Malcolm Wilson

Before he built world championship-winning Fords at M-Sport, Malcolm Wilson was a fast British driver who campaigned an Audi quattro and became a works MG Metro 6R4 driver in 1986.

12
starts 1982–86
10th
1982 RAC Rally
1986
Austin Rover works driver
M-Sport
founder
Grouve Sport documentary

Episode 5 — The British Challengers: MG Metro 6R4 & Ford RS200

The British challengers: MG Metro 6R4 and Ford RS200.

Malcolm Wilson.
Malcolm Wilson.Photo: Nicolasrnphoto via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Driver

Born on 17 February 1956 and raised in Workington, Cumbria, Wilson won the Castrol/Autosport UK National Championship in Ford Escorts in 1978 and 1979. In the 1980s he alternated between Ford and Audi Sport UK, and in 1982 he finished tenth on the RAC Rally in an Audi Sport UK quattro.

In 1986 he joined Austin Rover as a works Metro 6R4 driver. The car was fast but fragile, and he finished only two of his six world championship starts: tenth on the 1000 Lakes and fourth on the Rallye Sanremo, a result that disappeared when the event was annulled.

Wilson in the Metro 6R4 at the 1986 Rallye Sanremo.
Wilson in the Metro 6R4 at the 1986 Rallye Sanremo.Photo: Carlo Marzetti via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Team owner

After his driving career Wilson founded M-Sport, which became Ford’s long-term partner in the World Rally Championship and won world titles with the Focus and Fiesta. He was awarded the OBE and is the FIA’s Deputy President for Sport.

The count of two finishes from six 1986 starts includes the annulled Sanremo rally and follows Wikipedia. Statistics on this page cover world championship rallies from January 1982 to December 1986, excluding the annulled 1986 Rallye Sanremo, and are counted from the entry lists and results in Jonkka’s World Rally Archive. ‘Starts’ means appearances on an entry list.

Audi quattro privateer, works Metro 6R4 driver and later founder of M-Sport.

European and national championships

Wilson and Nigel Harris won the 1985 Scottish Rally, a British and European championship round, ahead of Jimmy McRae. In 1984 they had been third on the Welsh Rally. See the British championship.

In pictures 1 photos

Ken Rees, Olivier Quesnel and Malcolm Wilson at Rally Finland 2011
Ken Rees, Olivier Quesnel and Malcolm Wilson at Rally Finland 2011Photo: Yaamboo via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

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Sources

  1. Wikipedia (EN), Malcolm Wilson (rally driver) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Wilson_(rally_driver)
  2. Wikipedia (EN), M-Sport — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Sport
  3. Jonkka's World Rally Archive (juwra.com), results and entry lists 1982–1986 — https://www.juwra.com/

All text is original writing for Grouve Sports Management Group, based on the sources above. Facts checked on 21 October 2026.

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Thumbnail photos on this page: Morio (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); 5225C (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Brendan Mullan from Glasgow, Scotland (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0); Calreyn88 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Carlomarzetti (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0).