Desiré Wilson facts for kids
The Spice SE90C of Desiré Wilson, Cathy Muller and Lyn St. James at the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans
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| Born | 26 November 1953 Brakpan, Transvaal, Union of South Africa |
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| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  South African |
| Active years | 1980 |
| Teams | non-works Williams |
| Entries | 1 (0 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1980 British Grand Prix |
Desiré Wilson (born 26 November 1953) is a famous racing driver from South Africa. She is one of only five women who have ever raced in Formula One, the highest level of motorsport. Desiré is known for being the only woman to win a Formula One race of any kind. This happened at Brands Hatch in England during the British Aurora F1 Championship in 1980. Because of this amazing win, a grandstand at Brands Hatch is named after her!
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Desiré Wilson's Racing Journey
Desiré Wilson has been recognized as one of the most successful female racing drivers in the world since 1978. She is the only woman to have a special license (called an FIA Super Licence) that allowed her to race in Formula One. She also holds a license to drive in CART Indycars events.
In 1980, Desiré made history by winning two major sports car races: the Monza 1000km and the Silverstone 6 Hours. These were part of the FIA World Championship for Makes. This made her the first woman to win a race in any FIA World Championship.
Early Racing Days
Desiré started racing at a young age. In 1967, when she was just twelve, she finished second in the South African national midget car championships. She made her full racing debut in 1972, coming in fourth in her first season of the South African Formula Vee Championship. She continued to do well in Formula Vee, finishing fourth and then second in the following seasons.
In 1975, Desiré won the South African Formula Ford Championship. She won it again the next year! This earned her the "Driver to Europe" award, which meant she could move to Europe to race.
Racing in Europe
In 1977, Desiré moved to Europe. She mainly competed in Formula Ford 2000 races in Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg (Benelux), and Britain. She finished third and fourth in these championships, winning races at Zandvoort and Colmar-Berg.
In 1978, she took a big step forward by racing a Formula One car in the Aurora AFX F1 Championship. She impressed many team bosses and her best finish was a third place at Thruxton Circuit.
Leading an F1 Race
In 1979, Desiré Wilson became the first woman to lead a Formula One race! She was ahead of everyone at Zolder in her Tyrrell 008 car. Even though she spun out near the end in wet conditions, she fought back to finish third and also set the fastest lap of the race. She earned three more third-place finishes that season and ended up seventh in the championship.
Her Big Win
The year 1980 was a huge one for Desiré. Even without a sponsor at first, she got a chance to race in the Aurora series with Teddy Yip's Theodore Racing team. In the second race of the season, she won the Evening News Trophy at Brands Hatch. She beat other strong drivers like Norman Dickson and Eliseo Salazar. This made her the first, and so far only, woman to win a Formula One race! She also got two more podium finishes that year.
Formula One World Championship Attempt
Desiré's success caught the eye of the RAM Racing team. She got a chance to test a Williams FW07 car and did very well. However, for the 1980 British Grand Prix, she was given a different, less powerful car. Because of this, and her limited experience at that level, she was unable to qualify for the race.
She later got another chance to race in her home Grand Prix in South Africa in 1981 with Tyrrell Racing. This race was not part of the official World Championship due to some disagreements in F1 at the time. She qualified 16th and drove well in wet conditions, moving up to sixth place before spinning out. Even though she didn't finish, she impressed Ken Tyrrell, the team owner. Unfortunately, she couldn't find enough sponsorship to continue racing with Tyrrell.
Sports Car and IndyCar Racing
After her Formula One attempts, Desiré focused on other types of racing, including CART (IndyCar) and sports car racing.
In 1982, she tried to qualify for the famous Indianapolis 500 race. She passed her rookie test easily and set the fastest lap ever by a female racer at that time. However, she couldn't qualify due to engine problems and a tragic accident involving another driver that ended the qualifying session early. She tried to qualify two more times in 1983 and 1984 but was unsuccessful. Despite this, she raced in eight other IndyCar races, with her best finish being 10th.
Desiré also continued to have success in sports car racing. In 1983, she finished seventh at the Le Mans 24 Hours race, which is a very tough endurance race. She shared a Porsche 956 car with two German drivers. In 1984, she finished fourth at the Brands Hatch 1000km race.
Later in her career, in 1987, Desiré won a class race at Sears Point in a Saleen Mustang. She also helped Saleen Motorsport win a constructors' title by taking a class win at the Sebring 6 hours race.
Desiré Wilson occasionally races at the Goodwood Revival event today.
Personal Life
Desiré Wilson is married to Alan Wilson, who is also from South Africa and designs race tracks.
See also
In Spanish: Desiré Wilson para niños
- List of female Formula One drivers
