Once the applause for Wilson’s addition to the driver briefing had died down, the 1994 British Rally Champion slid behind the wheel of his Group 4 Ford Escort and set out to enjoy and celebrate the day rallying returned, driving the stages as the zero car.
A few hours later he arrived back in service, minus the gorgeous Mk2. A slightly bashful-looking Wilson explained the absence of his motor.
“I ran a little bit wide coming out of a corner,” he told DirtFish.
“I got a wheel on the grass. I wasn’t worried about that, it didn’t bother me and I just kept accelerating and going up through the gears. I think we were into fourth when we hit this hole in the grass.
“It was nothing really, just a small thing that you might have dug to drain some water away. But going into that ripped the wheel out of my hand. Once that happened, I knew that was it.
“That turned the car off the road and we went straight in to the tree stumps – that was where we did the damage. We hit one of those and the car rolled a couple of times.
“I was able to drive the car out, but the shell is, to be honest, looking a bit sore.”
Wilson exit from the event came on the fourth of six stages. For three and a half stages, he’d been transported back to his pomp. Back to the time when he was just setting out to take on a world he would subsequently conquer with his own team.
“It did take me back,” he said, “The noise is something special. It’s like music. But I have to be honest, it’s harder work than I remember!”
