Ford has pledged to l💫aunch a 'detailed investigation' after six of its cars, including those of 'A' team drivers, Marcus Gronholm and Mikko Hirvonen, were penalised by the stewards.

All the 06 spec Ford Focus WRC runners - namely Gronholm and Hirvonen, as welꦅl as Stobart trio, Jari-Matti Latvala, Henꦰning Solberg and Matthew Wilson and privateer Gareth MacHale - were given five minute penalties and a reprimand following the finish of the Rally de Portugal, the fifth round in the 2007 FIA World Rally Championship, after the event scrutineers found that the rear side windows did not comply with the homologation form of the car in terms of thickness.

Although the discrepancy was minuscule -ꩲ less than half a millimetre and would have had no affect in terms of performance, Ford have accepted the judgement of the stewards and w꧒ill not be appealing.

Indeed while the stewards agreed it would not have benefited the cars, it was still a 🎐breach of the✃ regulations and as such could not go unpunished.

Ford team director Malcolm Wilson sai🍸d he was 'disappointed' with the whole situation, but conceded that it their own fault.

"We werꦺe disappointed to learn from the scrutinꦺeers that the team made an error," he confirmed. "We will launch a detailed investigation into how this could have happened at M-Sport."