M-Sport Ford driver Pierre-Louis Loubet is avoiding any predictions of a result at next week’s Central European Rally as he searches for a confidence-boosting finish alongside new co-driver Benjamin Veillas.

Veilas previously navigated for Sebastian Ogier.

Speaking to WRC.com after a pre-event test, Loubet said “The test was good,” he said. “The weather was sunny, it was nice – the feeling was good. For next week, I don’t want to think too much to the result. With a new co-driver I just want to make a good rally. It’s the first rally with Benjamin, so I try to build the confidence and do a normal rally.”

M-Sport Ford have made their first driver signing for the 2023 World Rally Championship season with Ott Tänak.

Former Hyundai Motorsport driver, Ott Tänak, had been with the Korean manufacturer for the past three seasons, however at the end of the ’22 season Tänak announced that he was parting ways with the team with the partnership failing to add any more titles to Tänak’s 2019 title that he won with Toyota.

There has been plenty of speculation as to what the future may hold for the Estonian, but the answer has now been given. Tänak returns to the team that gave him his start back in 2011 in a WRC support category and the place where he got his first WRC win in 2017 at the Rally Italia Sardegna.

“M-Sport is the place that raised me as a driver and the place that taught me all the hard lessons and experience to become a top-level player in the World Rally Championship,” said Tänak. “Since becoming a world champion, I have not been able to defend the title, and I will not be able to make peace with myself until I do!”

M-Sport Managing Director Malcolm Wilson was similarly up-beat when commenting about the partnership.

“He has been to Dovenby to view our facilities and test the Puma in Greystoke Forest. It is fair to say from Ott’s initial feedback that we are confident we can challenge for the world championship in 2023

Tänak is set to compete in all 13 rallies with his co-driver Martin Järveoja but the identities of his teammates are yet to be announced.

M-Sport have decided to release Craig Breen from his contract for 2023 after a spate of inconsistent performances throughout the season.

Breen, who initially ran for M Sport on a part-time basis, was chosen to lead the M Sport line up for 2022 and beyond and produced podium performances at Monte Carlo and Italy. However six incidents in 13 rallies have meant that M-Sport have lost confidence in Breen to lead the line and have decided to relinquish the driver a year early. 

Breen said: “I want to extend a big thank you to M-Sport and the whole team for everything they’ve done for me this year, it has been an important season as my first full-time drive and to complete that in a Puma has been fantastic.”

M Sport Ford Team principle, Richard Millener, has commented that it will be looking for a new approach going forward.

Craig is a very talented driver an I have no doubt that he has more yet to achieve in his career,” he explained. “But the team feel we need a new approach for 2023.

“We wish Craig and James the very best of luck for the future, and we now turn our attentions towards next season and securing a competitive line-up for the Puma Hybrid Rally1.”

M-Sport Ford has unveiled its racing colours for the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship season, with its new Hybrid Rally1 Ford Puma sporting a largely purple livery.

The Red Bull sponsored Puma was unveiled during a launch event in Salzburg, Austria, ahead of the new season of rallying which kicks off next week with the Monte Carlo rally.

WRC moves to a hybrid powertrain this season, as well as more sustainable fuels, and that is reflected in the M-Sport livery, which also features lighting bolts running across the car.

M-Sport also celebrates 25 years of competing with Ford in the championship. During this period the iconic pairing have claimed a total of seven world titles, 61 overall victories and 239 podiums.

M-Sport Ford has finally revealed its new Rally1 car, which will compete in the World Rally Championship next year under the new hybrid regulations.

M-Sport Ford will, as expected, move away from the Fiesta and instead run an electrified version of the Puma compact SUV.

The prototype, which runs a turbocharged 1.6-litre EcoBoost petrol engine with a sophisticated 100 kW electric motor and 3.9 kWh battery, will make its public debut at this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.

WRC driver Adrien Fourmaux alongside M-Sport test driver Matthew Wilson will tackle Goodwood’s famous hill climb in the car, which will then be used as a development platform ahead its competitive debut in 2022.

“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,” explained 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, along with Toyota and Hyundai, announced their commitment to a new three-year agreement introducing hybrid technology to the top tier of global rally sport.

This also includes a move to using blended 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,” added 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.”