With the leading manufacturer gone, two others returning, and a whole new set of rules in place, it was anyone’s guess as to who would prove the dominant force in the 2017 World Rally Championship. And it still is – but we already have an early indication from the opening round in Monaco this weekend.
Defending champion Sebastien Ogier won the opening Monte Carlo Rally in the new Ford Fiesta for the Ford-affiliated M-Sport World Rally Team – arguably the least well-funded of the four manufacturers in the series compared to the works efforts run by Hyundai, Citroën, and Toyota.
Ogier won the championship the past four years running with Volkswagen, but switched to M-Sport after the German manufacturer’s shock withdrawal before the start of this season. That didn’t seem to faze the 33-year-old Frenchman in the ice-covered snowy passes descending from the Alps into Monte Carlo, winning the event for the fourth time running.
His teammate Ott Tanak (of Estonia) nearly landed the other Fiesta in second place – which would have given M-Sport a one-two finish – but engine troubles let Jari-Matti Latvala slip by into second. That in and of itself was cause for celebration for Toyota, which returned this season after a 17-year absence.
This marked the first time that M-Sport has won a top-level rally since the 2012 Wales Rally GB. Not to get ahead of ourselves here, but the last time a Ford won the championship was in 2007 – the second of two consecutive manufacturers’ titles – before the American automaker pulled its support. The last time the drivers’ championship was won with a Blue Oval on the nose was in 1981 when Ari Vatanen drove his Escort RS1800 to beat Guy Fréquilin (and co-driver Jean Todt) in the Talbot-Sunbeam-Lotus to the title by seven points.
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