Silly Season 2019

[denkimi]

I'm saying that he could at least pay them (I will make this numbers because don't know reality) Wilson could afford that, no excuse. 10.000-20.000 or more. Seb I believe have 2-3 millions and that is a huge amount per year. Still the drivers need to live. Travels isn't for free, accomodation too, food, clothes, family... If they are in the world level of racing they have not the time to work at the regular jobs.. So that's why I say it's silly. Still Wilson sell promising drivers and make more money that he invest into them.

If you go on a 3 week journey to climb mount everest, do you expect the sherpa's to pay you for it?

Its up to the drivers to find money to live from. If they can find the 5 million or whatever is needed for a full season, they might just ask 5,2 million directly from their sponsors. In the end, if they want wilson to pay them 200k, he will just ask them 200 grand more for a season.

Either your amongst the very best who are in demand by the factory teams, then you get payed because they need you.
Otherwise you're not good enough, nobody will need your service and you have to pay to drive.

[AL14]

He owns the company. The money belongs to the company.
He will NOT have paid 50% tax on money paid to him then put it back in again.
The company had enough in reserve. Chef companies house.
It sounds all nice and fluffy to say Wilson paid from his own pocket, but it just will not have happened that way.

He owns the company but we don't know if it is the only thing he owns. I'm not saying that I fully trust him when he says he has paid Ogier from his own pocket, maybe you are right he has not. But on the other hand it doesn't seem that weird to me if the owner of a company put some money on it.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Read this...

Why Ford has to back Ogier and M-Sport
By AutoSport

A Ford Fiesta leads the World Rally Championship with Sebastien Ogier and M-Sport. But that combination will only stay together for 2018 if Ford makes a factory WRC return.
DAVID EVANS is adamant it should do so

Seven rallies, three wins and a 40-point lead in the manufacturers' championship. Oh, and - currently - two of the top three in the drivers' championship.

My fellow bar-dweller got half the story right.

"Good to see Ford back to its best this year," he offered over a beer.

"Yeah," I agreed, wondering whether to bother.

Why not?

"Another pint?"

The thick end of a tenner lighter, I dived in.

"Ford left the World Rally Championship at the end of 2012," I said.

"Yeah, but..."

"No. It's the M-Sport World Rally Team now, a private team with some technical assistance from Ford."

"But what about the stickers?"

"Looks can be - and in this case are very - deceiving."

What followed, as well as more beer than was strictly sensible for a school night, was a potted history of how M-Sport had transformed itself from bit-part world rally player a few years ago to standing on top of the world, with the current king at the head of its table.

"So Ford's not paying for Ogier?"

There was genuine bemusement at the megastar Frenchman's salary being met almost entirely by Malcolm Wilson. A cost that came on top of the multi-million pound investment in a 2017 World Rally Car.

The onset of a single malt brought an somewhat hazy explanation of the WRC being M-Sport's shop window.

"Success on Sunday in Sardinia," I said (although my memory of this part of the evening is a touch fuzzy), "means sales of Ford Fiesta R2s and R5s on Monday."

"R what?"

Enough. Home time.

Next morning, I reflected with some surprise at how far folk remain out of touch with the way M-Sport works. It doesn't help that Ford branding remains so prevalent on the factory Fiesta WRCs.

This issue has been brought back into sharp focus by Ogier's desire to stay put at M-Sport next season.

And why wouldn't he want to? He's 18 points clear in the drivers' race - not quite where he was seven rounds in with Volkswagen last season - but he's come to terms with a new team, new car and a new world.

But he'll only stay if Ford comes back to the table.

What Ford offers right now is technical assistance. Don't get me wrong, such help was invaluable in the preparation of Ogier's 2017 machine, but there's nothing like the investment you'd expect for the publicity garnered from such glories. In fact, there's no investment.

On one hand, it's not hard to see Ford's reluctance to put its hand in the corporate pocket: where's the incentive when it's getting all of this for free?

It's no surprise Ford's Dave Pericak wasn't keen to talk turkey when it comes to Ford's WRC budget.

The frustration is that Ford could make so much more out of the WRC. This is a genuine turn-key operation on a worldwide scale. Throw $30million - probably about the cost of one of its NASCAR teams - in Wilson's direction and the Ford World Rally Team would ape Volkswagen global domination for the next four years.

It's that simple. Ogier would commit long-term, the current championship-leading car would evolve into an even quicker motor and Ford could bask in the glory of a job well done. Nobody need know that it's been done by somebody else.

Is it likely? Who knows? There's been a change at the very top of Ford's tree with Jim Hackett replacing Mark Fields as chief executive officer. Bill Ford Jr has described Hackett as a "transformational leader." Fingers crossed he can transform and return Ford to the top of the rallying world.

Without that - or a potential title sponsor waking up to the massive opportunity open with the M-Sport/Ogier partnership - Wilson simply can't bankroll another run next year.

[denkimi]

I just can't understand why wilson doesn't search for some other marque to be interested. None of the components comes from the standard car, so switching to another bodyshell should not be that big a deal.
And the wrc car is so far from all the other cars that it will not have any impact on his r2 of r5 cars.

Unless of course no other vehicle producer is interested.

[Tarmop]

Not everything is mechanical, relationships matter also.

[deephouse]

Mitsubishi, Subaru, Proton, Skoda...

[tommeke_B]

I just can't understand why wilson doesn't search for some other marque to be interested. None of the components comes from the standard car, so switching to another bodyshell should not be that big a deal.
And the wrc car is so far from all the other cars that it will not have any impact on his r2 of r5 cars.

Unless of course no other vehicle producer is interested.

Remember how Holzer Motorsport developed that beautiful Corsa R5? Or that Mitsubishi R5 from Sweden? Reliable support from a manufacturer is very important, even if it's only about paperwork.

[T16]

I just can't understand why wilson doesn't search for some other marque to be interested. None of the components comes from the standard car, so switching to another bodyshell should not be that big a deal.
And the wrc car is so far from all the other cars that it will not have any impact on his r2 of r5 cars.

Unless of course no other vehicle producer is interested.

Thinking the same here... I’m sure everyone who is a potential entrant is aware of the M-Sport capabilities, but there simply isn’t anyone interested in joining and wanting to outsource... at this moment in time.

[denkimi]

Remember how Holzer Motorsport developed that beautiful Corsa R5? Or that Mitsubishi R5 from Sweden? Reliable support from a manufacturer is very important, even if it's only about paperwork.

Indeed, but if that constructor also pays 50 million or more per year like toyota does, that's even a lot better.

[T16]

There was genuine bemusement at the megastar Frenchman's salary being met almost entirely by Malcolm Wilson. A cost that came on top of the multi-million pound investment in a 2017 World Rally Car.[/B]

Eddie... do you genuinely think this means Malcolm himself paid (what was it? - 6M euros a year) for Ogier, or the M-sport as a company paid?

Yes, I know he owns the company, but there is a marked difference.

P.S... I don't expect you to answer as when you are usually met with a reasoned argument, you seem to go silent for a while, but I would be happy if you do.