Rally hero Wilson: "We need to build the WRC's profile back up"

January went by in a blur for one of Britain’s most influential motorsport figures: Malcolm Wilson, the founder and managing director of M-Sport. He first had the Dakar Rally to attend, along with the rest of his team, as it operated Ford’s effort to win the famous desert raid; then the Monte Carlo Rally, where M-Sport was running a number of customer Ford Fiesta WRC2 cars. Topping it all were his recently assumed responsibilities at the FIA. He was confirmed deputy president for sport in June 2025, with a specific brief from president Mohammed Ben Sulayem to return the World Rally Championship to the rudest of health. The former British Rally Champion is planning significant changes to the sport he spent decades competing in as a team boss - some of them expected to be seen within months. Here he briefs Autocar on what it’s like at the sharp end of motorsport governance; what exactly he’s working towards; and on the faith he has in his key allies. The Dakar ended in narrow defeat for Ford and M-Sport. Were you satisfied with the outcome of it? "I’m 100% happy with the performance of the cars and the team. We had the fastest stage and sector times. Sadly, a few navigational errors cost us the victory, so we finished second, third and fifth. But I don’t think you could attribute a second lost to either the cars or the team. "Navigation on the event just seemed particularly difficult this time around, and maybe we paid a higher price for that than other teams. We also had a technical problem with Mitch Guthrie’s car, which was a great shame, given how competitively he was running. "The really encouraging thing is that customer cars were consistently setting top-three stage times, which says a lot about the competitiveness of the car." What about the Monte? Was it the WRC season opener you had hoped for? "I thought the event was great. But my focus now is very much on developing the sport – not so much where it is but where it can be." And where do you see that? "We’re in the final stages of agreeing a deal with a new promoter and commercial rights holder, which will be huge for the sport: a big investment of capital and a new long-term vision. "It has been a lot of work, but the new owner should be confirmed within the next two months. "From a practical point of view, it should be quite a simple transaction when the switchover [from Red Bull/KW25] happens, with the new promoter taking over responsibilities directly, so we won’t have to wait until the end of the season. "It won’t be like throwing a switch and you won’t see big changes in the sport immediately, but you will see really big ones over time. The bidder we prefer certainly has big, long-term plans for the sport, which we’re very keen to get behind and work as hard as possible to facilitate and to invest in at the FIA." How do you hope that the WRC will be different in 2027 and beyond? "The first target is to develop a better product and platform for the promoter to work with. We need better manufacturer participation at the highest level. "The new 2027 technical regulations - which will allow top-level manufacturer teams to design and build their own cars and bring in a price cap, making those cars less than half as expensive as they currently are - are making a big difference. There has been a lot of interest. "Right now, the championship has two serious Rally1 manufacturer teams; in its pomp, it had as many as seven. It would be great to think we could end up with 10 big factory teams competing within a few years, but between four and six is probably more realistic. Right now, one new manufacturer has committed to participating that isn’t involved this season and another is very close." What else needs to change in the WRC? "We need to build its profile back up. I think we need to attract higher-profile personalities to the sport - which I know the new promoter will help us to do, though the FIA will help as well. The WRC has something unique to offer motorsport fans, and putting key personalities and social media people in with some of the greatest drivers on the planet can have a huge impact for us." What else are you looking to achieve in your role at the FIA? "I still feel like I’m deciding. The job simply wasn’t on my radar a year ago. It has come my way because I have a long-standing relationship with the president, whose background is rallying and which I had a little bit to do with. "He would love to be more hands-on with the sport, but his workload and involvement with F1 prevents that, so I guess he needed someone to trust with returning the sport back where it belongs. But it came along at the wrong time for me, really. I was trying to spend less time at the coalface, if anything! "I’m getting a little bit more comfortable with the task as time passes. It’s an incredible job to have and a great challenge. I’m doing things I’ve never been involved with in my life before – but only with the help of some fantastic people at the FIA, who have really impressed me. "It will be a lot of work over the next year or two, but I’m confident that we can take the sport forwards together to a better place. I’m going to be 70 in a couple of weeks [there are no big parties planned; apparently Wilson is 'too busy’]. But I’d love to think that within a couple years we could get Ford back into the WRC properly and get the profile back that the sport deserves." And what’s your response to the media reporting that questioned the validity of Mohammed’s reelection as President of the FIA late last year? "I’ve nothing but the utmost respect for and faith in Mohammed. I knew him before as a rally driver, customer and friend, but what he has achieved already to stabilise the FIA from a business and financial perspective in a pretty short space of time is absolutely remarkable. "Those people suggesting that there’s any lack of support for him can’t have attended any of the World [Motor Sport] Council meetings where I’ve been. These are rooms with 300 people in them, and he commands them completely. I don’t think I’ve seen any of the motions he has tabled pass with less than 80% of the vote."

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Rally hero Wilson: "We need to build the WRC's profile back up"

Rally boss and FIA deputy president Malcolm Wilson tells Autocar his plans for the WRC, M-Sport and more

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