Ford quit WRC, replace Jaguar
Discussion
According to Autosport the strong rumour is that:
1) Jaguar racing is rebranded Ford GP with increased commitment from Ford Worldwide and far eastern backing (with a possibility of equity being involved too). It is important to note that Tony Purnell is being very upbeat about this and pretty much promicing a step change in performance due to budgets etc (and so not necessarily just towing the company line).
2) Ford WRC has always been funded by Ford Europe, who are suggesting withdrawal for next season. This is partly due to wanting to use the seasons budget to develop a new car based on the new Focus (iirc) platform to be launched next year. This is supported by them releasing Douval (sp) to Peugeot/Citron (?) for next years campaign. The rumors very much suggest a comback in 2006 - but possibly only for the European legs of the championship which is - whichever way you look at it - a substantial budget cut (Possibly due to Ford Eurpoe not getting a deal to share the costs of what is a worldwide championship).
So - generally - pretty good for F1 fans (Jaguar was never an F1 brand anyway - and it hasn't brought any further awareness to the US market aparently), and pretty shitty for WRC fans. However, it is being seen as a big rethink of Ford's motorsport strategy, and it would appear that they are at least keen on continuing a large scale involvement into the medium term - which is a good thing
.
Rich
1) Jaguar racing is rebranded Ford GP with increased commitment from Ford Worldwide and far eastern backing (with a possibility of equity being involved too). It is important to note that Tony Purnell is being very upbeat about this and pretty much promicing a step change in performance due to budgets etc (and so not necessarily just towing the company line).
2) Ford WRC has always been funded by Ford Europe, who are suggesting withdrawal for next season. This is partly due to wanting to use the seasons budget to develop a new car based on the new Focus (iirc) platform to be launched next year. This is supported by them releasing Douval (sp) to Peugeot/Citron (?) for next years campaign. The rumors very much suggest a comback in 2006 - but possibly only for the European legs of the championship which is - whichever way you look at it - a substantial budget cut (Possibly due to Ford Eurpoe not getting a deal to share the costs of what is a worldwide championship).
So - generally - pretty good for F1 fans (Jaguar was never an F1 brand anyway - and it hasn't brought any further awareness to the US market aparently), and pretty shitty for WRC fans. However, it is being seen as a big rethink of Ford's motorsport strategy, and it would appear that they are at least keen on continuing a large scale involvement into the medium term - which is a good thing
. Rich
Yup, as we had heard 
The article even mentions Ford WRC aren't safe
>> Edited by docevi1 on Friday 17th September 13:16
The article even mentions Ford WRC aren't safe itv-f1.com said:
Jaguar will disappear from F1 at the end of the season after Ford announced they were putting the team up for sale.
Ford have also put engine supplier Cosworth on the market, raising questions over the future of Minardi and Jordan too.
The company announced on Friday that they had finally lost patience with the team after five years of disappointing results.
Jaguar chairman Joe Greenwell said: "Ford has decided it can no longer
make a compelling business case for any of its brands to compete in F1."
The decision is part of a major rethink of Ford's motorsport strategy. The company's WRC team is also under threat.
Ford have insisted that there are several buyers interested in the team but could not guarantee that a sale would go ahead.
Richard Parry-Jones, Ford's chief technical officer, said: "If it does not, we would be forced to face a closure scenario but we're not thinking about that at the moment."
Of the decision to sell Cosworth and the likely effect it would have on Minardi and Jordan, Parry-Jones added: "Supplying subsidised engines for teams is no longer possible.
"We have talked to Jordan and Minardi and we intend to work with them to find a solution."
The news comes on the day that Jaguar's road car division announced they would be axing 1,100 jobs at their Coventry base, with production switching to West Bromwich.
wrc.com said:Aother damning report for Ford's potential to be in the WRC next year
Ford team principal Malcolm Wilson has admitted he’s keen to try and keep hold of Francois Duval for next season. The Belgian was released from his contract earlier this month, as Ford has so far been unable to confirm its plans for 2005.
As a result, Duval, like his Ford team-mate Markko Martin, is a free agent for next year, and both drivers have reportedly talked to other teams – most notably Peugeot and Citroen about the possiblility of joining their line-ups. Wilson said he was close to confirming his team’s plans for 2005 in the next few weeks, however, and admitted that Duval still remains a part of his ideal plan thanks tohis improved results this season.
“Francois is undoubtedly the most improved driver of the year, and if he hasn’t found anything else, then I’ll be the first one knocking on his door,” Wilson said.
Citroen motorsport boss Guy Frequelin admitted that he’d been in contact with Duval, but said that he was still waiting for current driver Carlos Sainz to decided whether he wants to continue in the World Rally Championship in some form next year.
The double world champion has been contemplating retirement, but some strong results this year has left some speculating that Sainz will do at least a part-season next year. This could potentially be in a third car, and Sainz might even be used as part of the development programme for the C4, which is likely to replace the current Xsara towards the end of the season.
“For sure, we’ve had contact with Francois,’” Frequelin said. “But at the moment it’s difficult to say what our plans are. Carlos hasn’t decided his plans and if we run a third car then we need to find a sponsor. We think he’d like to continue, but we all need to decide quickly.”
>> Edited by docevi1 on Friday 17th September 13:16
A friend who currently works in America at the mo, he’s been involved in Racing (Touring Cars/WRC/Audi Le-mans/Cadillac GT, Bentley, etc) for many years. He’s heard a little something about Audi moving into formula 1, and branding the team as Lambo..! I could see that making sense.
jj
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