Ford M-Sport World Rally Team driver Teemu Suninen has praised the squad’s Ford Fiesta WRC ahead of the new FIA World Rally Championship season. Suninen for 2019 will step up to his first full season campaign alongside Elfyn Evans and the Finnish driver wants to show that he is someone who can challenge at the front of every event.
Speaking at the 2019 Autosport International show, he said: I’m really excited. The plan has been to get the full season and then target to some wins and podiums then maybe the overall championship in the future.”
“I’m looking forward to the Monte it’s a difficult rally for me but also it’s hard for everyone. The car is easy to drive in testing and the balance is good. Of course we’ll find out what the pace will be like and how fast we can really go when we get going – sometimes in a test the car can feel really good but then you don’t know how you’ll fare during an event.”
Suninen had a part-time campaign in 2018. Photo Credit: M-Sport
2019 sees M-Sport without Sébastien Ogier for the first time since the introduction of the current-generation of WRC cars, but Suninen says that the six times drivers champion’s departure will help him show what he can do.
He commented: “I believe I can do well because of extra testing and the experience going into this year. Seb was a big help last year, he was 6x world champion after all, but for him it was easier to push the team forward.”
“Now I think I have a bigger role so I can help improve more with the car and the team. Every time there’s two sides to the coin. Like last year I was only testing eight days altogether, this year I get more because of my full season.”
The 2019 FIA World Rally Championship begins with Rallye Monte Carlo next weekend.
