technology to the top tier of global rally sport. The sophisticated new plug-in hybrid powertrain will provide competition-level performance as well as the ability to travel through towns, cities and service parks between stages using pure-electric power.

The Puma Rally1’s hybrid system operates using similar principles to the Puma EcoBoost Hybrid road car. The powertrain captures energy normally lost during braking and coasting and stores it in a battery that can power an electric motor to enhance the road car’s fuel efficiency or provide a performance boost – in the case of Puma Rally1 as much as 100 kW for multiple boosts of up to three seconds during competitive driving.

Like the plug-in hybrid technology available to Ford customers on vehicles including the Kuga Plug-In Hybrid, the battery pack can also be recharged using an external power source at service points between stages, with a recharge taking approximately 25 minutes. Weighing 95 kg, the hybrid system is liquid- and air-cooled and housed in a ballistic-strength casing to resist the impact of debris and g-forces in the event of an accident.

In addition, FIA WRC Rally1 competitors will use a fossil-free fuel from the 2022 season, blending synthetic and bio-degradable elements to produce a fuel that is 100 per cent sustainable.

“The new era of WRC cars is one of the biggest technological advancements in WRC to date. The introduction of the hybrid means that the cars will be more powerful than ever whilst also directly reflecting the powertrains within their road going counterparts,” said Malcolm Wilson OBE, managing director, M-Sport. “The switch to the Puma is very exciting with the name already having rally heritage, the car looks fantastic and I cannot wait to see it at the start line of the famous Monte Carlo Rally in early 2022.

“Launching this new car at Goodwood is also very special, being one of the most iconic events in the Motorsport calendar. I and the whole of M-Sport look forward to continuing the very successful partnership with Ford to deliver results and keep Ford at the forefront during this new and very exciting era,” Wilson said.

Ford has been a continuous partner with M-Sport since 1997, securing seven FIA World Rally Championships and more than 1,500 stage wins. The new Puma Rally1 will replace the M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC, which has secured three World Rally Championship titles since its introduction in 2017.

Offering powerful, responsive performance and optimised fuel efficiency using 48-volt mild-hybrid powertrain technology, the Ford Puma introduced Ford’s acclaimed fun-to-drive dynamics and head-turning design to the compact SUV segment.

Loeb, Vatanen and McRae help Prodrive celebrate four decades of motorsport at Goodwood

Posted: July 3, 2021 1:13 PM

Prodrive is bringing a collection of its iconic race and rally cars from the past 40 years to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July, with many being driven up the hill by some of the most famous names in motorsport, including World Rally champions Sebastien Loeb and Ari Vatanen.

The cars range from the 1981 World Rally Championship-winning Ford Escort RS1800 MkII of Vatanen and Prodrive chairman David Richards, to the latest Aston Martin Vantage GTE, which won the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2020, the Prodrive Hunter T1, which made its debut on the Dakar in January, as well as Subaru Impreza Group A and World Rally Cars of Colin McRae and Richard Burns.

Nine-time World Rally champion, Sebastien Loeb, who competes for the Prodrive-run Bahrain Raid Xtreme team, will drive the Prodrive Hunter for the first time since the Dakar. Ari Vatanen and David Richards will be reunited for the first time with one of the MkII Escorts which helped them win their World Rally title 40 years ago. Aston Martin Racing works driver, Marco Sorensen, will drive the #95 Vantage GTE in which he and Nicki Thiim won the FIA WEC GTE drivers’ title last year, while Jimmy McRae will get behind the wheel of Colin McRae’s 1996 Rally Catalunya-winning Impreza Group A.

Prodrive chairman, David Richards, said:
“The Festival of Speed is one of the motorsport events of the year that I really look forward to. The paddock has a unique atmosphere where fans can get close to their heroes and have the opportunity to see so much motorsport history race up the hill. We’ll be joining the action with a number of our cars that represent Prodrive’s successes over the four decades.”

Richards has just had the MkII Escort full restored - two years of meticulous work - and it will run in anger for the first time at Goodwood. He said: “The last time Ari saw this car was 40 years ago on the San Remo Rally, where we hit a wall! I hope he doesn’t drive it quite as hard as he did back in 1981.”

The Prodrive collection of cars will be in the main paddock right next to the F1 paddock.

The full list of cars is:

1981 Ford Escort RS1800 MkII (driven by Vatanen/Richards)
DKP 191T was driven by Ari Vatanen and co-driven by David Richards. It competed in three events in the WRC in 1981: The Acropolis, Thousand Lakes and San Remo, winning the first two and taking Vatanen and Richards to the World Rally Championship title.

1986 Metro 6R4 (static display)
C749 LFM was driven by Jimmy McRae in the British & Irish Rally Championships in 1986, as well as the WRC at the RAC Rally where it finished 8th.

1995 Subaru Impreza Group A (static display)
L555 BAT is the car in which Colin McRae clinched his World Rally title at the RAC Rally in 1995

1996 Subaru Impreza Group A (driven by Jimmy McRae)
Colin McRae won Rally Catalunya, the final round of the 1996 WRC in N1WRC and clinched a second consecutive manufacturers’ title for Subaru.

2000 Subaru Impreza WRC (driven by David Lapworth – Prodrive technical director) Richard Burns won the Safari Rally in 2000 in this car on what was the last outing for the 1999 specification Impreza WRC.

2020 Aston Martin Vantage GTE (driven by Marco Sorensen)
The #95 Aston Martin Vantage GTE secured the 2019/2020 FIA WEC GTE drivers’ title for Marco Sorensen and Nicki Thiim and helped clinch the GT Manufacturers’ title for Aston Martin.

2021 Prodrive Hunter T1 (driven by Sebastien Loeb)
The Prodrive Hunter T1 car made its debut on the Dakar in Saudi Arabia in January this year. The car finished fifth, the highest placing by any car on its debut in the history of the event.

2004 BAR Honda F1 (static display)
From 2002-2004, Prodrive ran the BAR F1 team, taking it from the middle of the pack to second only to Ferrari in the constructors’ championship in 2004. This chassis was used by Jenson Button and Takuma Sato for racing and testing during 2004.

2003/4 Ford Falcon V8 Supercar (static display)
Prodrive created the Ford Performance Racing team and competed in the Australian V8 Supercar Series from 2003 to 2012. This is the Falcon V8 that Glenn Seton drove during the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

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Posted: July 3, 2021 12:23 PM

Goodwood Festival of Speed