24/06/2004
FEATURE BY GUEST AUTHORS
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Owning shares in some big multinational company may be better for your bank balance but being a shareholder in Justin Wilson plc is definitely more interesting and more fun. It all began early in 2003 with a share issue - a novel scheme to raise the money to pay for Justin to drive for Minardi in Formula One. Whatever reasons people had for buying shares, and no matter how small their investment, it was to add a whole new dimension to their - and my - passion for motorsport. Never mind what Schumacher and the rest were up to, we were following Justin's every move - watching him make those rocket starts, wincing when pain from a trapped nerve forced him to retire in Malaysia, and smiling with satisfaction when he outraced his vastly more experienced team-mate Jos Verstappen. We followed him as he moved up the grid to join Jaguar, and celebrated when he scored a World Championship point at Indianapolis. And I even followed him to London's Hyde Park on a sunny July morning when he took the Minister for Sport for a ride in a Minardi two-seater in a publicity event for the British Grand Prix.
Justin made a big impression in his first season in Formula One, but unfortunately its surreal economics - where cash often talks louder than talent - made it impossible for him to continue this year, even as a test driver. But the share deal wasn't just for Formula One, it lasts until the year 2012 and covers all Justin's racing activities, so his shareholders are now following him down other routes - just as exciting as F1 but more rewarding, at least in terms of results.
For a while after his departure from Jaguar, Justin's future was a big question mark. Over the winter he kept up his profile via magazine articles and public appearances, including helping Jenson Button open the Autosport Show at the Birmingham NEC in January, but he really needed a race seat for 2004. His best prospects seemed to lie in the US, in either Champ Cars or the IRL, but first an opportunity came up to race a sportscar - the Taurus Sports team's Lola Judd - in the 12 Hours of Sebring. On his first outing at the Florida track, back in 2002, Justin finished sixth, and in March this year, with co-drivers Phil Andrews and Milka Duno, he was again running sixth when the car expired a couple of hours from the end of the race. It was a disappointing result, but he definitely attracted attention.
Meanwhile, Justin's management were closing in on a drive in what used to be the CART Champ Car series and is now officially titled "Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered By Ford". The series hung by a thread through the winter but it survived thanks to the efforts of its new owners, OWRS, and a handful of loyal teams. Shortly before the start of the Champ Car season, Justin signed for the Mi-Jack Conquest Racing team and, with a minimum of practice time in the Lola car, headed for the first race around the streets of Long Beach, California. He was an instant success, qualifying 11th, surviving a first-lap skirmish and finishing sixth. He was by far the highest-placed rookie, set the fifth fastest lap and scored an extra point for most places gained. Judging by comments on various internet forums, he was also an immediate hit with the Champ Car fans.
Unlike F1, there's no problem with a Champ Car driver taking part in other events, and Justin's impressive performance at Sebring led to an invitation from Dutchman Jan Lammers to drive for his Racing for Holland team in the Le Mans 24 Hours in June. It was a late deal - the car replaced an entry that was withdrawn - but Justin had no hesitation in accepting, and he joined his new team-mates, fellow F1 refugee Ralph Firman and Dutch racer Tom Coronel, at the test day at the beginning of May.
Before the race in June, though, Justin competed in two more Champ Car events. The first was on a road course in Monterrey, Mexico, where he qualified a remarkable third, led a lap and recorded another sixth-place finish. Then came the Milwaukee Mile, his first ever race on an oval and, what's more, run under floodlights. The Conquest team didn't want to risk their only Lola chassis, so Justin drove one of their slower Reynards. After qualifying 12th, he nearly came to grief on the very first lap of the race. Caught out by a loss of downforce, he spun and brushed the wall, but miraculously avoided serious damage and was able to rejoin the race after a pitstop for a new nose cone. (There was a certain satisfaction in seeing Sébastien Bourdais and reigning champion Paul Tracy hitting the wall later on and having to retire!) Justin survived the 250 miles of turning left and finished 11th, scoring more points but probably relieved that there are no more ovals on the calendar.
Hardly pausing to draw breath, Justin then headed back across the Atlantic for the Le Mans 24 Hours, run on nearly 8˝ miles of open roads - anything more different from the one-mile oval is hard to imagine. Technical problems with the number 16 car meant the team ran very few laps during the two days of qualifying, but they started the race from 10th on the grid. For the first couple of hours all was well, with Justin running as high as second place, but then gearbox gremlins struck - and kept on striking. In all, the car spent over four of the 24 hours being worked on in the garage, though when it went back out on the track the three drivers were able to fight their way back into the top ten each time. Justin managed to keep control of the car when the gearbox selected neutral as he was downshifting into a corner, but Ralph Firman wasn't so lucky when the same thing happened to him with about an hour of the race to go. He crashed out and, although he made it back to the pits, there wasn't enough time to repair the damage. So the team weren't classified because they hadn't taken the chequered flag, even though they had completed enough laps to be eighth. Without all those hours in the garage they would almost certainly have been in the top six, such was the car's pace. Justin at least had the consolation of setting the fastest race lap after the all-conquering Audis - a remarkable achievement for his first Le Mans and with so little practice time.
The very next morning, despite suffering from lack of sleep, Justin had to hop over the Channel for the Justin Wilson plc AGM, which was held at Brands Hatch - now owned by his manager Jonathan Palmer. I was one of several dozen shareholders who attended and it was a very enjoyable day. Once the formal business was over, we had lunch and Justin and Jonathan both made a point of coming round to all the tables to chat. And to round off the day, Jonathan arranged an impromptu track event - anyone who wanted to could drive their car round Brands Hatch for a few laps behind Justin in the pace car. (You wouldn't get that at any other company AGM!)
From an investment point of view, the company's first set of accounts don't make for good reading - nearly all the money raised went to pay Minardi and there's been virtually nothing coming in - but for most shareholders the money isn't the point. When (that's 'when', not 'if') we get the promised return on our investment, it will be a bonus. What it's really to do with is having the chance to get actively involved - even in a very small way - in motorsport at the highest level, and with supporting someone with a great deal of talent who deserves a chance he wasn't going to get otherwise. It's about showing faith in Justin, and he's already repaid that faith many times over with everything he's achieved so far through talent, hard work, determination and 100% commitment. Nothing seems to faze him - new teams, new cars, new circuits - and as if that wasn't enough, he's also one of the nicest guys you could hope to meet!
So what's next? Justin is currently living out of a suitcase and criss-crossing the Atlantic - after the AGM he flew out to Portland on the west coast of the US, where he had another highly successful Champ Car weekend, qualifying fourth and finishing fifth. Next it's back to England for the Goodwood Festival of Speed, then over to Cleveland, Ohio, all on successive weekends. Throughout 2004 the Champ Car World Series will take him around the US, as well as to Canada, South Korea, Australia and back to Mexico, and he's hoping to fit in one or two more sportscar events as well. He's already well on course for the Champ Car Rookie of the Year title as well as a sackful of points. His first podium can't be far off and, who knows, there may even be a win or two (let's be positive!). Of course he would like to get back into Formula One, but he won't do it just to make up the numbers and tootle around at the back of the pack. He wants to race competitively, and if he has the chance of a successful career in Champ Cars, sportscars or whatever, he'll be more than happy. And so will we. As someone said at the AGM, wherever Justin drives, we shareholders will all be with him in the car.
Carol Stanley