Italy driver report: Part 2
Our look back at how the top drivers coped
M-Sport working on gear selector fix
M-Sport boss Malcolm Wilson is confident his team will find a solution to the transmission problem that led to the retirement of two 2015-spec Fiesta RS world rally cars at Rally Italia Sardegna.
Ott Tänak and Robert Kubica both stopped in Italy after impact with rocks on the stages left their cars stuck in gear.
Wilson told wrc.com that both cars had suffered the same problem - and that they weren't alone.
"In Ott's case the problem was caused by a huge impact at the same place where Hayden Paddon broke his gearbox mount," he said. "It looks like our mountings are stronger than the Hyundai's, but this put extra pressure on the gear selection mechanism.
"It's nothing to do with with gearbox itself. We just need to find a way of preventing the sump guard from deforming and putting pressure on that part."
Wilson does not expect the stages in the rest of the season to be as rocky as those in Sardinia, but hopes modified components will cure the problem once and for all.
"Rough stages have been a feature of Sardinia for many years, and probably the rest of the rallies this year it'll be fine, but we can't take that risk so we've got to do something about it. We have some new parts being done now so hopefully won't happen again," he said.
