COLIN CLARK

“Malcolm could be Meeke’s WRC saviour”

So, what are we supposed to do with those folk in society who just won’t conform? The ones who break the rules, who won’t listen to, or accept authority. Who, despite repeated warnings continue, through sheer bloody mindedness, to lurch from one crisis to the next.

Do we just give up on them and condemn them to the festering and fetid scrap heap of life? Do we heck. we support them. And encourage them. And we hope that, with the help of those who supposedly know better, somewhere in the future redemption and salvation await.

So, with that in mind, why have we all-but written Kris Meeke off?

I’ll tell you why: because it’s easy to do so. he’s the enfant terrible of the World Rally Championship; he’s the wild child, the revolutionary who knows his way is the only way. and I’ll put my cards on the table and say this is exactly why so many of us love him so much. But it’s also why it’s so easy to write him off. I don’t believe all that clap-trap suggesting Meeke is beyond saviour.

More often than not, the lost soul is rescued by a guiding light, someone who understands the demons and, more importantly, understands how to exorcise those demons. this is the person Meeke now needs to seek out. And he really doesn’t have to look too hard to find him.

One man in the service park is renowned for his unerring ability to recognise and nurture talent. his reputation is built on his ability to take mediocre drivers and turn them into great drivers. But this one is a bit different. we already have a great, but flawed driver who needs turning into a champion. step forward Mr Malcolm Wilson and work your magic one more time.

OK, so there’s history there, but Mr Wilson is nothing if not driven by his relentless pursuit of success for his beloved M-sport. and it’s very possible that Wilson and M-sport will need the services of a proven winner in 2019. Should Ogier head back across the channel for one last swansong with the red team then Wilson has a very big issue to resolve. with Elfyn Evans enduring a very up-and-down 2018 and Teemu Suninen still a fair way off being the finished product, who wins rallies for the Cumbrian chargers? It’s easy, Kris Meeke does.

Mr Wilson relishes nothing more than a challenge. he thrives on succeeding where others have told him it’s impossible to do so. It may turn out that Meeke is the greatest challenge of Wilson’s career, but I firmly believe he has the wherewithal to tackle and tame the demons that torment Meeke. I believe he has the wherewithal to turn Kris into a champion.

Meeke certainly needs Malcolm a lot more than Malcolm needs Meeke. but Meeke could well turn out to be the greatest endorsement of Wilson’s genius that we’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing.

Go on Malcom, prove everyone wrong, take on the untamable and make us all proud again.