Justin Wilson

Justin Boyd Wilson (31 July 1978 – 24 August 2015) was a British professional open-wheel racing driver who competed in Formula One (F1) in , the Champ Car World Series (CCWS) from 2004 to 2007 and the IndyCar Series from 2008 to 2015. He won the first Formula Palmer Audi (FPA) in 1998, the International Formula 3000 Championship (IF3000) with Nordic Racing in 2001, and co-won the 2012 24 Hours of Daytona for Michael Shank Racing.

Wilson began karting at the age of eight and achieved consistent results, before progressing to car racing in the Formula Vauxhall Championship. He won the FPA title and earned a fully funded seat in IF3000, becoming the first British driver to win the series championship in 2001. He moved to the 2002 World Series by Nissan for the Racing Engineering team and finished fourth. Through an investment scheme where the public could purchase shares in Wilson, he drove for the Minardi and Jaguar teams in the 2003 F1 season.

Wilson drove for the Conquest Racing and RuSPORT teams in the CCWS from 2004 to 2007, winning four races and finishing runner-up in the 2006 and 2007 drivers' championships. Wilson went to Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing for the 2008 IndyCar Series, winning the Detroit Indy Grand Prix. A move to the low-budget Dale Coyne Racing (DCR) team for 2009 resulted in the team's first open-wheel victory at the Grand Prix at the Glen. Wilson moved to the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing squad from 2010 and 2011 but did not win a race. He returned to DCR for 2012 to 2014, winning the 2012 Firestone 550 and finishing sixth in the 2013 drivers' championship.

Late in the 2015 season, in the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway, Wilson died after debris from a crashed car struck his helmet. He was the first driver to die from injuries sustained in an IndyCar race since Dan Wheldon in 2011. , it is also the most recent fatal accident to have occurred in IndyCar. His organs were donated to save the lives of five people. A hairpin corner at Snetterton Circuit was renamed after him and a memorial fund was established to support his children.

Early and personal life Wilson was born in Moorgate, a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, on 31 July 1978 to Keith and Lynne Wilson. His father owns a solvents company, a petrol station, and raced Formula Ford cars from the 1960s until a major accident at Oulton Park in 1975 ended his career. Wilson's younger brother, Stefan, is also a racing driver. He grew up in Woodall, South Yorkshire.

At the age of eleven, Wilson was tested for dyslexia, a learning disability that affects how a person reads and writes words; the test was negative. Wilson's mother took him to a clinic for a second test two years later and he was formally diagnosed with the condition at the age of thirteen. He struggled at school with the disability and received additional tutoring; Wilson's peers perceived him as inept and unintelligent. He married his partner Julia in 2006 and they have two children, Jane and Jessica.

Junior career Aged eight in 1987, Wilson sought a hobby and took up karting, His father was his chief mechanic, courier and mentor. Wilson finished fifth in the 1994 Formula A British Championship, the United Kingdom's highest-level of kart racing. He was third at Buckmore Park Kart Circuit's Renault GP race.

Wilson progressed to car racing at the age of sixteen, competing in the Formula Vauxhall Junior Winter Series with Team JLR, as preparation for the 1995 Formula Vaxuhall Junior Championship. and became the first sixteen-year-old to win an official motor race in the United Kingdom. He remained with Team JLR in 1995. A pre-season title favourite, and was a finalist for the Autosport BRDC Award.

To better his driving ability, PSR were allowed to move his pedals back and alter its shape for better comfort to accommodate Wilson's frame.

Jonathan Palmer (pictured in 2011) became Wilson's manager after the driver won the Formula Palmer Audi title in 1998.

Wilson's performances impressed the three-time world champion Jackie Stewart and his son Paul. A lack of funding prevented a progression to Formula Three due to its high entry fee. His family wrote to the former driver and commentator Jonathan Palmer for advice. With nine victories and four pole positions, he won the inaugural championship over Darren Turner, he qualified for every race and was several times the highest-placed rookie. He took two points and was 20th in the drivers' standings. He established a rapport with team owners Chris and Derek Mower, Wilson won three times—at Autódromo José Carlos Pace, the A1-Ring and the Hungaroring— Wilson won by a series-record 32 points over Mark Webber, and the BRDC Gold Medal, the ERA Club Trophy and the Graham Hill Trophy for winning the title. but tested for the Jordan squad at Silverstone in September 2001, and had a seat fitting at McLaren. Wilson considered going to Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), For 2002, he drove in the inaugural World Series by Nissan. The Racing Engineering team chose Wilson, he was unable to fit inside the PS02 car because of his long legs He declined Newman/Haas' invitation for a second test at Sebring International Raceway in December.

Wilson discussed driving for Minardi in with its owner Paul Stoddart, who was keen to have him replace the outgoing Jaguar-bound Mark Webber. He was told to gather £2 million in sponsorship funding to race for Minardi. The capital was raised through Palmer searching for financial partners, whilst Wilson's father mortgaged the family home. He visited Faenza in late November and had no difficulty entering and exiting a mocked-up version of the car. Wilson signed a three-year driving contract with Minardi a month later.

It emerged Wilson had not obtained the necessary sponsorship money to pay for his seat at Minardi and his father was close to selling his petrol station. The investment was floated on the London Stock Exchange from 5 March to 31 May, making Wilson the first racing driver to be listed on it.

Wilson equalled the pace of his more experienced teammate Jos Verstappen; David Pitchforth, Jaguar's managing director, and team principal Tony Purnell were impressed with Wilson's performances and driving; they received feedback from Stoddart and Wilson's mechanics at Nordic Racing. Palmer told Wilson to visit Jaguar's headquarters in Milton Keynes for a seat fitting at midnight with a contract written up the day after the . Having been granted the final five races to convince Jaguar to keep him alongside Webber for , Wilson found the Jaguar different to handle than his Minardi and did not foresee the change in driving style required to use it. His teammate outperformed him by half a second on average in his first four races with the team due to his unfamiliarity with the car, but was consistently within three to four-tenths of a second per lap of Webber's pace by the end of the season.

Wilson was linked to three teams for the 2004 season. Jaguar granted Wilson a contract extension until post-season testing ended in December to convince the team to retain him. Jaguar dropped Wilson because its owner, Ford, was not prepared to pour unlimited funds into F1 and advised the team to sign a pay driver. Christian Klien, a Formula Three driver funded by the drink company Red Bull, replaced Wilson.

American open-wheel racing career Champ Car World Series (2004–2007)

With the loss of employment in F1, Wilson was disenchanted with his career, and sought a drive in the U.S.-based Champ Car World Series (CCWS) over the rival Indy Racing League (IRL) due to its parity, noting: "Same cars, same engines, so working with the team with a half reasonable budget you can do a half decent job." Wilson signed with the small-budget Conquest Racing team for the 2004 season. The layout of his Lola car allowed him to lie almost flat on its floor and demonstrated a decent performance in pre-season testing. Wilson had a mixed season driving the 34 car; he took eight top-ten finishes, with a year-best of fourth at the season-ending Gran Premio Telmex/Tecate. He generally qualified higher than he finished, taking a season-high of second at the Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland. Wilson finished eleventh in the drivers' standings with 188 points,

After the season, Wilson declared his wish to remain in the CCWS for the 2005 season and enquired several teams about employment. Car owner Carl Russo signed him to replace Michel Jourdain Jr. at the RuSPORT team in November 2004. Wilson worked with driver coach Barry Waddell, In the No. 9 Lola-Ford car, Wilson took three fourth-place finishes in the first three rounds before earning his first series pole position at the Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland. Wilson followed that victory with four more top-ten finishes, He amassed 265 points to finish third in the drivers' championship; his qualifying results improved with nine top-fives. He took four-second-place finishes in the first five rounds. At the following West Edmonton Mall Grand Prix of Edmonton, he qualified in third place and achieved his only victory of 2006. Wilson took a further three top-eight finishes. He qualified on pole position, and led until Sébastien Bourdais passed him on the final lap. Wilson finished runner-up in the championship with 298 points,

The Newman/Haas, Forsythe and RuSPORT teams were interested in Wilson for the 2007 season. He signed a "multi-year" contract with RuSPORT in January 2007. Wilson was persuaded to remain there after his race engineer Todd Malloy left and limitations in the team's budget saw his assistant Mike Talbott promoted. Driving the No. 9 Panoz DP01-Cosworth XFE he achieved eight top-ten finishes and two pole positions at the Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland and the San Jose Grand Prix at Redback Raceway after ten rounds. He ended his CCWS career with consecutive top-ten finishes in the final two rounds to be runner-up in the drivers' championship with 281 points. He was put on Newman/Haas' shortlist to replace the outgoing Bourdais for the 2008 season, and was rumoured to be in contention to drive for Andretti Green Racing and did not want to move to the American Le Mans Series. Wilson and Palmer agreed terms to join Newman/Haas in the CCWS before it amalgamated with the IRL to form the IndyCar Series.

While Wilson struggled during his rookie season driving the No. 2 Dallara-Honda car, he took pole position for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, He was third at the Indy Edmonton and achieved his first series victory at the Detroit Indy Grand Prix three races later.

Wilson competing at the 2009 ABC Supply Company A.J. Foyt 225

Before the 2009 season, Newman/Haas co-owner and actor Paul Newman died and the Great Recession cost the team much of its funding. The funded Robert Doornbos replaced him. He contacted Dale Coyne, the co-owner of the privately underfunded Dale Coyne Racing (DCR) team, after a journalist told him DCR had employed engineer Bill Pappas. Wilson visited their workshop for a seat fitting, and became acquainted with Pappas. He qualified fifteenth for the Indianapolis 500; late in the race, Wilson retired following a collision with a barrier after 160 laps, placing 23rd. With five more top-ten finishes over the rest of the year, he was ninth in the points standings with 354. A disagreement over the length of his contract with DCR, the departure of key team personnel and a desire for another experience led him to assess driving elsewhere. Wilson mentored his teammate Mike Conway on oval track racing and advised DRR on road courses. In the first four races, he finished second at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and the Grand Prix of Long Beach. After qualifying 11th for the Indianapolis 500, Wilson led eleven laps and took seventh. The rest of Wilson's season saw him achieve a best of sixth at the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma. He was eleventh in the drivers' standings with 361 points. Wilson sustained a minor fracture in his left wrist in an accident with Alex Tagliani at the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and wore a carbon fibre brace. He started the Indianapolis 500 from nineteenth position. Handling and balance difficulties left Wilson in sixteenth. His best finish of 2011 was fifth at Edmonton Indy. For the rest of the season, his substitutes were Simon Pagenaud at Mid-Ohio, Tomas Scheckter at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Giorgio Pantano on the road and street courses and Townsend Bell in Kentucky and Las Vegas. Wilson was 24th in the points standings with 183. |name=|group= The rest of his season saw him claim two more top-ten results in the final eight races for fifteenth in the drivers' championship with 278 points. He began the year with three consecutive top-nine finishes. His performance for the rest of 2013 included three podium finishes—two third places at the first Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix and the Grand Prix of Houston, and a season-high second at the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma. Wilson finished the season a series-high sixth in the drivers' standings with 472 points. Michael Cannon became his race engineer after Bill Pappas moved to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Coyne promised Wilson better resources for him to continue achieving top-ten finishes. His first top ten-finish of 2014 was a sixth at the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. One race later, Wilson achieved a season-best fourth at the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix and four top-ten finishes in the final twelve rounds for fifteenth overall with 395 points. Talks with Andretti Autosport owner Michael Andretti, who was interested in Wilson, about a full-time campaign ended in March 2015 over sponsorship issues. He started his final Indianapolis 500 from sixth position. During the race a tyre vibration and a pit stop strategy error left him in 21st. Afterwards, Wilson obtained sponsorship to drive the season's final five races for Andretti, He joined fellow British drivers Ben Collins and Christian Vann in a Team Ascari-entered Ascari KZR-1 car in the LMP900 class at the 2002 12 Hours of Sebring (part of the American Le Mans Series), finishing sixth. Two years later, he again entered the season-opening 12 Hours of Sebring, this time joined by Milka Duno and Phil Andrews. Driving a Taurus Racing-fielded Lola B2K/10 they finished 9th in class and 22nd overall. In June, Wilson competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Tom Coronel and Ralph Firman in the No. 16 Racing for Holland Dome S101-Judd car, retiring after 313 laps with ignition failure. He entered the season-ending round of the 2007 Rolex Sports Car Series, the Sunchaser 1000, joining Negri and Patterson at MSR and finishing tenth. He returned to MSR for the 2008 24 Hours of Daytona with Negri, Patterson and Graham Rahal, driving the Riley Mk.XX-Ford DP vehicle and finishing sixth after starting from pole position. He joined Kelly Racing as Greg Murphy's international co-driver in its No. 51 Holden Commodore for the Gold Coast 600 double header round of the V8 Supercars Championship in October 2012. Wilson visited the team's workshop for a seat fitting as preparation for the round. He and Murphy finished outside of the top-ten in both races.

Wilson entered the 24 Hours of Daytona alongside Allmendinger, Marcos Ambrose, Negri and Pew at MSR in 2013, finishing third. finishing sixth. The duo had a season-best second-place finish at Lime Rock. He rejoined Negri and Pew at MSR for the following 12 Hours of Sebring, where they came 42nd. Wilson finished tenth and scored one championship point for a 25th drivers standing finish. A planned drive in a HPD ARX-04b at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in June was cancelled because turbocharger failures damaged the car's motors.

Death

On the 179th lap of the 2015 ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway on 23 August, The car's nose cone was removed with enough force that it ricocheted along the racing surface as other drivers manoeuvred past it. James Jakes slowed faster than Wilson, who turned right to avoid contact with his car. At the same time, the nose cone from Karam's car struck Wilson's helmet as he drove through the accident scene. Wilson was knocked unconscious and his car almost immediately veered left out of control towards the inside wall. A medivac helicopter was called for and transported Wilson to Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest in nearby Allentown, Pennsylvania. He was reported to be in a coma with a severe head injury and listed in critical condition. Wilson was declared dead from his injuries the following day, at 17:37 local time on 24 August. He was the first driver to die from injuries sustained in a racing accident in IndyCar since Dan Wheldon was killed during the 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. An autopsy conducted by Andrew Kehm, the Chief Deputy Coroner of the Lehigh County Coroner's Office, on 26 August determined Wilson died of blunt force trauma to his head. On 10 September, he was given a funeral service at St. James The Great Church in Paulerspury, Northamptonshire, England attended by about 500 mourners, which included members of the motor racing community. Wilson was subsequently cremated, and a wake was held for him at Silverstone Circuit.

An inquest into his death was held at Northampton General Hospital on the morning of 9 March 2016. The coroner concluded his death was "accidental".

Personality and legacy David Tremayne of The Independent described Wilson as an "easy-going and humble" individual who was able to build a rapport with others. Wilson increased his lobbying for improved safety after the death of Dan Wheldon in 2011. for being "as fearsome a competitor you could ever find", According to Racers Mark Glendenning this made Wilson a driver who "commanded universal respect" from fellow competitors. Wilson was fast-witted and used this in his humour.

After Wilson's death, the donation of his organs helped to save the lives of five people. On 27 August IndyCar drivers Marco Andretti, James Hinchcliffe, Josef Newgarden, Will Power and Graham Rahal converted what had been a previously planned promotion for the season-ending Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway by driving their cars across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco into a tribute for Wilson. Andretti drove Wilson's No. 25 car. Honda and Andretti Autosport employed Wilson's close friend and fellow driver Oriol Servià to drive his car in Sonoma.

NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Joey Gase ran with Wilson's image at the rear of his car to promote awareness of eye, organ and tissue donation.

Joey Gase, a NASCAR Xfinity Series driver, carried a photograph of Wilson on the rear of his No. 52 car to promote awareness of eye, organ and tissue donation. A. J. Allmendinger had his former teammate Wilson's name above the window of his vehicle for the final 12 rounds of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. At the 2016 Indianapolis 500, Stefan drove the No. 25 KV Racing Technology car in honour of his elder sibling. The name of a hairpin turn on the Snetterton Circuit's 300 layout was changed from Montreal Corner to Wilson Corner by the track's owners MotorSport Vision in July 2016; a board at the corner features the design of Wilson's multi-coloured rainbow racing helmet and his surname.

The Wilson Children's Fund was launched with the support of his widow Julia to ensure their two daughters would be financially secure in the long term following his death. Contributions are raised through the auctioning of motor racing memorabilia on the internet and by public donations.

Motorsports career results Career summary SeasonSeriesTeamRacesWinsPolesF/LapsPodiumsPointsPosition 1994 Formula A British Championship ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 5th 1995 Formula Vauxhall Junior Championship Team JLR ? ? ? ? ? 118 3rd 1996 British Formula Vauxhall Paul Stewart Racing ? 1 2 3 ? ? 2nd 1997 British Formula Vauxhall Paul Stewart Racing ? 3 2 4 ? ? 4th 1998 Formula Palmer Audi MotorSport Vision 16 7 ? ? ? 240 1st 1999 International Formula 3000 Championship Team Astromega 10 0 0 0 0 2 20th 2000 International Formula 3000 Championship Nordic Racing 10 0 0 0 1 16 5th 2001 International Formula 3000 Championship Coca-Cola Nordic Racing 12 3 2 1 10 71 1st 2002 World Series by Nissan Racing Engineering 18 2 2 0 8 171 4th 2003 Formula One Trust Minardi Cosworth 11 0 0 0 0 1 20th HSBC Jaguar Racing 5 0 0 0 0 2004 Champ Car World Series Mi-Jack Conquest Racing 14 0 0 0 0 188 11th 2005 Champ Car World Series RuSPORT 13 2 2 2 3 265 3rd 2006 Champ Car World Series RuSPORT 13 1 2 1 7 298 2nd 2007 Champ Car World Series RSPORTSRuSPORT 14 1 2 1 5 281 2nd 2008 IndyCar Series Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing 18 1 0 2 2 340 11th 2009 IndyCar Series Dale Coyne Racing 17 1 0 1 2 354 9th 2010 IndyCar Series Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 17 0 1 1 2 361 11th 2011 IndyCar Series Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 11 0 0 1 0 183 24th 2012 IndyCar Series Dale Coyne Racing 15 1 0 0 1 278 16th 2013 IndyCar Series Dale Coyne Racing 19 0 0 1 4 472 6th 2014 IndyCar Series Dale Coyne Racing 18 0 0 0 0 0 22nd 2014–15 Formula E Championship Andretti Autosport 1 0 0 0 0 1 25th 2015 IndyCar Series Andretti Autosport 6 0 0 0 1 108 24th

Complete World Series by Nissan results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap; small number denotes finishing position) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Points 2002 Racing Engineering VAL11 VAL12 JAR1 JAR2 ALB1 ALB2 MNZ1 MNZ2 MAG1 MAG2 CAT1 CAT2 VAL21 VAL22 CUR1 CUR2 INT1 INT2 4th

Complete American Le Mans Series results 1 Run on same day. 2 Non-points-paying, exhibition race.

Years Teams Races Poles Wins Podiums(non-win) Top 10s(non-podium) Indianapolis 500wins Championships841202394100

Indianapolis 500

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps Racing for Holland Tom CoronelRalph Firman Dome S101-Judd LMP1 313 DNF DNF

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship Year Team Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Rank Points 2014 Michael Shank Racing P Ford EcoBoost Riley DP Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L V6 Turbo DAY12 SEB9 LBH LGA DET WGL MSP IND ELK COA PET 40th 43 2015 Michael Shank Racingw/ Curb/Agajanian P Ligier JS P2 Honda HR28TT 2.8 L V6 Turbo DAY SEB LBH LGA DET WGL MOS ELK COA PET 33rd 19

Complete 24 Hours of Daytona results Year Team Co-drivers Car Class 2006 Michael Shank Racing A. J. AllmendingerOswaldo Negri Jr.Mark Patterson Riley Mk.XI-Lexus DP 733 2 2 2008 Michael Shank Racing Oswaldo Negri Jr.Mark PattersonGraham Rahal Riley Mk.XI-Ford DP 680 6 6 2010 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Max PapisScott PruettMemo Rojas Riley Mk.XI-BMW DP 755 2 2 2011 Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian A. J. AllmendingerMichael McDowell Dallara Ford DP 719 7 7 2012 Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian A. J. AllmendingerOswaldo Negri Jr.John Pew Riley Mk.XXVI-Ford DP 761 1 1 2013 Michael Shank Racing A. J. AllmendingerMarcos AmbroseOswaldo Negri Jr.John Pew Riley Mk.XXVI-Ford DP 709 3 3 2014 Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian A. J. AllmendingerOswaldo Negri Jr.John Pew Riley Mk.XXVI-Ford EcoBoost P 599 47 12

Complete Formula E results Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Points 2014–15 Andretti Autosport Spark-Renault SRT 01E BEI PUT PDE BNA MIA LBH MCO BER MSC LDN LDN 25th 1