Sweden’s former WRC2 champion Pontus Tidemand has been named in M-Sport Ford's WRC team line-up for Rally Turkey, in September.
The 2017 WRC2 winner contested the first two rounds of 2019 in an M-Sport-run Fiesta WRC and finished eighth on his home event.
Turkey, Tidemand’s first pure gravel event this year, should be in a third M-Sport entry again alongside regulars Elfyn Evans and Teemu Suninen, although Evans's fitness will be assessed before the rally after his back injury earlier in the summer. It has already kept him from competing on two rallies since the non-championship event in Estonia where he was injured. Tidemand reckoned he was "so excited" to be back in Fiesta after a “long wait” since his last appearance in February!
"I'm so happy that it's finally happening and want to thank M-Sport and my local partners for their continued support, and all the people who have helped me," the Swede after the announcement was made last week. "The Fiesta is the ultimate car to drive and even though there were a lot of new things to learn in Monte-Carlo and Sweden, I loved the car from day one. I'm fully focused on preparing as thoroughly as possible because I know from last year that Turkey is a really tough rally – but I'm up for the challenge. I'm hoping to have good drive and that I'll be able to be more competitive now that I've got some experience."
M-Sport team boss Rich Millener said the Turkish rally could give Tidemand a better chance to show his potential than Monte Carlo and Sweden.
"This is something a lot of people wanted to see – myself included – and I'm looking forward to seeing how he performs in Turkey," added the M-Sport team boss. "He didn't have the best of luck earlier this year – road position and some technical issues worked against him. But when you take all of that into account it was a really solid debut and we're keen to see what he can do on gravel."
Meanwhile, Gus Greensmith, who was drafted into M-Sport's main line-up in place of the injured Evans for Finland and will now also deputise in Germany.
