Definately a case of read the manual as all auto clutch systems are different.

Thank you for the reply but there is little in the ford focus manual about the workings of any parts of the car, it is of little use for anything but the most basic rudimentary information.

The manual does state not to idle for long periods in drive with the brakes applied. This suggests doing so could cause damage.

On some auto clutches gas has to be applied for the clutches to engage, on others releasing the footbrake engages the clutch.

You need to play and see at what point the clutches engage on the Ford system.

Hold on footbrake, put in drive, release brake with no gas and see what happens. If it creeps the clutch has engaged hence the warning given in the manual.

In total, the team logged approximately three years or 6,000 man-hours of computer-aided mathematical modeling, simulation and analysis of engine speeds, torque and clutch capacity to provide smooth gear changes.

It appears in all that time no one consided holding the car using the hand brake rather than riding a dry clutch. So I understand it, the car releases the clutch after a short while, so you roll backwards down any hill you may be on.