back in-house for the 1996 season. Thiry stayed as second driver, but Delecour left the team and was replaced by Carlos Sainz. Sainz took third place in the driver's championship, with a win in Indonesia and second in Sweden and Italy. Nevertheless, the Escort was by this time outclassed by the Mitsubishi and Tommi Mäkinen, who won that year's title, and towards the end of the season interest switched towards the following season and the incoming World Rally Car rules. Although it required some special dispensation, Ford were allowed to adapt the Cosworth into a World Rally Car, to serve as a stopgap until a purpose-built WRC was developed. The semi-trailing-arm rear suspension, judged one of the Cosworth's weak points, was replaced with MacPherson struts, and modifications were made to the bodywork and transmission. The rally cars were to be run by Malcolm Wilson's team, now known as M-Sport. During the 1997 and 1998 seasons, it went on to score two more victories by Carlos Sainz. With Thiry, Ari Vatanen (on a one-off podium-scoring basis at the Safari Rally after Thiry suffered an injury) and four-time World Rally Champion Juha Kankkunen now behind the wheel of the cars, the Escort name finally bowed out of works rallying altogether after a double-podium at the season-ending 1998 Rally of Great Britain. Outside the World Championship, the Escort RS Cosworth, like its predecessors, was highly successful at national and European championship level, winning many national rally titles. These titles include: Belgian (1993, 1994, 1996), British (1994), Italian (1994, 1995, 1996), German (1993, 1994), French (1993, 1994, 1995), Netherlands (1993, 1994), Austrian (1994, 1995), Greek (1994), Bulgarian (1995, 1996), Turkey (1994, 1995, 1996), Swiss (1995), Denmark (1995), Finland (1995), Irish (1995), Portuguese (1994, 1995, 1996), Czech Republic (1996), Lithuanian (1997), Slovenian (1996, 1997, 1998, 2002) and in 1994 Belgian driver Patrick Snijers won the European Rally Championship driving a RAS Sport prepared car. It was also a successful Group N contender. Tuning parts were (and are) readily available, and lower-specification Escort RS Cosworth's became a common feature on even relatively low-level rallies in Europe during the 1990s. In recent times, Escort RS Cosworth's of all varieties (Group A, N and WRC) are regularly seen at historic rally events and festivals. Ken Block also added two to his fleet for stage rallies and Gymkhana 10. Unfortunately, due to a gearbox issue, one of the cars