Markko Martin has admitted in the strongest terms yet that he will leave Ford at the end of the year. The Estonian has long been linked to a move to Peugeot, but no announcement has been made and questions have been raised over how certain it is.
Following the news that Peugeot and Citroen are both going to quit the World Rally Championship at the end of the 2005 season, some within the service park have questioned whether Martin would be keen to leave Ford – which has just announced a renewed, four-year commitment to rallying’s top level – for a team which will only be in the sport for another 12 months.
Martin’s Ford team-mate, Francois Duval had been approached by the Blue Oval to sign a long-term deal to lead the team, but has instead opted to join Citroen – a surprise move which has furthered speculation about who will lead the Ford team in 2005 and raised more questions about who Martin will be driving for.
“Retiring so early in any rally is always a big disappointment,” he said in his post Telstra Rally Australia column in Autosport this week. “But to have that happen on what will be our last rally for Ford before we switch teams for next season was doubly so. I’ve spent the last three years with the Ford team and I’m sad about leaving.
“There have been some fantastic results, some crap ones, some good luck and some bad, but a lot of fun along the way. Now it’s time to get back to Europe and start to think about the next challenge – working with new people and a new team.
"When I started out in the WRC, I had three main aims. One was to win in Finland – I did that last year. The next was to win on asphalt – I did that twice this year. Finally I want to win the championship. I achieved two out of three with Ford, but now it’s time to move on and start building towards that objective next season.”
