While already launched by M-Sport a few months ago, the new Fiesta WRC was not tested by Ford while fitted with Ford Focus WRC's 2.0L turbocharged engine. As revealed by Autosport, it is believed the WRC team decided to do the test in order to gather the necessary information on how the new Fiesta WRC – chassis, suspension – will cope with the power of a turbocharged powerplant.
As you all know, the FIA rules states that, starting with the 2011 WRC season, all cars should be based on an S2000 platform, while powered by 1.6 turbocharged engines. Since neither of the two championship's front-runners – Citroen or Ford – have managed to fully develop their 1.6 engines for the 2011 campaign, the UK based team proceeded to using the next best thing for testing the capabilities of their Fiesta model.
“This was a scheduled development test for the Fiesta S2000, as part of its ongoing programme. And we don't want to discuss specific items currently under development,” Ford's technical director Christian Loriaux was quoted as saying by Autosport.
Earlier this year, during the month of January, reigning world champion Sebastien Loeb and his co-driver Daniel Elena have tested Fiesta WRC's rival for the 2011 season, the Citroen DS3, on the gravely roads of souther France. The car did not use a 1.6 turbocharged plant either, as they are likely to finalize work on their 2011 engine late this summer.
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