Max Wilson

Max Wilson
Nationality	Brazil
Born	10 August 1972 (1972-08-10) (age 39) Hamburg, Germany
Stock Car Brasil
Years active	2009-2010
Teams	Eufarma RC
Starts	15
Wins	2
Best finish	1st in 2010
Previous series
1994 1995 1995-96 1996 1997-99 2001 2002-08	Formula Chevrolet Formula Three Sudamericana German Formula 3 DTM International Formula 3000 Champ Car V8 Supercar

Max Wilson, (born August 10, 1972 in Hamburg, Germany), is a racing driver of Brazilian parentage.

He started his motor racing career in 1985 in go-karts. His tenacious racing style led him to move into single-seaters in 1993, when he was offered a ride in the Brazilian Formula Ford Championship.

In 1994 he moved to the Brazilian Formula Chevrolet Championship and finished 2nd overall, behind Felipe Giaffone. Again, Wilson graduated up a level into Formula Three Sudamericana for the 1995 season. Again he finished 2nd in the championship, this time behind Ricardo Zonta.

After testing successfully for the WTS-F3-Team, owned by Michael Schumacher's personal manager Willi Weber, Max was snatched up by the BSR squad to compete at Magny-Cours for the penultimate round of the German Formula Three Championship that year. A 5th and a 6th place in double header generated further interest in the unknown youngster.

Wilson moved to Munich at the beginning of 1996 as his personal friend Mario-Alberto Bauér managed to find a seat for Max in the German Formula Three Championship. Willi Weber had sold his WTS-F3-Team to aspiring team owner Georgis Tokmakidis and Max was signed to race with Dutchman Tom Coronel as a team-mate. But the team dwindeled due to persistent personnel problems. Coronel ended up never racing for the team and a variety of drivers walked in and out. After winning a pre-season non-championship the results were disappointing and led to Max, aside Jarno Trulli, Nick Heidfeld and Arndt Meyer one of the championship favourites, leaving the team after a couple of races.

Against all warnings he then decided to join the Italian Prema Power F3 Team as a team mate to André Couto from mid-season on and managed to win one championship round in wet conditions at Diepholz, despite the notoriously underpowered Fiat-engine. In those days almost every car on the grid was powered by the superior Opel Spiess engine. Restrained by the power disadvantage the initial title favourite ended up in 10th in the championship. At the end of 1996, he drove one race in ITC at Interlagos for Alfa Romeo, as all manufacturers had one local driver to improve interest among local spectators. He led the second race for a while, eventually finishing in 2nd.

But in 1997, Edenbridge Racing chose him to drive one of their Formula 3000 cars, alongside Werner Lupberger. He finished 5th in the championship, albeit only 19 points behind champion Ricardo Zonta after 10 rounds.

He stayed on at Edenbridge for the 1998 season, and also became a test driver for the WilliamsF1 team.

At the end of 1999, Wilson was offered a drive with the ailing Minardi team but a lack of financial backing saw him lose the ride at the last minute to a less experienced but more financially solvent driver. But all was not lost, after an impressive stint at Williams, Wilson spent 2000 as an F1 test driver for Michelin as the tyre manufacturer prepared to re-enter Formula One competition.

Unable to secure a full-time Formula One ride for the 2001 season, Wilson returned to the United States and joined the Arciero-Blair Racing Team to contest the Champ Car World Series. In his rookie year, he posted some inspiring results against the likes of Michael Andretti, Christian Fittipaldi and Kenny Bräck.

Failing to raise a full Champ Car budget for 2002, Wilson packed his bags and headed for Australia where he joined the Ford V8 Supercar team Briggs Motor Sport. Keeping in mind he had never driven anything but an open-wheeler, the extra weight, right hand drive and sheer size of a V8 Supercar seemed a significant challenge for the young Brazilian. Wilson, however, had other ideas.

In just his second outing in a V8 Supercar, Wilson managed to snare fifth position on the grid at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide. His trend for setting the pace during qualifying continued throughout the year, qualifying inside the top 15 starters in 11 of the 14 events during his debut year in the championship.

Wilson continued his impressive qualifying form with Dick Johnson Racing in 2003 where he capped off the year with his first podium finish in the championship at the final round of the year.

2004 was a tough year for Wilson when he failed to finish five of the rounds due to a variety of reasons while in a position for some solid results whilst driving for Triple 8 Racing.

A last-minute arrangement last year saw Wilson compete in the championship with Team Dynamik/Tony Longhurst Racing. During his 2005 campaign he again showed glimpses of his true potential which included a fifth place in the final race in China and a top ten finish at the Oran Park round.

For 2006, Wilson moved to the WPS Racing team however immediately prior to the 2008 season the team folded, leaving Wilson without a drive. Wilson returned to his native Brazil but did drive the Australian enduro season with Brad Jones Racing, finishing an excellent fifth with Brad Jones at Bathurst.

Career results

Season	Series	Position	Car	Team
1995	Formula Three Sudamericana	2nd	Dallara 394 Mugen Honda Dallara 394 Opel	Amir Nasr Racing Prop Car
1995	German Formula Three Championship	19th	Dallara 395 Opel	Opel Team BSR
1996	German Formula Three Championship	10th	Dallara 395 Fiat	Tokmakidis Motorsport Prema Powerteam
1996	International Touring Car Championship	19th	Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI	JAS Engineering
1997	International Formula 3000 Championship	5th	Lola T96/50 - Zytek	Edenbridge Racing
1998	International Formula 3000 Championship	9th	Lola T96/50 - Zytek	Edenbridge Racing
1999	International Formula 3000 Championship	8th	Lola B99/50 - Zytek	Super Nova Racing
2001	CART Championship Series	25th	Lola B2K/00 - Ford Cosworth	Arciero-Blair Racing
2002	V8Supercar Championship Series	32nd	Ford AU Falcon	Briggs Motor Sport
2003	V8Supercar Championship Series	17th	Ford BA Falcon	Dick Johnson Racing
2004	V8Supercar Championship Series	28th	Ford BA Falcon	Triple Eight Race Engineering
2005	V8Supercar Championship Series	24th	Holden VZ Commodore	Team Dynamik Tony Longhurst Racing
2006	V8Supercar Championship Series	15th	Ford BA Falcon	WPS Racing
2007	V8Supercar Championship Series	17th	Ford BF Falcon	WPS Racing
2008	V8Supercar Championship Series	33rd	Holden VE Commodore	Brad Jones Racing
2009	Stock Car Brasil	9th	Chevrolet Vectra	Eurofarma RC
2010	Stock Car Brasil	1st	Chevrolet Vectra	Eurofarma RC

External links

• Orrcon Racing Official Site

Sporting positions
Preceded by Cacá Bueno	Stock Car Brasil Champion 2010	Succeeded by Incumbent

Persondata
Name	Wilson, Max
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	August 10, 1972
Place of birth	Hamburg, Germany
Date of death
Place of death