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M-Sport Ford WRC team excels in Greece

The M-Sport Ford World Rally Team – whose cars are equipped with NGK spark plugs and NTK Lambda sensors – recorded four strong finishes at the end of the Acropolis Rally, finishing the World Rally Championship’s Greek event in the top five overall and with a podium finish in the WRC2 category.

In the senior team, rising stars Adrien Fourmaux and Gus Greensmith were set to continue an enjoyable battle for fifth place in their EcoBoost-powered Ford Fiesta WRCs but sadly misfortune struck Fourmaux and Belgian co-driver Renaud Jamoul when an engine issue needed resolving before the opening timed stage of the day, costing him a time penalty as he fixed the problem but arrived late to the time control.

This drama allowed Greensmith and his Northern Irish co-driver Chris Patterson through into a strong fifth place overall, the pair delivering a faultless day’s running to reach the finish in the team’s second-best result of the year. 

Fourmaux’s recovery drive saw him lodge the second fastest time overall on the penultimate stage as he was locked in a battle with last year’s vice-champion Elfyn Evans for sixth place. Sadly, Fourmaux made a small mistake on the closing Power Stage that allowed Evans through and saw the French youngster come home in seventh place. 

Local hero Jourdan Serderidis, guest star on the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team in a third Ecoboost-powered Ford Fiesta WRC, also had another successful day’s running. Serderidis and experienced Belgian co-driver Frederic Miclotte completed the top 10 WRC runners and deservedly won acclaim from the Greek fans lining the route of the event.

In the WRC2 category, the Russian pairing of Nikolay Gryazin and his co-driver Konstantin Aleksandrov completed a thoroughly successful debut with the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team. The pair finished on the podium in third place for the class, having gained valuable experience of the car from which to continue their campaign through the rest of the season.

Gus Greensmith said: “The team have lived-up to the form that we have shown on rougher rallies this year and, although probably I could have hoped for more in terms of my finishing position, a top-five finish is a good thing for sure. I gave it everything I could.”

Adrien Fourmaux said: “A mixed day for us really, after picking up penalties for being late this morning because of an engine issue. We were able to set second-fastest time on one stage, but that early problem allowed Gus to pull ahead of us and I was left to fight to hold my position.

“On the Power Stage, we made a mistake, unfortunately I spun and had to reverse but I tried, I had a big push, but unfortunately we ended the rally in seventh place. It has been an amazing event to experience and I’m delighted for the team that we have shown our pace and got the cars home, I just am sorry to them not to be higher at the end.”

Mark Hallam, Marketing Manager, NGK Spark Plugs (UK) Ltd, said: “There were highly commendable performances by the M-Sport Ford competitors who always fight hard, whatever the event and whatever the conditions.”

 

Notes to Editors

About NGK SPARK PLUG:

Worldwide: NGK SPARK PLUG is one of the leading automotive and technical ceramics suppliers, with its corporate headquarters in Nagoya, Japan and sales organisations and production facilities all over the world. The automotive side of the company specialises in the fields of ignition and sensor technology, supplying Original Equipment customers across the globe. For the Aftermarket, its product portfolio comprises spark plugs, glow plugs, ignition coils and leads under the NGK Ignition Parts brand. Under the brand NTK Vehicle Electronics the company offers oxygen sensors (including NOx sensors), exhaust gas temperature sensors (EGTS), mass air flow (MAF) and manifold absolute/boost pressure (MAP) sensors as well as engine speed and position sensors. With around 16,400 employees, the company’s automotive and technical ceramics activities generate a total annual turnover of around 3.7 billion Euros worldwide. NGK SPARK PLUG’s EMEA sales represent 32% of this global turnover. NGK SPARK PLUG operates on all continents and has 60 group companies, 35 production plants, five Technical Centres and three Venture Labs.

 

Aftermarket EMEA: NGK SPARK PLUG has seen significant growth across the Aftermarket since expanding beyond motorcycle parts into the automotive sector in the 1970s. With an outstanding commitment to quality, technology and research & development the company has become the world’s number one in spark plugs and oxygen sensors, and a leading provider of glow plugs, ignition coils and leads as well as further sensor technology. Organisationally NGK SPARK PLUG’s regional headquarters in Ratingen, Germany serves the Aftermarket across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In the EMEA region the company has six regional companies and more than 1,000 employees, as well as two production plants in France and South Africa and a Technical Centre in Germany.

 

For more information please visit: www.ngkntk.com

 

For further information please contact:

Annika Lustig, Specialist PR & Communications, Aftermarket EMEA, NGK SPARK PLUG EUROPE GmbH
Harkortstr. 41, 40880 Ratingen, Germany, AG Duesseldorf HRB 43118
Tel: +49 (0)21 02 974 152     E-mail: a_lustig@ngkntk.de

 

UK & Ireland - For further information contact:

Andy Hurst

Hurst Media Services

Tel: +44 (0)1354 657253; Mobile: 0773 694 7803

Email: andyh.stonecross@binternet.com

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