Ford's Re-Entry to WRC Is a Return to Form and FunFordFord announced that it will return to the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) as a full factory team starting in 2028.The effort will fall under the Ford Racing umbrella and will help Ford develop its upcoming portfolio of passenger cars, which it hopes to inject with more sporting personalities.Unfortunately, those new vehicles will be primarily sold in Europe, though the lessons learned through the WEC could spill over to Ford's North American arm.Go to just about any racetrack around the world on just about any day of the week, and as long as there are cars on track, there's a decent chance at least one of them will be a Ford. The automaker is involved in Formula 1, NASCAR, WEC, Dakar, Australian Supercars, NHRA, and just about everything else, but Ford hasn't raced in the World Rally Championship for some time. That's about to change.Ford has confirmed that it will return to the FIA World Rally Championship as a full factory team from 2028. While the new factory effort will fall under the Ford Racing umbrella, the automaker confirmed that the decision was made as a way to improve its passenger cars.FordThe announcement serves as something of a return to fun for the automaker. That's because, while it will be great to see another manufacturer compete at the highest levels of rally racing, we're more excited about what this means for the Ford models everyone not named McRae gets to drive. Thankfully, it seems Ford agrees, because the automaker promised that its new racer will "help shape Ford's new European portfolio of rally-bred passenger vehicles to help turn everyday commutes into drives worth looking forward to."In the 2029 season, the new Ford rally team will debut an all-new WRC car, which it says will take inspiration from an all-new European passenger car. We'd obviously prefer if Ford's efforts extended to this side of the pond, but we're hopeful that any inspiration or lessons drawn from the WRC will have knock-on effects for Ford's North American engineers. What we'd really welcome is a return of the Focus RS.➡️ Skip the lot. Let Car and Driver help you find your next car.Shop New Cars Shop Used CarsGift Guide: Best Ride-On Electric Cars for KidsFuture Cars Worth Waiting For: 2025–2029