The boss of a Cumbrian motorsport business is celebrating 40 years in the driving seat.

M-Sport’s managing director, Malcolm Wilson OBE, formed Malcolm Wilson Motorsport in 1979.

In the intervening years M-Sport - based at Dovenby Hall, near Cockermouth - has grown and now operates on the stages and circuits of some of the world’s most acclaimed motorsport series.

Since 1996 M-Sport has had the contract for Ford for rallying and competition research and development.

In 2013 M-Sport signed up as technical partner for Bentley.

In 2017, the team were victorious in the Blancpain GT Series Teams Endurance Cup, and the partnership now also operates a customer programme across four continents.

In 2018, Malcolm also ensured his team were invested in up-and-coming green motorsport by joining Jaguar as technical partner for the I-PACE eTROPHY – a battery electric zero-emission series which supports the FIA Formula E Championship.

To celebrate the 40 year milestone, the EcoBoost-powered Ford Fiesta WRCs will carry a commemorative logo at the Neste Rally Finland, which harks back to the original Malcolm Wilson Motorsport design.

Drivers Teemu Suninen and Gus Greensmith will also wear special red gloves in celebration of Wilson’s ruby anniversary, while the retro-inspired logo will appear as the profile picture on M-Sport’s social media platforms.

Malcolm said: “When I started Malcolm Wilson Motorsport, I never imagined it would become what it is today.

"Likewise when the company became M-Sport and we moved into Dovenby Hall, I never thought we would outgrow the space.

"But we now have a state-of-the-art facility in Krakow and are in the midst of building the M-Sport Evaluation Centre which will provide a unique centre of excellence for engineering design and development.

“It’s really quite humbling when I look back at all the success we have achieved over the past 40 years, and how the company has grown and developed in that time.

"But none of it would have been possible without the hard work and dedication of every single member of the team who have passed through the doors of both M-Sport and Malcolm Wilson Motorsport.

“The business has been blessed with some fantastic people, and it’s those people who have made this success possible.

"I would like to say a massive thank you to each and every one of them.”