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The 1999 Ford Focus WRC by Colin McRae

Name: Ford Focus WRC 1999
Brand: Ford

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Created on April 6, 2018

Text:

Daniel Reinhard

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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Colin McRae (August 5, 1968 to September 15, 2007) with his Ford Focus WRC (1999)

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Ford Focus WRC (1999) and its creators - Martin Whitacker, Colin McRae, Günter Steiner and Malcolm Wilson (from left to right)

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Ford Focus WRC (1999) by Colin McRae - Malcolm Wilson (team owner), Günther Steiner (Technical Director), Martin Whitacker (Ford media representative at the time) and Colin McRae (driver)

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Ford Focus WRC (1999) by Colin McRae - This is the gearshift lever attached directly to the steering wheel, the forerunner of the paddle shifters

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Roof spoiler on the Ford Focus WRC (1999) by Colin McRae

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Rear suspension of the Ford Focus WRC (1999) by Colin McRae

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Ford Focus WRC (1999) by Colin McRae - The Ford Zetec E 16V Turbo is tilted 25 degrees backwards

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Ford Focus WRC (1999) by Colin McRae - The C170, everyday life meets its sports brother

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Summary

Günter Steiner was project manager of the "WRC Focus". Together with Malcolm Wilson, he started from scratch to develop the rally car. Colin McRae, also known as "Rollin' McCrash" in the international rally scene, became World Rally Champion in 1995 in the Subaru Impreza WRT. In 1999, he switched back to Ford, driving the photo model in the first Focus year 1999 and then the Focus RS WRC in the two following years. This report tells the story of the Ford Focus WRC and portrays Colin McRae.

This article contains the following chapters

The first WRC car
Colin McRae
The road focus
Monte Carlo 1999 - Disqualification

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The project manager of the "WRC Focus" was Günter Steiner, his name may sound German, but he is South Tyrolean and now works for Gene Haas' HAAS F1 team. Before his Ford involvement, he was responsible for the Lancia Delta Integrale at the Jolly Club team. He later also worked for Prodrive and looked after the Subaru Impreza. After the Focus adventure, Günter Steiner left the rally scene and switched to F1. Günter Steiner: "Malcolm Wilson had already used the Escort for Ford and was also commissioned to develop a rally car from the then new Focus. I was already at Pro-Drive in England at the time, partly thanks to Malcolm, who asked me: "Wouldn't you like to be the project manager for the WRC Focus? Why not, I thought. We started from scratch. I then started my job with Malcolm on December 1st. They were up in Cumbria where their workshop was, but I had to find a new workshop in the south first."

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