Wilks to race at Lydden Hill with Olsbergs MSE

Wilks made his first rallycross appearance at the event last season, driving a JRM Racing Mini RX, but will switch to an Olsbergs MSE-run Ford Fiesta Supercar this time around, alongside regular drivers Kevin Eriksson and Niclas Gronholm.

“I’m really keen to get back out among the calibre of drivers who are right at the top in World Rallycross, and seeing what I can do in a two-litre car,” Wilks told Motorsport.com, having only run a 1.6-litre-engined Mini last season.

“I was hoping that last year could have generated more for this season and it got quite close, but it didn’t come together.

"This is to get the ball rolling again. I know as much as anyone that you’re only as good as your last result and everybody knows that I did Lydden last year but a lot of people have forgotten that I did France too, where we showed great pace but didn’t get a result because of technical issues.”

Wilks set competitive lap times in his second rallycross event at Loheac, but was unable to achieve a result due to engine problems.

“Being a British driver in a British round with home support is always special. But, when it is World RX, for me right now it doesn’t get any better,” said the 35-year.

The former JWRC rally winner thinks the experience of the OMSE squad will help him at Lydden. “I’ve known Andreas Eriksson [team owner] from my third year of rallying, long before he got involved in rallycross.

"The Fiesta is one of the best-sorted packages out there. The team know exactly what the car is capable of and how to extract the best of it in all conditions. In the position I’m in, I’m quite reliant on that because I’m not going to get massive amounts of time in the car, especially doing a one-off like this.

"Hopefully I’ll get a short test and we’ll be straight into the event at Lydden, I’ll have to rely on the team and Andreas to get the best setup as quickly as possible.”

OMSE Fiestas have won events in the two first years of the World RX championship in the hands of Reinis Nitiss and Andreas Bakkerud.

2013 British Touring Car Champion Andrew Jordan finished on the podium at Lydden Hill in 2014 making a guest appearance for the team.

Wilks’ drive is being supported by Loco Energy Drinks, and he hopes for more outings this season. “If I can do a good job at Lydden then we’ll see what happens. We’ll see what comes after that but if we do a good job, I think there is the chance of more.”