WRC: Ford - We've found cause of Portugal blunder.

[Rory Phoulorie]

Ford has announced that it has found the reason why the rear side windows on its 06 spec Focus' did not comply with the regulations in terms of thickness on the Rally de Portugal.

Following a �comprehensive investigation' by M-Sport, the company which runs the WRC programme for Ford, the infringement has been blamed on a base raw material �defect', which 'wasn't identified at the production stage by the long-term supplier, or when it was delivered to M-Sport as the finished article'.

Changes have now been �implemented to ensure that a problem of this nature cannot happen again'.

"It was disappointing that this problem arose but we would like to emphasise that we believe the stewards treated us extremely fairly in their decision making,� said M-Sport managing director and Ford team boss, Malcolm Wilson.

�Now we want to focus our attentions on defending our lead in the manufacturers' championship and strengthening our position in the drivers' standings on the next round in Argentina next month."

The net effect of the error was that all of the 06 spec Ford Focus WRC runners - namely �A' team members, Marcus Gronholm and Mikko Hirvonen, as well as Stobart trio, Jari-Matti Latvala, Henning Solberg and Matthew Wilson and privateer Gareth MacHale - were given five minute penalties and a reprimand following the finish of the fifth round in the WRC.

The stewards took the action after post-event checks discovered that the rear side windows on these cars were 3.1 millimetres thick � 0.4 millimetres too thin.

It was a costly mistake � especially for Gronholm, who dropped from second to fourth overall and lost the lead in the drivers' championship as a result. Hirvonen also lost two places and went from third to fifth, while Stobart duo Latvala and Solberg fell to eighth and eleventh respectively. The positions of Stobart third driver, Wilson Jr and privateer MacHale were unaltered.

The full statement from M-Sport read:

�M-Sport has completed a comprehensive investigation into the... ...technical infringement during the Rally de Portugal earlier this month. A thorough inquiry, both internally at its UK headquarters at Dovenby Hall and externally at company suppliers, was launched.

�The error was traced to a batch of base raw material which had a defect that wasn't identified at production stage by the long-term supplier, or when it was delivered to M-Sport as the finished article.

�The supplier has rectified the problem and all rear side windows we have in stock are being replaced. M-Sport has also accepted that its quality control procedure at Dovenby Hall did not pick up this defect, and changes have now been implemented to ensure that a problem of this nature cannot happen again.�

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