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Justin Wilson 1978-2015

Ex-Minardi and Jaguar driver who went on to make a name for himself in the United States

Justin Wilson
Image: Remembering Justin Wilson

Like so many drivers, Justin Wilson, who has died aged 37 after a crash at the Pocono Raceway, made a name for himself in the United States after career opportunities in Europe had dried up.

Born in Sheffield, Wilson began racing karts aged nine and graduated to cars in the Formula Vauxhall series before winning the inaugural Formula Palmer Audi championship. Moving up to Formula 3000, he won that title in 2001, beating Mark Webber in the final standings.

Although Webber got his F1 break the following year, the Englishman had to wait a little longer. Securing the necessary funding was a problem - a share scheme set up to invest in his career raised over £1m - and at 6 feet 4 inches, Wilson was also tall for a racing driver.

Like Webber, however, he was given a break by Paul Stoddart, who placed him in one of his Minardi cars in 2003 after the Australian driver had moved on to join Jaguar.

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The two then became team-mates when, after 11 races at Minardi, Wilson also joined Jaguar in time for the 2003 German GP. But any thoughts that this might be his big F1 break were dashed as Webber generally held the upper hand.

Justin Wilson of Jaguar in action in 2003
Image: Wilson drives the Jaguar in 2003

Despite an eighth place in the United States GP at Indianapolis, he was released by the team at season's end and decided to head Stateside.

Wilson joined the Champ Car circuit and served further indication of his talent in 2005 when he finished third in the championship with two wins. Runner-up slots came in the following two years behind Sebastien Bourdais, who subsequently switched to F1 himself with Toro Rosso.

Switching to the rival - and predominantly oval-based - IndyCar series in 2008, Wilson found the going tougher but still won at Detroit in his debut year for the Newman-Haas outfit.

He also drove for the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team but Wilson's most satisfying successes probably came with Dale Coyne Racing.

An archetypal low-budget outfit, they were without a win in 25 years of trying before Wilson took victory at Watkins Glen in 2009.

Another win came at the Texas Motor Speedway in 2012, with Wilson's best championship finish (sixth) coming the following season.

Justin Wilson
Image: Wilson forged a successful career in Champ Car and IndyCar

Like another British racing expat, two-time Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon, Wilson had turned early disappointment into eventual success and succeeded in making a career for himself in the United States.

For them, the rewards were greater on the super-speedways, where the racing is arguably more spectacular. But it is also arguably more dangerous - a point tragically made when Wheldon was killed in the IndyCar season finale at Las Vegas in 2011.

Asked afterwards about his career choice, Wilson said: "You've got to know the risks and work out if those risks are acceptable. To me, it's acceptable.

"But I'm not going to stop trying to improve it. All the drivers, this IndyCar, we're always trying to make it safer, but at the end of the day, it's a race car.

"We're racing hard, we're racing IndyCars and it's fast. When it goes wrong, it can get messy."

The current season had been a stop-start one for Wilson, who contested five races for Andretti Autosport prior to Sunday's, including a second-place finish in the previous round at Mid-Ohio.

Elsewhere in his career, Wilson raced at Le Mans and also co-drove the winning car in the 2012 Daytona 24 hours sports car race. Meanwhile, he and brother Stefan were IndyCar team-mates the following year.

The outpouring of affection and emotion that has followed Monday's news is a testament to Wilson and his standing within the sport. It was summed up by Jonathan Palmer, who managed him earlier in his career.

"Justin was like a son to me and working closely with his father Keith we forged a great team, as together we created opportunities that Justin always made the best of," Palmer said. "Justin had the remarkable ability to be fiercely competitive in a race car yet be admired and respected by all of his competitors. 

"The world and particularly motorsport will be a poorer place without Justin, but he leaves a legacy of being the epitome of a true sportsman."

Wilson leaves a wife, Julia, and two daughters.

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