When Malcolm Wilson was starting out in rallying, there was only one championship for him. And one rally he wanted to win. Welcome to Scotland.
In a competitive and commercial career spanning more than 50 years, there are few countries the FIA deputy president hasn’t visited, even fewer he appreciates more than Scotland. That’s part of the reason he’s so pleased to see Rally Scotland’s arrival on the 2027 World Rally Championship calendar.
Part of the reason.
Yes, he’s all about the Aberdeenshire roads – as a former Granite City Rally winner should be – but it’s also about the plans he’s seen from Motorsport UK. As far as Wilson’s concerned, Scotland has great potential. Maybe the greatest.
Wilson used an Audi quattro to win Scottish Rally in 1985
“Honestly,” Wilson told DirtFish, “it’s just amazing [to have a WRC round in Scotland]. I never thought it would happen, it was looking bleak to get a WRC event back – but to get one in that part of the world…
“None of the current breed of WRC drivers have competed in that part of the world and I know how amazing the stages will be. And the P&J [Live] is an incredible base. For me, it has the potential to be the world’s best rally.
“There’s no question, it has the location and the stages and the P&J arena ticks all the boxes to drive the sport forwards in the future. Don’t get me wrong, it’ll take time, but the potential is there.”
A candidate event – August’s Grampian Forest Rally – is the next step for Rally Scotland, but what about Wilson’s history with the nation north of his native England?
“When I started competing, it was all about Scotland,” Wilson said. “That was the championship I wanted to do. Obviously being in Cumbria, we were close to the border and everybody talked about the stages up there. There were the drivers like Andrew [Cowan], Drew [Gallacher] and Jimmy [McRae], of course.
“And the Scottish [Rally] was such a big thing. Yes, the RAC was the main event, but back in the 1970s and 1980s, the Scottish was probably the same length and a huge challenge. It was a rally I always wanted to win.”
Ultimately, the Scottish was the event which came close to ending Wilson’s career when, easing his way clear of Ari Vatanen in the pursuit of leader Hannu Mikkola in 1980, he crashed his Ford Escort RS1800 and broke both his ankles.
Five years later, it was redemption as Wilson dominated the Scottish to the tune of a 12-minute victory aboard an Audi quattro.
