Max Wilson
Encyclopedia
Max Wilson, is a racing driver of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian 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
Formula Ford
Formula Ford is a single seater, open wheel class in motorsport which exists in some form in many countries around the world. It is an entry-level series to motor racing....

 Championship.

In 1994 he moved to the Brazilian Formula Chevrolet Championship and finished 2nd overall, behind Felipe Giaffone
Felipe Giaffone
Felipe Giaffone is a race car driver from Brazil. He competed in the Indy Racing League between 2001 and 2006. His father, "Zeca" Giaffone is the 1987 Stock Car Brasil champion and Mil Milhas Brasil five times winner in the 1980s.-Racing career:...

. Again, Wilson graduated up a level into Formula Three Sudamericana
Formula Three Sudamericana
Formula Three Sudamericana is the official name for the South American Formula Three Championship. It was inaugurated in 1987 and currently holds events in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay...

 for the 1995 season. Again he finished 2nd in the championship, this time behind Ricardo Zonta
Ricardo Zonta
Ricardo Luiz Zonta is a Brazilian racing driver.-Early career:Born in Curitiba, Brazil, Zonta began karting in 1987, winning his first race shortly thereafter. The following year, he was runner-up for the Curitiba Karting Championship, and in 1991, he won the title...

.

After testing successfully for the WTS-F3-Team, owned by Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher is a German Formula One racing driver for the Mercedes GP team. Famous for his eleven-year spell with Ferrari, Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver of all time...

's personal manager Willi Weber
Willi Weber
Wilhelm "Willi" Friedrich Weber is the manager of numerous German racing drivers including seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher, his brother Ralf Schumacher and Timo Scheider...

, Max was snatched up by the BSR squad to compete at Magny-Cours
Magny-Cours
Magny-Cours is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France.It is best known for being the home of the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, a famous motor racing circuit . It formerly hosted the Formula One French Grand Prix.-References:* -External links:*...

 for the penultimate round of the German Formula Three Championship
German Formula Three Championship
The German Formula Three Championship – currently titled the ATS Formel 3 Cup – is Germany's national Formula Three series. In the hierarchy of motor racing formulae, Formula Three is placed between national Formula Renault and championships such as GP2...

 that year. A 5th and a 6th place in double header generated further interest in the unknown youngster.

Wilson moved to Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

 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
German Formula Three Championship
The German Formula Three Championship – currently titled the ATS Formel 3 Cup – is Germany's national Formula Three series. In the hierarchy of motor racing formulae, Formula Three is placed between national Formula Renault and championships such as GP2...

. Willi Weber
Willi Weber
Wilhelm "Willi" Friedrich Weber is the manager of numerous German racing drivers including seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher, his brother Ralf Schumacher and Timo Scheider...

 had sold his WTS-F3-Team to aspiring team owner Georgis Tokmakidis and Max was signed to race with Dutchman Tom Coronel
Tom Coronel
Tom Romeo Coronel is a Dutch auto racing driver. Tom's twin brother Tim is also a racer, just like their father Tom Coronel Sr...

 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
Jarno Trulli
Jarno Trulli is an Italian Formula One racing driver. He has been a regular in Formula One since 1997, driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault and Toyota. He won the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix for Renault, his only Grand Prix victory to date. He is known for being a qualification expert...

, Nick Heidfeld
Nick Heidfeld
Nick Lars Heidfeld is a German racing driver.Despite scoring regular podium finishes in and , Heidfeld has yet to win a race since entering Formula One in . This means that amongst the current drivers, he has had the most GP starts without standing at the top spot on the podium...

 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
André Couto
André Couto is a Portuguese motor racing driver who races with a Macau licence.-Early years:André Couto started his career in Karting in Macau influenced by the popular Macau Grand Prix and friends who competed in the local Karting championship...

 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
Opel
Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...

 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
Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft
The Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft was a touring car racing series held from 1984 to 1996. Originally based in Germany, it held additional rounds elsewhere in Europe and later worldwide....

 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
Formula 3000
The Formula 3000 International Championship was a motor racing series created by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile in 1985 to become the final preparatory step for drivers hoping to enter the Formula One championship...

 cars, alongside Werner Lupberger
Werner Lupberger
Werner Lupberger is a South African racing driver. He has competed in such series as the British Formula Three Championship, Italian Formula 3000 and International Formula 3000.-External links:*...

. He finished 5th in the championship, albeit only 19 points behind champion Ricardo Zonta
Ricardo Zonta
Ricardo Luiz Zonta is a Brazilian racing driver.-Early career:Born in Curitiba, Brazil, Zonta began karting in 1987, winning his first race shortly thereafter. The following year, he was runner-up for the Curitiba Karting Championship, and in 1991, he won the title...

 after 10 rounds.

He stayed on at Edenbridge for the 1998 season, and also became a test driver for the WilliamsF1
WilliamsF1
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head...

 team.

At the end of 1999, Wilson was offered a drive with the ailing Minardi
Minardi
Minardi was an automobile racing team and constructor founded in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following of fans...

 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
Gastón Mazzacane
Gastón Hugo Mazzacane is a racing driver from Argentina. He participated in 21 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on March 12, 2000. He scored no championship points....

. But all was not lost, after an impressive stint at Williams, Wilson spent 2000 as an F1 test driver for Michelin
Michelin
Michelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...

 as the tyre manufacturer prepared to re-enter Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 competition.

Unable to secure a full-time Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 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
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...

, Christian Fittipaldi
Christian Fittipaldi
Christian Fittipaldi is a Brazilian racing driver who has competed in various forms of motorsport including Formula One, Champ Car and NASCAR...

 and Kenny Bräck
Kenny Bräck
Kenny Bräck is a race car driver from Sweden. Until his retirement from racing, he competed in the CART, Indy Racing League and the IROC series. He is the winner of the 1999 Indianapolis 500 and the 1998 driving champion of the Indy Racing League. He survived one of the racing sport's biggest...

.

Failing to raise a full Champ Car budget for 2002, Wilson packed his bags and headed for Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 where he joined the Ford V8 Supercar
V8 Supercar
V8 Supercars is a touring car racing category based in Australia and run as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile regulations...

 team Briggs Motor Sport
Briggs Motor Sport
Briggs Motor Sport was an Australian motor racing team which has represented Queensland based businessman John Briggs in motor racing. The team has competed in Sports Sedans, Formula Holden and most publicly as a touring car team competing in the V8 Supercar Championship Series...

. 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
Dick Johnson Racing
Dick Johnson Racing is Australia's oldest operating motor racing team. Founded by Dick Johnson, the team has won seven Australian Touring Car Championship titles and has taken three victories in Australia's hallmark race, the Bathurst 1000...

 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
Oran Park Raceway
Oran Park Raceway was a motor racing circuit at Narellan in southwestern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia which was operational from 1962 to 2010....

 round.

For 2006, Wilson moved to the WPS Racing
WPS Racing
WPS Racing was a motorsport team that participated in the V8 Supercars competition in Australia sponsored by Wright Patton Shakespeare, a financial management company. The team was founded in early 2004 by Queensland-based businessman Craig Gore, who bought the embattled 00 Motorsport and...

 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
Brad Jones Racing
Brad Jones Racing is an Australian motor racing team centred around brothers Kim and Brad Jones and is based in Albury, New South Wales. Presently the team compete in the V8 Supercar Series, which they joined in 2000. Recently they have also returned to the Australian Formula Ford Championship...

, finishing an excellent fifth with Brad Jones at Bathurst.

Career results

Season Series Position Car Team
1995 Formula Three Sudamericana
Formula Three Sudamericana
Formula Three Sudamericana is the official name for the South American Formula Three Championship. It was inaugurated in 1987 and currently holds events in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay...

2nd Dallara
Dallara
Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993...

 394 Mugen Honda
Dallara 394 Opel
Amir Nasr Racing
Prop Car
1995 German Formula Three Championship
German Formula Three Championship
The German Formula Three Championship – currently titled the ATS Formel 3 Cup – is Germany's national Formula Three series. In the hierarchy of motor racing formulae, Formula Three is placed between national Formula Renault and championships such as GP2...

19th Dallara 395 Opel Opel Team BSR
1996 German Formula Three Championship 10th Dallara 395 Fiat Tokmakidis Motorsport
Prema Powerteam
1996
1996 International Touring Car Championship season
The 1996 International Touring Car Championship season was the 2nd FIA season of its type. It was for FIA Class 1 Touring Cars and it was contested by Mercedes Benz, Alfa Romeo and Opel. It was born out of the old Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft series that ran both a short German &...

International Touring Car Championship
Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft
The Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft was a touring car racing series held from 1984 to 1996. Originally based in Germany, it held additional rounds elsewhere in Europe and later worldwide....

19th Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI
Alfa Romeo 155
The Alfa Romeo 155 is a compact executive car produced under the Italian Alfa Romeo marque between 1992 and 1998.-Design:Built to replace the 75 and based on the parent Fiat Group's Type Three platform, the 155 was somewhat larger in dimension than the 75 but evolved its styling from that of its...

JAS Engineering
1997 International Formula 3000 Championship 5th Lola T96/50 - Zytek
Zytek
Zytek Group Ltd is an automotive and motorsport company founded in 1981 and based in Fradley and Repton, United Kingdom. Zytek Group has two main division: Zytek Automotive, which is based at Fradley, Staffordshire; and Zytek Engineering, which is based at Repton, Derbyshire.-Zytek Automotive: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
Super Nova Racing
Super Nova Racing is a British racing team that has competed in Formula 3000/GP2 and the A1 Grand Prix series. Super Nova first entered racing in 1991...

2001
2001 CART Championship Series season
The 2001 CART season, the twenty-third in the CART era of U.S. open-wheel racing, consisted of 20 races, beginning in Monterrey, Mexico on March 11 and concluding in Fontana, California on November 4. A twenty-first race in Fort Worth, Texas was canceled after qualifying due to safety concerns. ...

CART Championship Series
Champ Car
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...

25th Lola B2K/00 - Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

 Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...

Arciero-Blair Racing
2002
2002 V8 Supercar season
The 2002 V8 Supercar Championship Series was an Australian based motor racing series for V8 Supercars. It began on 15 March 2002 at the Adelaide Street Circuit and ended on 1 December at Sandown International Raceway after 13 rounds...

V8Supercar Championship Series 32nd Ford AU Falcon
Ford AU Falcon
The Ford AU Falcon and Fairmont are the first of the sixth generation series of the Ford Falcon, a full-size car produced by Ford Australia...

Briggs Motor Sport
Briggs Motor Sport
Briggs Motor Sport was an Australian motor racing team which has represented Queensland based businessman John Briggs in motor racing. The team has competed in Sports Sedans, Formula Holden and most publicly as a touring car team competing in the V8 Supercar Championship Series...

2003
2003 V8 Supercar season
The 2003 V8 Supercar season was the 44th year of touring car racing in Australia since the first runnings of the Australian Touring Car Championship and the fore-runner of the present day Bathurst 1000, the Armstrong 500....

V8Supercar Championship Series 17th Ford BA Falcon
Ford BA Falcon
The Ford BA Falcon is a full-size car, produced by the Ford Motor Company of Australia between September 2002 and October 2005. The exterior styling of the BA was a substantial revision of that used for the preceding AU model. A new independent rear suspension setup was fitted to all sedan...

Dick Johnson Racing
Dick Johnson Racing
Dick Johnson Racing is Australia's oldest operating motor racing team. Founded by Dick Johnson, the team has won seven Australian Touring Car Championship titles and has taken three victories in Australia's hallmark race, the Bathurst 1000...

2004
2004 V8 Supercar season
The 2004 V8 Supercar season was the 45th year of touring car racing in Australia since the first runnings of the Australian Touring Car Championship and the fore-runner of the present day Bathurst 1000, the Armstrong 500....

V8Supercar Championship Series 28th Ford BA Falcon Triple Eight Race Engineering
2005
2005 V8 Supercar season
The 2005 V8 Supercar season was the 46th year of touring car racing in Australia since the first runnings of the Australian Touring Car Championship and the fore-runner of the present day Bathurst 1000, the Armstrong 500....

V8Supercar Championship Series 24th Holden VZ Commodore Team Dynamik
Team Dynamik
Team Dynamik is a former V8 Supercar team. The team began its V8 Supercar Championship Series life in 2003, with Simon Wills and Jason Richards as drivers, and nearly won the prestigious Sandown 500....


Tony Longhurst Racing
Tony Longhurst Racing
Tony Longhurst Racing is a former V8 Supercar team. The team, based on Queenslands Gold Coast at the Longhurst family owned Dreamworld adventure park, made its debut in Group A touring car racing in the 1988 Australian Touring Car Championship at Melbourne's Calder Park Raceway and made its last...

2006 V8Supercar Championship Series 15th Ford BA Falcon WPS Racing
WPS Racing
WPS Racing was a motorsport team that participated in the V8 Supercars competition in Australia sponsored by Wright Patton Shakespeare, a financial management company. The team was founded in early 2004 by Queensland-based businessman Craig Gore, who bought the embattled 00 Motorsport and...

2007
2007 V8 Supercar season
The 2007 V8 Supercar season was the 48th year of touring car racing in Australia since the first runnings of the Australian Touring Car Championship and the fore-runner of the present day Bathurst 1000, the Armstrong 500....

V8Supercar Championship Series 17th Ford BF Falcon WPS Racing
2008 V8Supercar Championship Series 33rd Holden VE Commodore Brad Jones Racing
Brad Jones Racing
Brad Jones Racing is an Australian motor racing team centred around brothers Kim and Brad Jones and is based in Albury, New South Wales. Presently the team compete in the V8 Supercar Series, which they joined in 2000. Recently they have also returned to the Australian Formula Ford Championship...

2009 Stock Car Brasil
Stock Car Brasil
Stock Car Brasil is a Touring car auto racing series held in Brazil, its first season was in 1979, it's considered the major Brazilian motorsports series...

9th Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...

 Vectra
Eurofarma RC
2010
2010 Stock Car Brasil season
The 2010 Copa Caixa Stock Car season was the 32nd Stock Car Brasil season. It began on March 28 at Interlagos and ended on December 5 at Curitiba after twelve rounds.For this season, Chevrolet Vectra and Peugeot 306 are still in the category...

Stock Car Brasil 1st Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...

 Vectra
Eurofarma RC

External links

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