M-Sport return to Cumbria after Monte Carlo Rally success

The M-Sport rally team have returned to their Cockermouth base after a highly successful Monte Carlo Rally.

They emerged from the first round of the 2022 World Rally Championship first place in the constructors standings after a record-breaking weekend.

Frenchman Sebastian Loeb became the oldest winner of the Monte Carlo while Isabel Galmiche became the first female co-driver in 25 years to win a rally.

Despite never participating in a professional race together, the pair propelled M-Sport into first place with the help of a third place finish from Irishman Craig Breen.

"At 47 years old, it is just an outstanding achievement [for Sebastian]," M-Sport Managing Director Malcolm Wilson told ITV Border.

"Having said that, we're very proud because we've presented him with a car that's definitely up to doing a job."

• Team Manager Richard Milliner is already looking forward to Sweden

2022 marks the first year for the Rally World Championship to take place using hybrid vehicles.

Driver Gus Greensmith had his first stage win at the weekend. He says the shift to hybrid marks a significant change for those behind the wheel.

"They're quite a bit different - there's certainly a lot more power with the hybrid package so managing that and using it efficiently is one of the hardest things we've had to learn," he said.

"But clearly, the strategy that we've come up with has worked very well given the performance of the car so everything is going very well straight from the off.

"We knew that M-Sport have always been pretty brilliant at developing a new car so we knew we'd be in a good position this year but you never know until the first rally. So, in the seventh stage on the first full day, we get our first stage win - so that's very encouraging."