STOBART M-Sport Ford’s Henning Solberg and Cumbrian Matthew Wilson finished sixth and seventh respectively at Wales Rally GB, their final World Rally Championship event in the Ford Focus RS World Rally Car.

Both drivers reported that the incessant rain and muddy conditions made the going difficult at the final round of this year’s FIA World Rally Championship.

“The stages were so slippery this weekend and we had a lot of understeer especially on the first day,” admitted Wilson.

“The pace of the top five drivers was very fast and it was difficult to try and match those times in such treacherous conditions.”

Despite tricky road conditions, Britain’s leading WRC driver still managed to rack up six driver points and consolidated his seventh place finish in this year’s drivers’ championship standings.

Stobart M-Sport Ford’s other nominated point-scoring crew of Henning Solberg and Stephane Prévot finished sixth, one place off their best ever finish on British soil.

The Norwegian driver finishes the season eighth in the overall standings – 28 points behind Wilson.

Ford Team Principal Malcolm Wilson said: “It has been another successful season for the Stobart M-Sport Ford Rally Team and we’ve had some fantastic highlights this year.

“The Ford Focus RS WRC has served Matthew and Henning well over the years and has assisted the team in seven podium finishes in the WRC since 2006.

It will be missed greatly but we are looking forward to introducing the Ford Fiesta RS WRC to the championship next year.”