M-Sport Ford World Rally Teams

[RS]

Do the MSport drivers really have to pay or do they just get no salary?

If Malcolm was looking for a driver to show more speed with the Fiesta i'm not sure Ostberg is the right man. I suppose Meeke might prefer to keep his connections to Citroen though even if it means fewer rounds in 2016.

[EstWRC]

Dont know about Evans but Tänak/Mõlder get no salary from m-sport, they get it from their sponsors.

And i agree about Ostberg, if Malcolm wants to know the true speed of the Fiesta then he wont know it with Ostberg/Evans line-up.

[Karukera]

Wilson knows the pace of the Fiesta.
The way he's less and less politically correct if not litteraly pi$$ed off in interviews telling journos he'd win rallies with Ogier or that he'd change the line up if he had money is a clear indication.

[Lundefaret]

According to the Norwegian media Mads is concerned at M Sport in 16. But I doubt that this is 100%. I would think that Mads would take this as a set back vs a true factory team like Citroen, even tough their effort has been greatly reduced since the Loeb era.

[macebig]

What Wilson says about Fiesta's pace is clearly a strategy.He is trying to bring on sponsors and getting Ford to give him more money.His logic is "Give me money,I will bring on a fast driver and we will go for the championship".Maybe Abu Dhabi will return as they dont have Citroen anymore and that will tempt Ford to give Wilson the official capacity again.He may as well partner with DMack.

[AMSS]

What Wilson says about Fiesta's pace is clearly a strategy.He is trying to bring on sponsors and getting Ford to give him more money.His logic is "Give me money,I will bring on a fast driver and we will go for the championship".Maybe Abu Dhabi will return as they dont have Citroen anymore and that will tempt Ford to give Wilson the official capacity again.He may as well partner with DMack.

It`s been suggested before here in these forums but no way will M-sport partner with Dmack at least not for the official WRC campaign, if they change from Michelin the only other option is Pirelli

[Andre Oliveira]

Anyone have doubts if Ogier goes to M-Sport, they win? The car is not so bad. The differences between drivers is more than between cars

[RAS007]

Wilson knows the pace of the Fiesta.
The way he's less and less politically correct if not litteraly pi$$ed off in interviews telling journos he'd win rallies with Ogier or that he'd change the line up if he had money is a clear indication.

Wilson has plenty of money. Do you have any idea how much M-Sport makes? It is an exceedingly profitable enterprise. Malcolm just does not appear to be willing to use any of that money to pay for a decent driver line-up, or even a single decent driver, for reasons best known to himself. It's strange to me, because he took Malcolm Wilson Motorsport from a pretty good national level customer prep outfit, to a world class rally team, with world class facilities at Dovenby, but doesn't seem to be willing to invest in the most crucial aspect, now that the full manufacturer backing is gone. His attitude, at least as far as the driver line up is concerned, seems to be, "build it and they will come". The problem is, no-one is coming, partly, at least in my opinion, because M-Sport's results have been so mediocre, which could be changed with a halfway decent driver, assuming the Fiesta is as competitive as Malcolm says it is.

[Rallyper]

Could be like Nokia if the comparison could be made. You have to be on your toes unless you get passed by your competitors and the decline starts.

[AL14]

With VW already testing for 2017 and Citroen dropping from manufacturers to focus on it, I think it is not a good moment for M-Sport. They will spend a bigger amount of money, times and resources for 2016 and will start from what seems an inferior car.
The r5 market is opening to new cars like Skoda, Hyundai and so on.
Plus, some private drivers are reducing their presence on WRC. How do you think Wilson will manage this situation? Or am I wrong on describing it?