Matthew Wilson has driven Ford's definitive Fiesta RS WRC. The Englishman completed a day of installation running in the car earlier this week, with the all-new 1.6-liter engine fitted in the Fiesta RS WRC chassis for the first time. The complete car will now run in Ford's next scheduled test in Spain next week, where it will be driven by Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala.
"I had some preconceptions about what the car might be like with a 33-millimeter [turbo] restrictor rather than a 34-mil," said Wilson, "but I have to be honest and say it felt absolutely bloody brilliant! OK, on a slow uphill hairpin you're going to notice there's not quite so much torque low down, but that's going to happen with a smaller restrictor on a smaller engine. But, once it's up there and moving, it's fantastic and really hard to notice the difference."
Wilson has already complete 1,500 miles of running in the development of the new car, which he is hoping to clinch a deal to drive in next year's World Rally Championship.
• Read the full Q & A with Matthew Wilson here.