GT5 Transcripts/Ford Focus Rally Car '99

Ford, a longtime participant in the World Rally Championship, had for the better part of the 1990s always competed with its Escort model. But on the cusp of a new millennium, the company introduced an all-new race car with the 1999 season, the Ford Focus, a vehicle that in just a few short years would, for a time, claim the title as the world's best-selling passenger car.
Its engine was mounted transversely, just like in the production car, but its Xtrac transmission was placed longitudinally in an effort to try to improve upon the vehicle's weight distribution. Ford's main rival at the time in the WRC, Peugeot, also employed a similar layout in their 206. In comparison to the French car, the structural rigidity of the Focus far surpassed that of its rival.
Ford also had a stellar driver lineup: legendary rally driver Colin McRae was on the cars, as were Petter Solberg, Thomas Radstrom, and Simon Jean-Joseph.
In its racing debut, the Focus's water pump was found to be in violation of the regulations. But despite having to undergo hurried modifications, it proved highly competitive from Day One. McRae made steady progress by leveraging his and the car's strengths, and the Focus WRC machine scored its first victory in the third stop of the season, the challenging Safari Rally, and went on to win the next race as well at the Portugal Rally.
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