M-Sport’s all-new Ford Fiesta R5 ran in public for the first time at last week’s Renties Ypres Rally – with the British squad reporting huge interest in the car off the back of the Belgian outing.

Eric Camilli drove the Fiesta as a zero car on the all-asphalt Belgian classic and was posting times which would have troubled the top end of the leaderboard through Saturday.

M-Sport team principal Richard Millener said: “We’re very happy with the way Ypres went with Eric.

“The thinking behind that event was simply to put the car in front of a lot of people on one of Europe’s most popular asphalt rallies. We did that and the response since then has been great.”

Millener admitted the car’s set-up wasn’t perfect for the Belgian lanes initially, but the French-Cumbrian alliance dialled it in for day two.

“Eric had done some testing in France,” said Millener, “and the car was probably more set up for there. Once the boys got that sorted, the speed was really coming. The car ran reliably and quickly.”

Official comparisons of the times weren’t available, but Millener said they were quick enough to run at the front, despite Camilli running a WRC 2-specification Michelin tyre.

He said: “Because this wasn’t a WRC round, the majority of the other drivers were running national-spec tyres which were a bit quicker.”

Camilli enjoyed his maiden Belgian outing. The Frenchman added: “I really enjoyed to drive the car in Ypres. There were so many fans out there watching, it was a great atmosphere and the car was certainly getting plenty of attention!”

The Fiesta R5 is in the middle of the homologation process right now, with the team’s next target being Teemu Suninen’s Rally Estonia outing at the end of next week.

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