No pressure on M-Sport at Central European Rally

M-Sport-Ford has no pressure to prove themselves as the 2025 World Rally Championship enters its final stretch, according to team principal Richard Millener.

The British squad has endured a challenging year having recorded only one top five finish across its relatively inexperienced driver line-up of Gregoire Munster, Rally1 rookie Josh McErlean and Martins Sesks - the latter contested a six round programme.

While M-Sport doesn’t have the resources of its factory rivals Toyota and Hyundai, the team’s Ford Puma Rally1 car has shown flashes of speed throughout the year.

Munster proved the car’s speed and reliability to finish fifth in the championship’s toughest round, Safari Rally Kenya in March, which is the team’s best result of the season to date.

However, M-Sport is confident that this week’s return to asphalt at the Central European Rally, where changeable weather is likely, could offer an opportunity for a strong result.

The team has undertaken two pre-event test days to prepare and spent time on the team’s asphalt test track in Cumbria to prepare for 18-stage event, spread across the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria.

“Like every rally, there is an opportunity for us. It is a tricky one with this kind of weather,” said Millener. 

“Road position will be tricky on the first day if it is wet, but we know the car is very good in those damp conditions. The chassis is very good and we had a good two days’ testing, one day for each driver, and we also did bit of work on the track before that as well.

"We are trying to do as much as we can with what we have available to make a few tweaks to get the most out of the Hankook tyres from the set up. 

“We are quite happy with that and really there is no pressure anymore for the end of the season to prove ourselves. We go with an open mind and we could get an okay result if things go well, but as we have seen this year it is very difficult to get good results.

“There is no pressure from my side but they [the drivers] know within themselves what they need to do [for their futures beyond 2025].”

Millener expects Munster to thrive in the challenging conditions at an event where he has previously finished fifth and seventh in 2023 and 2022 respectively. 

“Josh has done the rally before at least so he know bits of it and that can often help a lot. It is a bit newer for him I guess,” Millener added.

“Greg, to be fair to him, his best performances come in tricky conditions, so if the weather is tricky, this is his best chance and I think he knows that and ants to prove himself. 

“Depending on a few things that happen, it could be a good result from him. It is easy to talk about it, but to deliver it is more tricky.”

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