Dakar Rally News: M-Sport Hopes Non-Hybrid Puma’s Strong Debut Boosts Rally1 Sales
(Dakar Rally News) – M-Sport, the renowned rally car manufacturer, is hopeful that the impressive debut of its non-hybrid version of the Ford Puma World Rally Championship (WRC) car will help stimulate sales of its Rally1 vehicles.
The Ford squad took advantage of a new FIA regulation introduced this year that allows teams to enter non-hybrid powered Rally1 cars in WRC events. They fielded rising star Martins Sesks in the recent rally in Poland, where he put in an eye-catching performance.
Without the hybrid system, the car produced 130 fewer horsepower and had to carry 100 kilograms of additional ballast to compensate for the absence of the hybrid unit and its associated equipment. The FIA’s regulation change was aimed at providing a more affordable Rally1 option, costing €150,000 less than the €800,000 hybrid version, and to offer a platform to help younger drivers bridge the gap from Rally2 to Rally1.
“We wanted to prove it can do that and still be competitive and it can give this opportunity to youngsters to come and prove what they can do,” Millener told Motorsport.com. “People were saying if you just remove the hybrid, it is a Rally2 car, but if you had watched Martins in a Rally2 car, he would never have had the same feeling or feedback. These Rally1 cars are amazing to watch and that is why I always say that we can’t get rid of them. We must have a top category in WRC and something like this to showcase what this is about.”
Sesks’ maiden outing in the non-hybrid Puma, supported by the WRC Promoter, resulted in an impressive fifth-place finish overall and a stage win that was just 0.3 seconds away. While the primary focus was to provide a young driver with the experience of competing in a Rally1 car, M-Sport team principal Richard Millener says the rally put the car in the shop window for prospective buyers.
M-Sport relies heavily on building and selling rally cars as a core part of its business, but it has only sold one Puma Rally1 since its introduction in 2022. Millener expressed his hope that the non-hybrid Puma’s performance will help increase sales.
Sesks will pilot a full hybrid version of the Puma when the WRC visits Latvia next week, which marks the final round of his two-rally programme.
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