Throttle issue robs Wilson Jr.

Britain's Matthew Wilson was left 'gutted' on the Uddeholm Swedish Rally on Sunday when a mechanical problem put him out with just one stage to go.

The 22-year-old looked set to score his first points of the season on the second round in this year's championship and was in fifth when around halfway through SS19, the repeat run through the 10.49 kilometre Lesjofors test, a fly-by wire throttle problem caused the pedal to stick open forcing him to stop and rectify the issue.

After 20 minutes the youngster continued, but by then he had dropped right down the order and he retired prior to the start of the final stage.

Despite a bad end though, the Brit was pleased with his speed and in total he set eleven top ten stages times - his best a sixth fastest in Mangen 1 on Friday and a seventh quickest effort on the final day in Ullen 1.

"I'm obviously gutted at having to retire so close to the finish and in such a good position but there are lots of positives we can take from this event," he said.

"In the end the throttle was sticking open and it was pretty scary for a while and we just couldn't continue. My split times for the whole event were well improved and it gives me a big boost in confidence as we go into Mexico. This will be important as I am scoring points for the team there."

M-Sport boss, Malcolm Wilson meanwhile had no complaints about his son's form: "Matthew's performance has been fantastic here," he noted. "He showed increased speed and control throughout the whole rally, he has really impressed me."

Stobart Group Ltd CEO Andrew Tinkler also reckoned he had done a good job: "Matthew has definitely shown that his speed and maturity has improved on this rally and I was really impressed with his times," he added.