Matthew Wilson said he was pleased to bounce back from his retirement in Portugal to secure a points finish on Rally Argentina, although the Stobart VK M-Sport driver admitted it could have been more.
Wilson ran in the points throughout the event and was embroiled in a hectic battle for position with local hero Federico Villagra though the opening two days, although damper issues on day two allowed the Argentine driver to edge ahead.
The Briton went into the final leg in seventh place, but problems for both Jari-Matti Latvala and Petter Solberg promoted Wilson up to fifth place and while happy with the result, he admitted it could have been higher without his Saturday issues.
“I'm very happy with this finish and it's great to get back scoring more points after our retirement last time out in Portugal,” he said. “We could have finished higher and I think fourth would have been possible, but we just lost too much time on the second day.
“The damper problem meant we lost the feeling with the car and we couldn't push as hard as we needed in order to stay in the battle with Federico; those stages were so technical and twisty that any problem will drop you lots of time.
“It has been one of the roughest events I have ever done, worse than Greece in places, but to finish with more points and maintain my improved run this season is great and a big boost.”
With Wilson's team-mate Henning Solberg taking third place, the Stobart team has now closed in on the works Ford team in the championship standings, and Stobart CEO Andrew Tinkler was pleased with the performance.
“It's been another encouraging team performance on a rally that has claimed quite a few casualties,” he said. “Matt and Scott have put the problems in Portugal behind them and driven a really sensible rally and it's great to see Henning, and another Stobart car, back on the podium again.
“We've moved closer to the factory Ford team in the championship and it's an important confidence boost for both drivers going to Sardinia; a rally they really enjoy.”
