Ford withdraws from Bathurst Rally

Ford TeamRS Australia has withdrawn from this weekend's round of the Globalstar Australia Rally Championship (GARC). The final round of the national rally championship, the WPS Bathurst Rally was to be the debut event for the Ford Australia's factory TeamRS FOcus.

The rear-wheel-drive prototype Group N car has been specially developed by the team. However, according to Ford Racing manager, Ross Booth, an inspection of the car following recent testing highlighted modifications would be necessary before the team was happy to enter competition.

"We ran over 200km in testing last week and were very pleased with how things were progressing," said Booth.

"However, on completion of testing, the team identified some areas that needed attention before the Bathurst Rally.

"After consultation with our engineers and suppliers, it became apparent that we would not have enough time to rectify the issues.

"This was not an easy decision to make. We have been looking forward to this event for a long time and everyone involved in the program is disappointed. However, we are satisfied that this is the right decision.

"We expect the Bathurst Rally to be very tough on vehicles and we could not be confident of the reliability of some components.

Booth was not willing to specifiy the components in question. Stating it would be unfair on the team's suppliers.

"Our 2005 plan of testing and development has not changed. We will be doing many kilometres in the coming months and that will allow us to improve the Focus before the 2006 GARC," Booth said.

TeamRS driver Michael Guest and co-driver Mark Stacey will take part in reconnaissance for the Bathurst Rally New South Wales on Thursday. The team will also display the car at the event.