debut in Sweden, a result that would not be bettered all season, the following round in Portugal saw an RS200 driven by Joaquim Santos leave the road, killing three spectators, Ford withdrew their entry for that rally. Fifth place for Grundel on the Lombard RAC Rally marked the end of the road for the RS200, as Group B rallying was banned for 1987, Ford finished fifth in the manufacturers championship behind rivals Peugeot, Lancia, Volkswagen and Audi. 1987 season Ford started the post Group B era with the Sierra XR4x4, which had the benefits of 4WD, but was not as powerful as its rivals, and then replaced it with the RWD Sierra RS Cosworth which was more powerful, but lacked grip and traction on the gravel rallies that dominate the World Rally Championship. Stig Blomqvist was entered into the Monte Carlo, Swedish and New Zealand rounds of the championship in a white Texaco sponsored Ford Sierra XR4x4, he could only muster a 6th-place finish on his home rally, after being disqualified and crashing out of the other two rallies. The Sierra RS Cosworth proved to be far more successful in comparison, it would not win during 1987, but it did achieve a number of podium finishes. The car debuted on the Safari Rally, again driven by Stig Blomqvist, but would retire following a fire, its next outing would be on the island of Corsica. Blomqvist would again retire with turbo failure, but his teammates Carlos Sainz and Didier Auriol would fare much better, finishing 7th and 8th respectively. Ari Vatanen paired up with Blomqvist on the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland, their speed and experience helping to negate some of the advantage of 4WD that their rivals enjoyed, they would finish 2nd and 3rd respectively. Ford would finish the season with 2nd and 3rd places for Blomqvist and Jimmy McRae, again against more capable rival machinery. Sporadic appearances throughout the season with cars that were compromised in one way or another meant that Stig Blomqvist would finish in a lowly 7th position in the drivers championship, whilst Ford could only manage to finish 5th in the manufacturers championship. 1988 season Ford entered the 1988 World Rally Championship season using both the XR4x4 and the Sierra RS Cosworth models, the Texaco sponsorship had gone, and the cars now featured a corporate blue and white striped Ford colour scheme, similar to that