Ford Focus RS WRC 02

In the 2002 WRC season the WRC world was stunned when a driver with only 30 races worth of rally experience took 10th place in the Sweden Rally. The reason for everyone's surprise was that this was his first world class rally. And what was more surprising was that he was only 21 years old. The driver was Belgian Francois Duval, racing under the Ford Works team as the yougest driver to enter the World Rally Championships in WRC history! In 2001, Duval entered the Super 1600 category with the aim of growth. After doing just that, he entered the WRC the following year to be the fourth Ford Works Driver after C. McRae, C. Sainz, and M. Martin, and competed in 5 out of the 14 races in his WRC debut season. However, unlike the 3 other machines that were painted over in a white base with red and dark blue markings, Duval's car stood out as the only Frod machine painted over in a blue metallic color referred to as "Performance Blue". Duval took 10th on the snow and ice of Swedish Rally driving the Ford RS WRC Works machine of the previous year. Later, in the Tour de Corse, he clocked in the top 3rd time in stage 5, and stayed in the top 10 for 8 stages. For the 10th rally in the rugged countryside of Cyprus, Duval entered the rally driving the new 2002 year version and actually recorded the best time in the second stage, however, engine trouble in the 9th stage forced him to retire. Nevertheless, Deuval held 4th place overall by the 8th stage. The speed and intense driving fo F. Duval, along with that of M. Martin will no doubt lead the way for the next generation of Ford Rally Sports.