Official Ford WRC Season Review 2011 & 2012 Drivers

Here's another great 2011 WRC season review video, following the Ford WRC Abu Dhabi Team exploits with Mikko Hirvonen and Jari Matti-Latvala. And there's news too of the new driver line-up, with Ford of Europe continuing its World Rally Championship programme for 2012 and 2013, M-Sport, Ford’s long-term rally partner, supporting the team and, best of all, former world champion Petter Solberg joining the team as second driver, with Jari in car No.1. Ford say: "The Fiesta RS World Rally Car will continue as Ford’s WRC flagship in 2012 and 2013. The car, based on the successful Fiesta road car, claimed a clean sweep of the podium in both the first and final rounds of its debut season this year. Finland’s Jari-Matti Latvala and co-driver Miikka Anttila, who topped the world rankings for special stage victories in 2011 and won the final round of the championship in Britain last month, are confirmed as team leaders for 2012. They will be partnered by former world champion Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson, who have signed a one-year agreement to drive the team’s second Fiesta RS WRC in all 13 rounds. The experienced Solberg won the world title in 2003 and the 37-year-old Norwegian has 13 world rally wins to his name. It will be his second stint with Ford, having launched his world rally career with the team in 1999. Ford has a long and successful heritage in rallying. It is second in the all-time wins list with 79 world rally victories and its run of 145 consecutive points finishes, dating back to the opening round of the 2002 championship, is the longest in the sport’s history. Ford of Europe chairman and CEO Stephen Odell highlighted the strong will of all parties to continue in the WRC: "Ford has a rich history in world rallying and we’re excited to continue fighting for titles on the world stage with our great partners at M-Sport," said Odell. "WRC is a great fit with the Ford brand DNA of precise handling, fun-to-drive cars with leading technology and we’ll continue to leverage rallying to inspire innovation in future vehicles and reach new audiences." Wilson, M-Sport managing director and team director, said the new deal was a vote of confidence in his company. "The performance of the Fiesta RS WRC in 2011 was strong on all surfaces and I’m genuinely excited about what we can achieve in the future," he said. "We want to challenge for world titles and I have no doubts that our car and driver combination, allied to the infrastructure and expertise of our staff at Dovenby Hall, will allow us to do that." Another good year ahead, we reckon...