Juha Kankkunen by then lost the title to Mäkinen. Kankkunen stayed with Ford for the 1998 season with Belgian driver Bruno Thiry as his new teammate, after Sainz had opted to re-join Toyota. Ford was already moving resources into developing the new Ford Focus WRC and the team's last year with the Escort WRC was winless. Kankkunen drove the car on the podium on seven occasions, and both Ford and Kankkunen finished fourth in their respective championships. For the 1999 season, Ford signed the Subaru World Rally Team star Colin McRae and Kankkunen moved to replace him at Subaru. Kankkunen's first year
Ford Fiesta WRC Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, two for Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja, and one for Elfyn Evans and Daniel Barritt. Ogier and Ingrassia went on to win the World Championships for Drivers and Co-Drivers, their fifth titles. M-Sport won the World Championship for Manufacturers, their first title since 2007. Ford Fiesta WRC The Ford Fiesta WRC is a World Rally Car built by the M-Sport World Rally Team for use in the World Rally Championship starting in 2017. It is based upon the 2017 Ford Fiesta road car, and replaced the Ford Fiesta RS WRC, which competed between 2011 and 2016.