'This has definitely been one of my strongest performances', that's was
Matthew Wilson's verdict on his outing on the Rally of Turkey last weekend after he finished seventh to take points for the second event in succession.
Wilson ran in the points from SS3 and after that was never outside the top-eight, constantly setting a number of top-ten stage times, with the most impressive coming on the 22.4 kilometre Phaselis 1 test on Friday when he crossed the finish third fastest.
The result increased his points tally to twelve points and he now lies just 4 points off his
Stobart Ford team-mate,
Henning Solberg, who is one spot in front in the standings in eighth.
"This has definitely been one of our strongest performances we have had pace-wise and to come here, make new pace notes and set good times right from the very first stage is great," said the Englishman.
"We have taken things step-by-step this year and to have two strong finishes in a row, in Greece and now Turkey, is very encouraging and helps a lot with my confidence for the next event. Again, this was a long, hot rally and my physical training has really proved its worth."
M-Sport boss Malcolm Wilson meanwhile was pleased with how his son performed - especially as he had a cold on the first two days - and branded his drive 'brilliant'. Wilson was also happy with the performance of the other two Stobart drivers' - Henning and
Gigi Galli, although the latter failed to finish after falling ill.
"The Stobart drivers have really shone on this seriously demanding event. Gigi and Henning both set fastest times and the team have closed the championship gap to
Subaru. Matthew has been brilliant here, he has really knuckled down and put in a strong performance, again picking up more driver points.
"It's been a disappointing end to the rally for Gigi and its just shows how tough and physically demanding this sport is. All of the guys deserve a well-earned break over the summer now after a recent series of strong results."
