Ford Escort WRC is a rally vehicle based on the Ford Escort RS Cosworth with World Rally Car homologation. It was built by M-Sport to compete in the World Rally Championship for the Ford World Rally Team. It replaced the group A version that the brand had used since 1993 and was later replaced by the Ford Focus WRC in 1999.

Ari Pieti Uolevi Vatanen is a Finnish rally driver turned politician and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1999 to 2009. Vatanen won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1981 and the Paris Dakar Rally four times. In addition, Vatanen won the 1997 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies. Since 2013 Vatanen has been the President of the Estonian Autosport Union.