Ford confirms factory WRC return for 2028
Words: Kyle Cassidy
Ford will return to the World Rally Championship with a full factory works programme in 2028, restoring its manufacturer entry 16 years after withdrawing from top-flight rallying.
The programme will continue its partnership with British rally specialist M-Sport, which has kept Ford represented in the championship as a privateer operation with technical support from the manufacturer.
Ford will begin working with M-Sport immediately before becoming directly involved in 2028. A new rally car is planned for 2029, with its design taking inspiration from one of Ford’s forthcoming road models.
The announcement also gives Ford a way to connect its next generation of European passenger cars with the rallying heritage established by models such as the Fiesta and Focus.
Rally lessons for the road
Ford says the performance and engineering skills developed through WRC competition will help shape a new European line-up blending off-road capability with rally-inspired handling.
That range is expected to include successors to the Fiesta and Focus, with Ford promising a tangible link between its road and competition development programmes.
“You can’t fake it on Europe’s roads, which is why a car’s responsiveness and handling matters. The WRC is the ultimate proving ground for control and driver engagement, and that is the exact spirit and lessons learned we are injecting into our next generation of passenger vehicles,” said Ford’s European boss Jim Baumbick.
Speaking ahead of the announcement, Baumbick said the connection was intended to extend beyond marketing, influencing the responsiveness, capability and character of the road cars themselves.
“What we’re intending to do – the mission – is to bring that thrill, that connection that you experience when you see a rally event or vehicles operating in that environment.”
Ford Racing boss Mark Rushbrook also outlined a dual ambition: returning to WRC to win while using the championship to develop knowledge that can feed into everyday vehicles.
New rules widen the options
M-Sport currently campaigns the Ford Puma Rally1 and has already indicated it will develop a car for the incoming WRC27 spaceframe regulations.
The new rules allow greater freedom over body style, accommodating hatchbacks, saloons, crossovers and bespoke designs. The ruleset is scheduled to run through to 2037.
That flexibility means Ford’s next rally car won’t necessarily need a direct combustion-powered road equivalent.
Ford is developing a Renault 5-based electric supermini for launch in 2028. While no link to the rally programme has been confirmed, its shape could provide inspiration for a combustion-powered competition car under the silhouette rules.
Baumbick hasn’t confirmed whether the WRC programme will carry an ST, RS or Raptor badge. Ford already uses the Raptor name in its Dakar and Baja 1000 campaigns.
Building on a long rally record
Ford competed as a WRC manufacturer from 1978 to 2012. Its cars have won 94 championship rallies, while its works team claimed three manufacturers’ titles.
M-Sport subsequently won the manufacturers’ championship as an independent operation in 2017, with Sébastien Ogier taking consecutive drivers’ titles in 2017 and 2018.
More recently, results have been harder to come by. M-Sport’s last rally victory was in 2023, and its best finish so far this year is fourth.
The factory return adds WRC to Ford’s broad motorsport programme, which also spans Formula 1, the World Endurance Championship, IMSA, Dakar and NASCAR.
