With Exits by Ford and Mini, World Rally Championship Struggles

Laurent Cipriani/Associated Press Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala, during the second stage of the Rally France on Oct. 5. Latvala is to drive for Volkswagen in 2013.

On Monday, Ford's motorsports division announced it would not field a factory team in the 2013 World Rally Championship, becoming the second manufacturer to abandon the series in the last week.

The withdrawals of Ford and BMW Group's Mini brand are yet another manifestation of the dual crises of overcapacity and low sales in Europe, and a reminder that motorsports programs are among the first to go when budgets are reined in.

Thoug h Ford and Mini said they would withdraw financial support for factory teams, both manufacturers have pledged continued support for privateers. M-Sport, which has won 52 races in 225 starts since partnering with Ford Racing in 1997, said it would continue to campaign the Fiesta W.R.C. in 2013, and Ford said it would aid in the continued development of the racecar. BMW Group, meanwhile, said it would refine the 1.6-liter engine of its Countryman-based W.R.C. car and supply Prodrive, its initial partner when it joined the W.R.C. in 2011, with parts. Prodrive has reaffirmed its commitment to the Countryman W.R.C. platform for 2013 and beyond.

The W.R.C., in which the success of the driver and co-pilot is contingent on final time, not wheel-to-wheel racing, is facing a broader crisis. Nokia, the Finland-based telecommunications manufacturer, abandoned a multiyear, multiplatform sponsorship deal in May, citing its shifting financial priorities. And for motorsports enthusias ts fond of power slides and skids, who previously looked to the W.R.C., there are young series like Formula Drift and Global RallyCross to hold their attention.

W.R.C. has historically not been as personality-driven as Formula One, Nascar or IndyCar, but the series may nevertheless feel a star-power vacuum in 2013. Sébastien Loeb, who secured his ninth W.R.C. title this month, the most of any driver, said he would run an abbreviated race schedule after 2012 to focus on his second career in the World Touring Car Championship.

Jari-Matti Latvala, a Ford works driver for five years who is ranked third in the 2012 championship, signed this week with Volkswagen for the 2013 season.