Malcolm Irving Wilson,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(born 17 February 1956) is a British former

rally driver Rallying is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (sometimes called "rally racing" in United States), navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed ...

, founder of

M-Sport M-Sport is a motorsport engineering company headquartered at Dovenby Hall near Cockermouth, United Kingdom. It is primarily known for entering the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) since 1997 in partnership with Ford, manufacturing race an ...

, and incumbent Deputy President for Sport at the

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; ) is an international organisation with two primary functions surrounding use of the automobile. Its mobility division advocacy, advocates the interests of motoring organisations, the automot ...

(FIA). He is the father of former

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...

driver

Matthew Wilson Matthew James Wilson (born 29 January 1987) is a British rally driver from Cockermouth in Cumbria. He is the son of M-Sport boss and former World Rally Championship driver Malcolm Wilson. Wilson competed in the WRC for the Stobart M-Sport For ...

and is married to Elaine Wilson, whom he met in 1979.

Biography

Early life

Wilson was raised in

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, where he spent time at his parents' car breaking business. He acknowledges that meeting customers who were rally drivers introduced him to the sport. His father Ken Wilson has also a rally driving career, the earliest recorded starts being in 1973, one year before Malcolm's first start at age 18 in 1974. In 1979, whilst buying a rally car Wilson met his future wife, Elaine, who was the seller's daughter.

Rally driver career

Wilson's career began in 1974 driving Ford Escorts in events mainly located in the north of England. In 1976, rallies in the significant British championships were being contested before in 1978, he won the Castrol/Autosport UK National Championship, a series seen as one level below the RAC British Open Championship and being restricted to British nationals only. Wilson repeated the title feat in 1979, winning 5 of the 8 events on the calendar. He crashed during the 1980

Scottish Rally The Royal Scottish Automobile Club (RSAC) Scottish Rally is the highlight of the Scottish Rally Championship and the longest-standing rally event in Scotland, having been first contested in 1932. The event takes place in May or June of every ye ...

whilst chasing

Hannu Mikkola Hannu Olavi Mikkola (24 May 1942 − 25 February 2021) was a Finns, Finnish champion world rallying, rally driver. He was a seven-time winner of the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland and won the RAC Rally in Great Britain four times. Career Mikkola ...

and

Ari Vatanen Ari Pieti Uolevi Vatanen (; born 27 April 1952) is a Finns, Finnish rally (sports), rally driver turned politician and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1999 to 2009. He won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1981 and t ...

for the lead, breaking both his ankles and almost ending his career, but he recovered in time for the

RAC Rally Wales Rally GB was the most recent iteration of the United Kingdom's premier international motor rally, which ran under various names since the first event held in 1932. It was consistently a round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) cal ...

at the end of the year. In the 1980s, Wilson gained more experience on international rallies outside the United Kingdom and using the

four-wheel drive A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pr ...

Audi Quattro The Audi Quattro is a road and rally car, produced by the German automobile manufacturer Audi, part of the Volkswagen Group. It was first shown at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show on 3 March. Production continued through 1991. Background The wor ...

cars within, driving for Audi Sport UK on some events whilst remaining loyal to Ford on others. In 1986, he drove for Austin Rover WRT, in whose

Group B Group B was a set of regulations for Grand tourer, grand touring (GT) cars used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World S ...

MG Metro 6R4 The Metro is a supermini car, later a city car that was produced from 1980 to 1998, first by British Leyland (BL) and later by the Rover Group. It was launched in 1980 as the Austin Mini Metro (styled AUSTIN miniMETRO). The Mini Metro was int ...

he shared driving duties with fellow Briton,

Tony Pond Tony Pond (23 November 1945 – 7 February 2002) was a British rally driver. Career His first outings in a rally car were on the then regular (in the early '60s) Saturday night road rallies in the home counties around London, driving a Mini C ...

. He only finished two of the six

rounds started, and MG finished 8th in the manufacturer's championship. The banning of Group B in the WRC after that year led to the withdrawal of Austin Rover and other manufacturers, and Wilson's rallies remained in the UK for some years after. In 1989, Wilson drove for

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

in the UK and selected WRC rounds. He finished third at that years Rally of New Zealand, one of his best result in the series matched only by another third in 1993 RAC Rally of Great Britain. In 1990, he began to drive Sierra Cosworths for a Ford team with

Nicky Grist Nicholas Mark Grist (born 1 November 1961) is a British former rally co-driver from Wales, born in Ebbw Vale. His factory team career in the World Rally Championship lasted from 1993 to 2002. He won 21 rallies with more than one driver. Grist' ...

co-driving, mostly at British events then as part of a wider WRC programme in 1991. He won the

British Rally Championship The British Rally Championship (BRC) is a rallying series based in the United Kingdom. The first championship was run in 1958 and it has been licensed by the Motor Sports Association (MSA) since 1999. MSA has opted not to run the series in ...

in 1994 at the wheel of Ford Escorts. In the years after, Wilson has driven occasionally at selected events. In September 2008, Wilson took part in the ''

Colin McRae Colin Steele McRae, (5 August 1968 – 15 September 2007), was a British rally driver. He was the 1991 and 1992 British Rally Champion, and in 1995 became the first British driver to win the World Rally Championship Drivers' title. At 27, ...

Forest Stages Rally'' in a VK Vodka Kick sponsored

Ford Escort RS1800 The Ford Escort is a small family car that was manufactured by Ford of Europe from 1968 until 2000. In total there were six generations, spread across three basic platforms: the original, rear-wheel-drive Mk.1/Mk.2 (1968–1980), the "Erika" ...

with co-driver Peter Martin. He was one of a number of ex-World and British champions to take part in the event ran in memory of McRae, who died in 2007. Aside from rallying competition, he was also Ford's chief test driver, developing new rally cars including the short lived RS1700T and RS200 models.

M-Sport

Wilson formed Malcolm Wilson Motorsport in 1979, primarily to facilitate his own rallying career and offering motorsport services to customers such as rally car preparation. Reflecting his driving career, the company grew steadily through the 1980s and 90s until in 1996, the company was contracted by Ford to run the Ford World Rally Team from the 1997 season. The company became known as M-Sport in 1998. Following the withdrawal of Ford from rallying in 2012, M-Sport have continued to enter the World Rally Championship independently and are the manufacturer of Ford's

Groups Rally In international rallying, the Groups Rally are the collective name given to formulae of rally car as defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile for use in the World Rally Championship and the FIA's regional championships. The names ...

cars. Other business for the company has included the Ford Raptor Rally-Raid car, Bentley Continental GT3 car preparation and engines for

BTCC The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), officially known as the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by ...

Ford World Rally Team

After his driving career, he went on to manage and run the

Ford World Rally Team The Ford World Rally Team, also known as the ''Ford Motor Co. Team'' prior to 2005, was Ford Motor Company's factory World Rally Championship team. It was a regular competitor in the series from the 1970s until withdrawing following the 2012 ...

with his

operation, based at

Dovenby Hall Dovenby Hall is a country house in of land at Dovenby, about north-west of Cockermouth, Cumbria, England. It is a Grade II listed building. History The oldest part of the estate is a 13th-century peel tower. The main house was built for S ...

near

Cockermouth Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria, England. The name refers to the town's position by the confluence of the River Cocker into the River Derwent. At the 2021 census, the built u ...

in Cumbria. Their work culminated in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

when Wilson led Ford to the World Rally Championship Manufacturers' title for the first time in 25 years; the team repeated this achievement in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile

In June 2025, Wilson was confirmed as the Deputy President for Sport at the

(FIA).

Honours

Wilson was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours. In 2018 he was awarded with the V Class

Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (, also the Order of the Cross of St. Mary's Land) was instituted by the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri, on 16 May 1995 to honour the independence of the Estonian state. (The Latin name ''Terra Mariana'' ...

for his services to Estonian motorsport, with his role in the successes of

Markko Märtin Markko Märtin (born 10 November 1975 in Tartu) is a retired rally driver from Estonia, who competed in the World Rally Championship from 2000 until 2005. Career Märtin, as understudy to then-team mates Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz, rose to p ...

and

Ott Tänak Ott Tänak (; born 15 October 1987) is an Estonian rally driver and the 2019 World Rally Champion. He is currently teamed with Martin Järveoja and is competing for Hyundai Motorsport in the World Rally Championship. Tänak achieved his maiden ...

cited.

Complete WRC results

References

External links

M-Sport official websiteMalcolm Wilson Rally homepageRallybase stats pageeWRC-Results record
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Malcolm English rally drivers World Rally Championship people 1956 births Living people World Rally Championship drivers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 5th Class Ford Team RS Audi Sport drivers M-Sport drivers 20th-century English sportsmen