With a second consecutive Manufacturers’ Championship under Ford’s belt, we take a look back at the 2012 Global Rallycross Championship season and the teams and drivers that continued Fiesta’s success in the series.

 

The Olsbergs MSE (OMSE) team ran five of the six Fords competing in the series, including the 2011 GRC Champion Tanner Foust in the No. 24 Rockstar Energy / Etnies Fiesta. The OMSE team also included Brian Deegan in the No. 38 Rockstar Energy / Metal Mulisha Fiesta, who ran his first full GRC campaign in 2012. Two-time World Rally Champion Marcus Grönholm campaigned the No. 3 Best Buy Mobile Fiesta under the OMSE team, as did rookies David Binks in the No. 17 Best Buy Mobile Fiesta and Toomas Heikkinen in the No. 57 Bluebeam Fiesta.  The sixth Ford was campaigned by Ken Block and his Monster World Rally Team in the No. 43 H.F.H.V. Fiesta.

 

Charlotte Motor Speedway hosted the first-round GRC race of the 2012 season in conjunction with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Race in May. Ford started the race with a six-car lineup and ended with a 1-2 finish, with Grönholm taking the win and Foust following close in second. Rookie Heikkinen proved a force to be reckoned with by demonstrating some aggressive driving but it ultimately put him out of competition with a black flag while OMSE teammate Binks finished seventh overall. Deegan and Block both had mechanical issues which set them in 15th and 16th place overall.

 

 

Texas Motor Speedway invited the GRC series to run its second round of the season in conjunction with the IRL race in June and added the first-ever 70-foot steel-gap jump into the mix. After three field restarts, OMSE teammates continued Ford success with a 1-2-3 podium sweep. The “Flying Finn,” Grönholm, took his second consecutive victory, and Foust tallied his second consecutive second-place finish while Deegan earned his first podium of the year by taking third. Following a strong fourth-place qualifying session, Block’s bad luck continued with a damaged suspension after Grönholm’s Fiesta made contact with his front-right corner. A spec-series tire failure on the jump landing and the ultimate breakdown of the suspension set the Monster World Rally Team in eighth overall. Heikkinen received his second disqualification in the last-chance qualifier for aggressive driving while Binks made his first jump ever and finished strong in fifth.

 

 

Heading to X Games 18, the third GRC round of the season, Fiestas topped the point stands with Grönholm and Foust leading 1-2 in Los Angeles. The steel-plated “Mega Ramp” was placed in the middle of LA Live with an additional nine feet added to the gap to total a 79-foot jump challenge in the competition. Unfortunately, Heikkinen undershot the jump, flipping his car and suffering a broken left ankle and abdominal injuries that would set him out the following two races. A second accident set GRC points leader Grönholm out for the rest of the season when his car hit a light pole after landing the Mega Ramp. Block’s luck turned after he qualified first, and both he and Deegan (third) beat eight-time WRC Champion Sébastien Loeb in the qualifying session. A smaller, four-Fiesta lineup started the main event, but the Ford impact was nothing less than spectacular. Block earned his first podium of the season with a second-place finish on a shocking remaining three wheels taking home an X Games Silver metal. Deegan tallied his second consecutive third-place finish, earning an X Games Bronze. OMSE teammates Foust and Binks finished X Games 18 in sixth and seventh place, respectively.

 

 

New Hampshire Motor Speedway hosted the fourth round of the season in conjunction with the NASCAR Nationwide Series in July and added-in extreme dirt and water elements into the GRC course. With Grönholm and Heikkinen out of competition, Ford had four Fiestas on the line. Foust lead in the qualifying session with the fastest car and won his heat but after a bump from Travis Pastrana into the crossover bridge in the main he was unable to regain his lead and finished fourth. Deegan posted the fastest time in practice and fought to earn his third consecutive third-place finish of the season, which continued the streak of a Fiesta on-podium at every GRC race this year. Block qualified second, although going slightly off-course on his last lap, and started fastest in his heat going into the race. Unfortunately on the front stretch Block was spun by another driver knocking him into a barrier which forced him into the LCQ and a 10th-place start in the main event where he finished fifth. Binks challenged for a podium but placed eighth after an accident in the main which set him out of the competition.

 

After a short summer vacation, Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosted the fifth round in the GRC series in September. Heikkinen took advantage of the series break and was able to compete in the race, while Grönholm attended as a coach and handed the driver’s suit to OMSE Team Principal Andreas Eriksson. The full Ford lineup was back and proved ready, with Foust and Block posting the two-fastest qualifying times and Heikkinen close as the fourth-fastest. Despite a top qualifying time and a heat win with two restarts, Block was punted out on the front stretch of the main event and finished the race seventh overall, fourth in the driver points. Heikkinen tallied his first finish in fourth, while Binks missed his first final all season having had issues in the first corner which put him 14th overall. Eriksson fought hard in his first race of the season posting a middle-of-the-pack qualifying lap in eighth and placing ninth overall in the main event. OMSE and Rockstar teammates Foust and Deegan were not only battling for GRC points but also the “Discount Tire/America’s Tire Cup,” which came with a $25,000 bonus. Bragging rights and the bonus went to Foust, who took his first win of the GRC season and a 16-point lead in the driver standings. Deegan got his first second-place and his fourth consecutive podium finish. Fiesta continued its consistent 2012 campaign by finishing on podium at all five rounds of the GRC season, and with Foust’s win, Ford clinched its second consecutive GRC manufacturers championship.  

 

 

A unique venue was selected for the final round of the GRC series at the SEMA show in Las Vegas in October. Adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center, GRC made its mark with a full dirt jump, water elements and barricades in the middle of the epic lights of the city. Eriksson went back to his OMSE Team Principal responsibilities and invited European Rallycross Champion Timur Timerzyanov to drive Gronholm’s Best Buy Mobile Fiesta. Timerzyanov did not waste time proving his spot in the car, qualifying third behind Block, who was the fastest driver, and OMSE teammate Foust, who was second-fastest on the pole. Deegan came to the race straight from winning his second consecutive LOORRS Pro 2 Championship and with little seat time posted ninth on the pole. Heikkinen was 11th and Binks, with an unfortunate accident on the jump during practice, was unable to compete as his car was unfixable. With 14 cars on the field, two heats were formed instead of the usual three before the last-chance qualifier. Foust and Block won their respective heats while Deegan was forced out and into the LCQ after contact with Sverre Isachsen had knocked the tire off of his car. Heikkinen and Timerzyanov filled the field to put all five Fiestas (running) in the main event. In the best main event to date, Block beat Foust off the line and continued to lead while Foust closely battled for the top position. Despite being the fastest car on the field and leading for the first 3 of 8 laps, Block’s car appeared to be having issues which soon became visible when he was forced to park the Fiesta HFHV on lap 6 while flames arose. We later learned that an electrical issue caused a fire inside the car, filling it with smoke while Block charged ahead for three full laps. With Block out of the competition, GRC officials decided the field would have a full restart which would give championship contender Deegan another shot after running most of the first main in fifth. The second main event was a battle between Foust and Deegan once again, but the win landed in the hands of Foust taking his second consecutive GRC Championship. Deegan finished second in the race and in the GRC Championship, completing his first full Rallycross campaign. Heikkinen earned a fifth-place finish with Fiesta teammate Timerzyanov in ninth and Block 10th overall.

 

 

Final Championship Results:
 
1. Tanner Foust, #34 Ford, 94 points
2. Brian Deegan, #38 Ford, 84
3. Samuel Hubinette, #77 Saab, 63
4. Rhys Millen, #67 Hyundai, 63
5. Ken Block, #43 Ford, 58
6. Stephan Verdier, #12 Hyundai, 52
7. David Binks, #17 Ford, 45
8. Marcus Gronholm, #3 Ford, 43
9. Travis Pastrana, #199 Dodge, 41
10. Sverre Isachsen, #11 Subaru, 40
11. Andy Scott, #26 Saab, 38
12. Dave Mirra, #40 Subaru, 35
13. Bucky Lasek, #81 Subaru, 35
14. Toomas Heikkinen, #57 Ford, 33
15. Liam Doran, #33 Citroen, 30
16. Pat Moro, #59 Subaru, 22
17. Sebastien Loeb, #72 Citroen, 21
18. Bryce Menzies, #99 Dodge, 12
19. David Higgins, #75 Subaru, 9
20. Andreas Eriksson, #3 Ford, 8
 
Fiesta Success in the 2012 Global Rallycross Championship

 

• 1-2 Fiesta finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway with Marcus Gronholm and Tanner Foust
• Fiesta Sweep at Texas Motor Speedway with Marcus Gronholm, Tanner Foust and Brian Deegan
• Silver and Bronze at X Games with Ken Block and Brian Deegan
• Third place podium finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with Brian Deegan
• 1-2 Fiesta finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Tanner Foust and Brian Deegan
• 1-2 Fiesta finish at SEMA, in Las Vegas, with Tanner Foust and Brian Deegan
• Tanner Foust clinched second consecutive GRC Championship, followed by Brian Deegan
• Ford clinched second consecutive GRC Manufacturer’s Championship with four first-place finishes and 12 podium appearances.