M-Sport believes that Grégoire Munster’s impressive speed, as well as Adrien Fourmaux’s, proves the Ford Fiesta Rally2 is now as good as any of the other Rally2 cars.
Fourmaux has led M-Sport’s WRC2 attack this year as it sought to prove its updated Rally2 car in the face of numerical dominance from Škoda. While the Frenchman finished only eighth in the WRC2 standings, with one podium to his name, he recorded 14 fastest stage times over his seven-event campaign.
Fourmaux also took in the Central European Rally as an additional WRC event, debuting the latest elements of the Fiesta’s full update package. He dominated the Rally2 class, setting eight fastest times on his way to victory.
But with Fourmaux stepping up to the Puma Rally1 for the season finale in Japan, the Fiesta was left in Munster’s hands. The Luxembourg driver had recorded a best finish of fifth in his 2023 Rally2 program prior to his Rally1 outings on Rally Chile and CER.
Munster shone in treacherous conditions on the opening day of Rally Japan. He ended the day second in class, just 4.8 seconds behind WRC2 champion Andreas Mikkelsen’s Škoda, and fifth on the event overall.
Despite an electrical issue, Munster added four fastest times on the weekend’s stages to the two he had recorded on Friday, as he continued to go toe-to-toe with Mikkelsen.
A final-day off meant Munster wouldn’t see the finish but, by that stage, he had already made his point – and demonstrated that the Fiesta can compete with Škoda’s Fabia RS Rally2.
M-Sport team principal Richard Millener pointed out that the Fiesta’s numerical disadvantage has made it hard to stand out. But demonstrating its credentials with two different drivers on the final two events of the season is a timely boost, with Toyota set to provide further competition in the class next year.
He told DirtFish: “We know that when we have less people competing in the car, it’s very difficult to show the performances.
“The category is so competitive that if you’re out of the running at some point during a rally, you kind of drop away [from sight].
“The more cars you have, the more opportunity there is to show. When you have less, it’s a lot harder to do that.
“I think we’ve always known it’s not been too far away, but the Rally2 team have been working really hard for the last 12/15 months to keep developing, keep tweaking things. And it’s a really good little atmosphere they’ve got within that team and they’ve really enjoyed seeing the results after a hard year. So, yeah, big pat on the back to all of them.
“There’s a little bit of competition coming around the corner from another brand so we’ll have to keep on our toes there. But it’s great to say… we can actively go out there and prove that the car’s competitive and continue to show that.”
