Last updated 19:48, Thursday, 07 August 2008

THIRTEEN M-Sport-built Ford Focus RS World Rally cars will contest the 10th round of the FIA World Rally Championship next week - a world record for the WRC class.

RECORD: M-Sport managing director Malcolm Wilson, left, and Jost Capito, vehicle line director Ford Team RS, with the 11 Focuses that set a record at last year’s Rally of Finland

M-Sport set the previous record when it had 11 Focuses at last year’s Rally of Finland.

ADAC Rallye Deutschland will also set the scene for a showcase of M-Sport’s most recent customer teams from Netherlands.

The event will see no fewer than five Dutch crews behind the wheel of a Focus RS in what has become quite a family affair for the nationality.

Competing in their recently purchased 06-evolution cars are the father-and-son pairing of René Kuipers and Dennis Kuipers, with Dennis contesting his first ever WRC event.

Peter van Merksteijn will contest his sixth WRC event in Germany, this time behind the wheel of the first 07-evolution Focus RS made available to a privateer, handing the reins of his 06 Focus RS to new team-mate and son Peter.

While young Peter has firm WRC event experience behind the wheel of a GpN class vehicle, this will be his first attempt in the WRC class.

The fifth Dutchman to enter the event with a Focus RS is Erik Wevers who is also overseeing the running of both Kuipers cars under his Wevers Sport banner. Both van Merksteijn cars will be run by the van Merksteijn Motorsport outfit.

Despite not being run by M-Sport’s on-event WRC arm, all five crews will have access to top-class M-Sport engineers who will be on hand to offer advice on car set-up and assistance in the case of any possible technical issues during the rally.

Along with the three crews from current championship leaders the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team and four from the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team, the event also sees Norwegian Andreas Mikkelsen in a Focus RS WRC.

l See page 48 for reports on the Rally of Finland