Ford Racing’s Focus ready for competition debut

FORD Racing’s Focus ST-R made its competition debut last week in the Grand-Am 200 at Daytona International Speedway. This came after nearly a year in development and countless tests.

“The competition debut of all our FR family ready-to-race cars has not been the completion of the journey but the transition to a new phase of the development process,” said Jamie Allison, director of Ford Racing.

Focus ST-R is the first global vehicle to join the turnkey race car family, which includes the Mustang FR500C, Mustang FR500S, Mustang Cobra Jet, Boss 302R and Boss 302S.

Don’t be fooled by its close resemblance to the Focus ST road car, which is intentional. The Focus ST-R is purpose-built for the track by Ford Racing in North America as a fully prepared competition car. It features a powerful 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine, FIA-regulation roll cage, uprated brakes and track-tuned suspension.

The all-new Focus ST-R has been crafted by engineers at Ford Racing with technical support from Ford’s Global Performance Vehicles group, to allow it to compete in a huge variety of series, including Grand-Am ST, World Challenge TC and Canadian Touring Car Series. Ford also hopes teams will race the car in key European motorsport series and major national events such as the 24 hours at Nürburgring.

“From the beginning, the Focus and new Focus ST were designed to be drivers’ cars,” said Jost Capito, director of Global Performance Vehicles and Motorsport Business Development.

“The road-going Focus features some of the best-in-class brakes, handling and powertrains and the design and functionality of the various vehicle systems have helped us to develop a global technical specification for teams wanting to race the new Focus cost effectively. Ford Racing in North America has taken this effort and developed the new Focus ST-R. It is a perfect example of how a great production car inspires a competitive race car for enthusiasts.”

“We’re thrilled to be taking the Focus ST-R from concept to reality for motorsport enthusiasts initially in North America and potentially around the world,” said Allison. “The previous turnkey race cars we developed for North American racing have been hugely successful, so we are hopeful the ST-R will be the first such vehicle for global series and as a direct result of the company’s global platform strategy and our technical support programme for motorsport applications of Focus and Fiesta models.”

Focus ST is powered by the 2.0-liter Ford EcoBoost engine, which offers an uncompromising mix of performance and efficiency. Ford’s lightweight, all-aluminium EcoBoost engine provides the power of a larger engine in a fuel-efficient smaller displacement using three key technologies.

High-pressure direct injection, low-inertia turbo charging and twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT) all help to create an advanced combustion system that brings new levels of performance and fuel efficiency to Ford’s gasoline engines. Mated to the engine is a six-speed manual transmission, which has specially revised gearing to produce the maximum punch from each throw of the gearshift. The Global Performance Vehicles group paid significant attention to detail to ensure the ratio of sixth gear was perfectly in tune with the Focus ST, giving the driver optimum performance while remaining long enough to help maintain very good fuel economy on longer runs.

– Words and image: www.quickpic.co.za