Wilson To Turn Up The Heat Again
Wellington driver Karl Wilson turned up the heat at the opening round of The Mini Challenge last November at Pukekohe
when he qualified the Moneyworks-Volt Mini Cooper S into third place in his series debut.
Later that day in Race One Wilson continued with the fast pace and threw the car over the line in fourth place. On
Sunday morning he placed well again in fifth but the best was yet to come.
On a wet track that afternoon Wilson cranked it up further by capturing the lead of Race Three! An action packed battle
with fellow karter Richard Moore came to an end when Wilson struggled for grip going up the Pukekohe hill where he lost
his momentum and relinquished the lead.
Regular front runner Brent Collins was also able to seize the opportunity offered and left the Wellington driver with
third place after pipping him before the finish line.
The success of that round was a considerable achievement for 23 year old Wilson after only limited amount of time in a
car which he had not set foot in before the weekend. His pace showed that Wilson was not there to play but was indeed a
serious contender going up against second season front runners such as Brent Collins and Gavin Dawson who have won a
round a piece to date.
After skipping Round Two at Ruapuna, where fellow Wellingtonian Brent Melhop stepped in, Wilson once again hops aboard
the MoneyWorks-Volt Mini Cooper S for Round Three at the A1GP meeting at Taupo this weekend.
With only one practice session for the 23 year old before qualifying he will be faced with quite a challenge but not too
much for the talented driver to handle while he has one ace up his sleeve.
"Karl was here in November where he competed in the SuperKarts on the A1GP track and won the national class - it was the
first time he had driven it." says father Gary Wilson. "He has a bit of history in karting and has won three North
Island titles this year so he's been doing pretty well."
Wilson will hopefully be able to translate that success into the Mini Challenge and turn on the heat once more this
weekend in front of the huge crowds which the international event of the A1GP will attract.
Karl Wilson will follow up this weekend's entry when he again jumps in the Mini at the country's next international
event the Australian V8 Supercars in Hamilton.
"We're really looking forward to Taupo this weekend and next Karl will be driving the Mini at Hamilton at the street
race. We have a good space on the car for a sponsor that weekend if anybody is interested" prompts Gavin Wilson.
Karl Wilson has seized the opportunity of getting inside the Moneyworks-Volt Mini Cooper S for a look at competing in
something different and believes it will lead to something bigger in the future if he continues to do a good job.
At the age of 15 he placed fifth in the Formula Ford Championship in his debut also claiming rookie of the year. After
returning to karting at 17 he travelled to Pretoria in South Africa where he competed in the CIK International
Championship. He also went to the Rotax World Finals in 2003 and came seventh plus has raced in Australia "a fair bit".
ends