WRC » Seven-strong Stobart reach half-century

Of those 50 events how many podiums has Matthew Wilson achieved? I seem to recall Seb Loeb finished second on his first event in WRC car for Citroen?

Matthew started Rallying at just 17 in a WRC car and has won outright in the BRC, the WRC however is a tougher nut to crack, Seb is exceptional and dominated the JWRC before his Xzara WRC debut with 2nd overall in Germany. I think people ought to think careful before they are so critical of young matt. He is improving all the time, he is midway through a 5 year programme and is doing well, he has finished 4th overall on Rally Japan so not far off a podium. Ok hes not the quickest yet but he is making solid progress which is the plan. Judge him again at the end of 2010 if you have to Andrew. He will be up there getting podiums by 2010, He's a good kid so leave him alone !!!

Ok, if we don't like the Seb comparison - BRC graduates Richard Burns and Colin McRae took 6 starts in Group A/WRC cars to get a podium (2 for McRae if you discount the starts in private Ford Sierras). At some point you have to show pace - 4th place in Japan 2007 (Loeb, Gronholm, Petter Solberg, Atkinson, Latvala all non-scoring) ahead of Luis Perez Companc(!) is poor return after 50 WRC starts. Give the car to any of Kris Meeke, Andreas Mikkelsen, or Guy Wilks and it won't be 50 rallies without a podium.

Yes you have a point in that Meeke/Wilks need a simular opportunity, Mcrae was also an exception, I remember watching him Push Mats Johnson for the win in the Celica GT4 - Sweeden 92 and thinking then he would be World champ soon enough. The field wasn't so good back then though, you had Mikkola finshing 5th in a Mazda 323 1800 and the likes of Franco Cunico 6th etc, Ok Colin was in a class of his own but Matt will come good, hes more of a Burns than a Mcrae. Richard wasnt that quick to start - doing Asia Pacific rounds for Mitsubishi before a full programme in WRC. He was always just inside the top 10 in a Legacy on R.A.C but he found the speed in the end and was always fighting for a win.

The critics keep forgetting just how young Wilson still is. If I recall, Loeb was about five or six years older even by the time he made it into his Super 1600 Saxo, for example. All drivers have different routes to the top of their sports, and even if he doesn't become a World Champion or even a winner, he is still more than capable of a worthwhile career which would contribute considerably to the general strength and depth of the WRC (as he has already been doing with his existing points finishes). For example, in the long run, what did the likes of Manfred Stohl, Chris Atkinson and Kris Meeke for that matter, have, at the same age, that Wilson doesn't?