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".
MUCH APPRECIATION GOES TO
MONEYWORKS - VOLT
ESPRESSO - AXIOM HYDRAULICS - TYPEFACE - TRACKTIME
AND
BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE
*For sponsorship opportunities with Karl Wilson at Hamilton in April
please contact Gary Wilson*
mobile 021-543-787
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