In 1999, Ford entered the World Rally Championship with the new Ford Focus WRC. The registration plate S11 FMC belongs to one of these cars. This specific vehicle took part in three WRC events during the 1999 season. Unfortunately, it failed to reach the finish line in any of them. The first event was the 1999 Rally New Zealand, with Colin McRae behind the wheel and Nicky Grist as his co-driver. McRae was in the lead of the rally, but an electronics issue on Special Stage 9 dashed his hopes. For next race in Finland, the car was driven by local driver Thomas Rådström, with Fred Gallagher navigating. Once again, a promising start was ruined by an excursion off the road on the famous Ouninpohja stage, followed by technical problems that forced the car to retire shortly before the finish. The last rally for this car of the 1999 season was Rally Australia, with McRae driving. He was fighting for podium during the first leg but crashed into a tree at high speed on the very first special stage of the second leg. The car sustained significant damage, though the crew remained uninjured. Since 2000 onwards, the car competed in Scandinavian events, driven by drivers like Petter Solberg, Tapio Laukkanen, Mika Sohlberg, and Jani Paasonen. A notable highlight was 1978 World Champion Markku Alén driving the car at the 2001 Rally Finland. The car was sold to Sweden, where it continued to compete until 2009. It was part of Tommy Andersson’s collection of Focus WRC cars and has been part of the Invelt collection since 2019. It is currently undergoing a complete restoration and conversion to tarmac specification, with FIA HTP certification, for participation in FIA historic rallies.
