wilson to conquest...

[Testure]

I reckon Wilson has a higher profile than every Brit in Indy Car put together. Partly because he's an ex-F1 driver, but also because he got quite a bit of attention with his "Invest in Wilson" thing. Now, that's not to say Indy Car isn't on the up-'n-up in the UK (it is), but I can't think of a better driver to make people in the UK take notice of Champ Car. What's even better is that he's a fantastic driver!

[spider]

"Champ Cars is always a series that I have admired"


Justin Wilson


Justin Wilson has thrown in the dice and gambled his future on the OWRS and its resuscitated Champ Car World Series. Having competed in the Sebring 12 Hours sportscar race last weekend, he rounded off his week in the US by signing with Eric Bachelart's Mi-Jack Conquest Racing team, managed by his former F3000 engineer Chris Mower. Wilson, who couldn't secure a budget to continue with Jaguar in F1 this year, is now looking forward to a season where he hopes equal machinery and close racing will give him the chance to re-establish himself as one of Britain's top single-seater stars. Simon Strang spoke to him.

Q: You have been linked to the Champ Car World Series for some time, how did the deal come about?

"I went straight to Indianapolis after the Sebring race and stayed for a couple of days to negotiate the deal. It's pretty cool. I'm really looking forward to it. Mi-Jack Conquest Racing is a pretty good team. They were new to Champ Cars last year and under the circumstances they did a good job. They know what they are doing."

Q: You will be working with Chris Mower who was your engineer during your F3000 championship-winning season at Nordic. The relationship you formed was key to your success then, will that help you now?

"If nothing else it's somebody else you know. Because I know him hopefully we will be able to start developing the car quicker than usual. He knows how I work and I know how he works. I'll have a different race engineer, but the fact that I have that relationship with Chris is good news for us."

Q: What do you hope to achieve from this season?

"I have to find my feet initially. I think it would be nice to win a couple of races. But there are already some good drivers confirmed for this year so it's not like I'm expecting to walk straight into it and win immediately."

Q: Is your long-term plan to get back into F1, or is this the beginning of long career in the US scene?

"My gameplan is just to see what happens. See how the season unfolds. It would be nice to go back to F1 if the opportunity arose but a career in Champ Cars wouldn't be too bad at all I reckon."

Q: There have been a lot of question marks over the survival of Champ Cars during the winter. Why did you choose this route given the risk involved?

"I think it is a good plan to be in at the beginning of a new start for the series. Champ Cars is always a series that I have admired and enjoyed watching. I really enjoyed my test with Newman/Haas a couple of years ago and I loved driving the cars. I also like the fact that the cars are equal so it's down to you and your team to get the best out of the package."

Q: Is this a step back from F1, or is it simply the next step in your career?

"I see the move as my next step. I don't see it as a step up or down. I didn't have an opportunity to stay in Formula 1 anymore so I had to look for something else to do. And the drive with Mi-Jack Conquest Racing is a good thing to do!"

Q: How does this effect your shareholders?

"It continues just the same as it would in Formula 1. The shareholder scheme is not linked to F1, it's linked to my career, so if I'm successful in Champ Cars so are those people who bought shares in me. Hopefully in time I will have the opportunity to pay them all back."

[Kicking-back]

Where have you cut and pasted that from?

Credit where it's due.....

[spider]

Autosport.com matey, here's the link:

http://www.autosport.com/featuresitem.asp?id=26541&s=7

[BootsOntheSide]

From a UK perspective, perhaps the confusion regarding the two distinct championships will be worsened by this - ChampCar will now get at least a share of the publicity, so people who tune into IRL races will wonder why Justin's not racing.

I am pleased that he got the drive though, we haven't seen the best of him in F1, and I think he can genuinely challenge for podiums by midseason, and the overall Rookie honours.

[Liz]

Originally posted by Testure
I reckon Wilson has a higher profile than every Brit in Indy Car ...

Please don't call it "Indy Car" ... that name is copyrighted by Another Series. The correct name is Champ Car.

[Muzza]

By the way, can one of the moderators correct the name of this forum - Champ Car are two separate words. Champ Car, not ChampCar (information from... Champ Car itself)

[spider]

what a lawyer-orientated world we live in...

[Kicking-back]

Originally posted by Liz
Please don't call it "Indy Car" ... that name is copyrighted by Another Series. The correct name is Champ Car.

Er, he was talking about "the other series".

[Testure]

Indeed, I've been very careful about using "Indy Car" and "Champ Car" recently, trying to wean myself off of CART and IRL. So, yes, when I said "Indy Car", I meant "Indy Car"

[Tailwind]

I didn't realize how much talent and experience Wilson brings until I started doing a little research on him. He has an impressive background. Does he have a personal sponsor? I'm looking forward to seeing how he does in this series.

[Liz]

OK, if you meant Another Series, then I take my correction back, and I am sorry.

But if Wilson has admired Ovals and wanted to go IRL'ing all his life, why did he join Champ Cars?

[Dov]

Originally posted by Liz
But if Wilson has admired Ovals and wanted to go IRL'ing all his life, why did he join Champ Cars?

Where did he say that :confused:

[codename_47]

Something else that has just struck me, IIRC, Justin was the first Formula Palmer Audi champion, and that was the series everyone was referring to when they were trying to explain the Push-to-pass system when it was first announced
(because FPA used a similar device)

So that may give Justin a bit of a handy leg up too!

[macdaddy]

CART used to have push-to-pass, so the veterans are also familiar with it.

[Rick]

If, and thats a big if, Wilson gets equal equipment I think he'll be the class of the field. Having lost track a bit of who's who, what's his team shaping up like?

[Mackmot]

His engineer is the guy that engineered for him at Nordic in 2001 where they won the F3000 championship

[BootsOntheSide]

It certainly is Mackmot - Chris Mower is the guy's name, he was involved in the COnquest team last year.

There are several very capable people in this team, and considering their lack of experience, the handicap of Reynards, and the additional demands of having FDR running out of their shop, they did extremely well last year.

[Liz]

Didn't this team formerly run in Another Series? They did have experience in running a racing team before they came in, if I remember correctly. And with a good driver who can help them set up the car, they ought to do as well as Rocketsports anyway.

[macdaddy]

Funny how I never thought of that, Liz.
I guess it must count for something!

[BootsOntheSide]

Conquest did indeed run in the 2002 IRL, with Laurent Redon, who seems to ahve become something of a forgotten man now.

Conquest have confirmed the second car now - a lot of people wrote off their chance sof even fielding one car, but thankfully they've got it together.

[ghinzani]

Who is paying for his ride then?

[codename_47]

Originally posted by ghinzani
Who is paying for his ride then?

His shareholders....

Justin is a PLC you know!

[rumple]

Wilson matched Carp's time this afternoon on the Road Circuit at Homestead:

Carp 69.4 (AM)
Wilson 69.6 (PM) (AM getting 6.3" fitted into Reynard / only 22 laps)
Carp 69.6 (PM)
Lavin 70.3 (AM/PM)

That’s right the morning was spent getting him in the Reynard, apparently the Lola is still being prepared at the Conquest shop in Indy!

Good effort Justin!!!!!!!!!!!

Alex tests tomorrow for Conquest with Carp & Lavin at Forsythe!

That's it 2:00AM is bedtime for me!

[N I Tram]

Everything about Justin has 'superstar' written all over it. Hard-working guy, natural ability behind the wheel, great sponsorship presence, aggression, tactics, determination, he's got the lot. He never got a fair chance at Jaguar, and Bachelart should be applauded for signing him over Haberfeld - there's no contest. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets the chance to go back to F1 at some point - compare his CV to Bourdais, for example, and there's no contest.