Two Ford Fiestas were entered in the 1979 Monte Carlo Rally. The British entry was driven by Roger Clark with co-driver Jim Porter; a German entry was piloted by Ari Vatanen with co-driver David Richards. Both cars were highly modified with special motorsport components, including pioneering limited-slip differential technology, and powered by competition-tuned versions of the 1,600 cc Kent crossflow engine. Vatanen's car achieved 9th position overall, a result described as very encouraging and one that sparked demand for sportier Fiestas.
The Fiesta Super 1600 debuted at Rally Greece 2004. In March 2007, the Pirtek Rally Team introduced the Ford Fiesta Super 2000 for the Australian Rally Championship.
On 18 November 2009, Ford and M-Sport unveiled the Ford Fiesta S2000 Mark VI. Although not due for homologation until January 2010, it debuted as a course car on the final round of the IRC series, Rally Scotland. The car was built to compete in the Super 2000 World Rally Championship.
With new WRC regulations coming in 2011, M-Sport developed the Fiesta RS WRC, based on the Fiesta S2000. It won six World Rally Championship rounds in 2011 and 2012, driven by Jari-Matti Latvala, Mikko Hirvonen, and Mads Ostberg. When M-Sport lost most of its manufacturer support for the 2013 season, the car was no longer able to win. In 2013, Thierry Neuville finished as world championship runner-up as an M-Sport junior works driver. The Fiesta RS WRC proved popular among private drivers due to its driveability, reasonable price, and good availability.
In 2013, M-Sport developed the Ford Fiesta R5, the successor to the Fiesta S2000, based on the 1.6-litre Fiesta ST and designed for the Group R5 class. The R5 received an Evo update in early 2016. M-Sport subsequently began developing a Mk7 Fiesta World Rally Car for the revised 2017 WRC regulations.
The Fiesta Sporting Trophy is a one-make championship that began its first season in March 2006. It is based around the Fiesta ST Group N car, producing 165 PS (121 kW) from the 2 L Duratec ST engine, fitted with a conversion kit from M-Sport.
The Fiesta Rallycross Supercar version uses a 2.0 L Duratec turbocharged four-cylinder engine running on petrol or E85. It produces over 550 bhp (410 kW) and 820 N·m of torque, accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in 2.2 seconds — more powerful than contemporary WRC cars by approximately 200 bhp.
The Fiesta Mk6 Rallycross cars made their US debut at the 2009 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado and later appeared at X Games 15. The two Olsbergs MSE Fiesta Mk7 Rallycross cars were based on the Fiesta hatchback, one three-door and one five-door, with all-wheel drive and engines capable of more than 800 bhp for Pikes Peak only.
M-Sport builds Fiesta Rallycross Supercars for teams including Hoonigan Racing Division, Chip Ganassi Racing, and Bryan Herta Autosport.
Driving a Fiesta, Tanner Foust won the 2011 and 2012 Global RallyCross Championship and was runner-up in the 2011 and 2012 FIA European Rallycross Championship. Toomas Heikkinen won the Global RallyCross Championship in 2013 and Joni Wiman in 2014. Other notable drivers include Marcus Grönholm and Ken Block.
In the UK, the Fiesta has a national one-make series, the Ford Fiesta Championship, initially launched in 1979 as the Faberge Fiesta Challenge, intended for female drivers. The series is notable for launching the career of rally driver Louise Aitken-Walker. At its peak in the 1980s and 1990s it had manufacturer support and served as a support race to the British Grand Prix and numerous British Touring Car Championship rounds. The series has undergone numerous name changes, including Ford Credit Fiesta Championship, Ford Fiesta Zetec Championship, and BRSCC Ford Si Challenge, and is currently run by the BRSCC as a club championship.
The Ford XR Challenge caters to XR2 and XR2i models alongside Escort XR variants. The Ford Saloon Championship, a wider Ford multi-model series, saw a Mk4 Fiesta win the title outright in 2006, driven by Ollie Allen.
The Fiesta has also been raced in the Touring-Light division of the Russian Touring Car Championship. Fiesta drivers won the Super 1600 class of the European Touring Car Cup seven times from 2008 to 2016.
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