Desiré Wilson

Desiré Wilson

Born	26 November 1953 (1953-11-26) (age 57)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	South African
Active years	1980
Teams	non-works Williams
Races	1 (0 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	1980 British Grand Prix
Last race	1980 British Grand Prix

Desiré Randall Wilson (born 26 November 1953 in Brakpan) is a former racing driver from South Africa,^[1] one of only five women to have competed in Formula One.^[2] She entered one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix in 1980 with a non-works Williams FW07 prepared by Brands Hatch Racing, but failed to qualify.^[3] She also raced in the 1981 non-championship South African Grand Prix, spinning off after 52 laps.^[4]

She became the only woman to win an F1 race of any kind when she won at Brands Hatch in the short-lived British Aurora F1 series in 1980.^[3] As a result of this achievement, she has a grandstand at Brands Hatch named after her.^[5] Following her attempts in Formula One, Wilson participated in other disciplines including CART^[6] and sports car racing.^[5] In 1982, Wilson entered the Indianapolis 500, but failed to qualify.^[5]

She is married to fellow South Africa-native and road course architect, Alan Wilson.^[2]

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	WDC	Points
1980	Brands Hatch Racing	Williams FW07	Cosworth V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	BEL	MON	FRA	GBR DNQ	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	CAN	USA	NC	0

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Class	No	Tyres	Car	Team	Co-Drivers	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1982	C	37	D	Grid Plaza S1 Ford Cosworth DFL 3.3L V8	Grid Racing	Emilio de Villota Alain de Cadenet	7	DNF	DNF
1983	C	18	D	Porsche 956 Porsche Type-935 2.6L Turbo Flat-6	Obermaier Racing	Axel Plankenhorn Jürgen Lässig	347	7th	7th
1991	C1	40	D	Spice SE90C Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5L V8	Euro Racing A.O. Racing	Lyn St. James Cathy Muller	47	DNF	DNF

American Open-Wheel racing results

CART

(key)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Rank	Points
1982	Theodore Racing	PHO1	ATL	INDY† DNQ	MIL1	CLE	MIS1	MIL2	POR	RIV	RDA	MIS2	PHX						NC	-
1983	Wysard Racing	ATL	INDY DNQ	MIL	CLE 10	MIS1	ROA Ret	POC Ret	RIV Ret	MDO Ret	MIS2	LVG Ret	LS Ret	PHX 13					28th	3
1984	Wysard Racing	LBH DNQ	PHX1	INDY DNQ	MIL	POR	MEA	CLE	MIS1	ROA	POC	MDO	SAN	MIS2	PHX2	LS	LVG		NC	-
1986	Machinist Union Racing Team	PHX1	LBH	INDY	MIL	POR	MEA	CLE	TOR	MIS1	POC	MDO Ret	SAN	MIS2	ROA Ret	LS Ret	PHX2	MIA	NC	-

† Non Championship race

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
1982	Eagle 81	Cosworth	DNQ		Theodore Racing
1983	March 82C	Cosworth	DNQ		Wysard Racing
1984	March 83C	Cosworth	DNQ		Wysard Racing

Indy Lights

(key)

Year	Team	Series	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Rank	Points
1986	ARS	ARS	PHX1 6	MIL	MEA	TOR	'POC	MDO	ROA	LS	PHX2	MIA			24th	8
1991	Leading Edge Motorsport	Indylights	LBH	PHX	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	MEA	TOR	DEN 12	MDO	NAZ	LS	24th	1

See also

• List of female Formula One drivers

References

1. ^ "Desiré Wilson in the media - page 1". Wilson Motorsport Inc.. http://www.wilsonmotorsport.com/public_html/code/desire.htm. Retrieved 19 May 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Taylor, S. (2010) Lunch with... Desiré Wilson. Motor Sport, 86/2, 62-68.
3. ^ ^{a b} Small, Steve (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Enfield: Guinness Publishing. p. 415. ISBN 0 85112 702 9. 
4. ^ Diepraam, Mattijs; Muelas, Felix; Ferner, Michael (Christmas 2000). "The one that didn't count". FORIX 8W. Autosport.com. http://forix.autosport.com/8w/za81.html. Retrieved 19 May 2010. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} "Desiré Wilson - Biography". Sydney, NSW: Formula One Rejects. 21 August 2005. sections 1980-81, 1982-83, 1996-98. http://www.f1rejects.com/drivers/wilson/biography.html. Retrieved 19 May 2010. 
6. ^ Diepraam, Mattijs (October 1998). "F1's only female winner". FORIX 8W. Autosport.com. Why?. http://forix.autosport.com/8w/dwilson.html. Retrieved 19 May 2010. 

External links

• F1 Rejects interview
• Driver Database stats
• Racing Reference Profile
• Champcar Stats

Persondata
Name	Wilson, Desire
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	26 November 1953
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death