ver Ine image of the lady driver in this count has received a huge "! cost Since the flying South African. Desire Wilson, came here at the start of the month. The 26-year-old professional racing driver impressed many people with her press-on style and serious approach to racing. In fact, the other drivers in the Aurora AFX series did not take long to stop regarding her as a lady. driver and begin to see her as just another very good competitor. Try to get Desire Wilson talking about what it's like to be the only woman out there dicing with field of win-hungry men and she'll soon Steer the conversation around to gear ratios and wing angles, such is her professionalism. fast lady Virs Wilson, who lives at Bear, Kent, with her husband, Alan, when she is по: racing the world's circuits, has paid meticulous attention to detail in setting up her two-y e a r-old Nashua March 77B for races in the Aurora series. Every changed setting goes down in her notebook and she has no trouble explaining in technical terms io ber, mechanic, Graham Cook, What needs to be done to make the car go faster. Desire Wilson began racing at the incredibly when early age of fiver pe her father built micro-miaget to race various South Airican races. From 1959 to 1966 she won many club and provincial championships, her early career cuiminaling in second place in the South African micro® midget championship. At the tender age of 12 Desire decided to hang her helmet for a while to concentrate on her studies, horses. athletics and boys and she emerged from Brakpan Coliege in South Africa with an accounting diploma. However, the motor-racing bug bit again in 1973 and she got behind the wheel of a Formula Vee, driving it to fourth place the national championship. The following year she improved her over-all placing • by twe places and cher. shitted ap to Formula Ford in 19/0, finishing eighty in ine S.A. championship. The following year was the turning point of Desire's career. She cleaned up the classy field 1 л the Formula Ford championship win handsomely, scooping the South ta Europe, African "Driver award for 1977 in her first season in Britain she finished third the Benelux Formula Ford 2000 series. In 1978 Desire, seen by sponsors a very "promotable" driver, was in demand to race in a plethora of ciasses, and she ended the season hav. ing raced in Formula Atiantic (Pacific), Formula Fond-indy in Spoes united 2000, States, Porsche and Escort saloon cars and Formula One in Britain. Desire soon came to grips with the awesome power or the Formula One Tyrrell she neited last vear and in the Irst British Aurora AFX • Formula One round at Zolder she stunred the old stagers by leading before striking problems. She never. managed a win in the series, but came home third four times and these points, plus two fourins and two piace in gave her seventh the Aurora championship. 23-1-80 Classy F.F. Zealand's future Formula Pacific stars will be seen in action on Sunday in the Motorcraft Formula Ford championship races. A full field of about 20 of the nippy little single-seaters is expected to face the starter at Wigram. Some of the Formula Ford drivers are so keen to do well in the championship that they give up their jobs during January and February each year to concentrate on racing. Many go to Britain after gaining experience here, and two of the top drivers be Mike Finch and Jenny Watson, who are both back from a season of British racing. Finch, the reigning F. F. titie-holder, came back to New Zealand for the summer hopeful of arranging a drive in the Aurora For- mula Pacific series, but this fell through, so he decided to run a Cheetah in the Ford races and has lost none of his old competitiveness. Mike Austin (Hamilto, Titan) and Bruce Airey (Pukekohe, Owens) are two other drivers who have been racig in Britain in the last season. Mike King, a young American, has dominated the Formula Ford racing in New Zealand this season. King has turned in some tine, aggressive performances his wellsorted Moreys Titan 9C and should be hard to beat at Wigram. Ian Capewell, of Plimmerton, is second on points table. Capewell is driving JCL Crossle after destroying . his Van Dieman in a horrific crash at Bay Park in the season Racing for you YOUNg motor-racing fans will be able to try their skill against two of the top drivers in the Aurora AFX series on Saturday and Sunday, No, the drivers aren't going to let youngsters loose in their cars the track, but Aurora will provide the next best thing - a tent full of slot-car equipment. Dave McMillan, top driver at Wigram last yeas «Lioness of Africa,' and Desire Wilson, will take on alicomers or a special four-lane track laid out like the New Zealand Grand Prix circuit at Pukekohe, near Auckiand. The Pukekohe track layout will soon be marketed by Aurora. The Aurora tent will be situated near Tingey's field but the crash has not affected his driving. Other top North Islanders expected to come south for the popular Wigram race include Wally Galloway (Papatoetoe, Lola T342), Mark Scott (Auckland, ANZ/TWA Elden) and Lou Vandemeer (Wiri, Begg. A familiar face in Formula Ford this season is that of Russ Stone, of Tuakau, who is back in F.F. after several seasons of FOImula Pacific racing. Top South Islanders racing at Wigram will include Lyn Johnson (Temuka. Hustler), Wilson Crosbie (Winton, 3ZB Hawke), Jeff Pascoe (Picton, Swift), Ross Noble (Christchurch, Mit Cook Ford), Keith Laney (Kaiapoi, Mt Cook Ford) and Garth Austin (Christchurch, Johnston). ngsters Hairpin, at the end of the main straight; it will be on the Port Hills side of the escape road. The two drivers will be at the tent whenever their rigorous programmes allow. Aurora • invites all youngsters attending the Wigram racing to drop in to the tent to try their skill on the slot-car set. IAN FLUX is a promising young British driver with a ready sense of humour. He is driving tbe latest Ehrlich and this is proving a lot faster than the car Dr Ehrich brought to New Zealand for Pierre Dieudonne two vears ago. DAVID OXION, aged 34, has a wealth of racing experience and is never taken lightly. His Pye Chevron B34 is getting on in years and Oston cannot expect to keep right up with leaders, but Orton is always ready to capitalise on a rival's mistake. GOOD YEAR KEN SMITH is the veteran of the field at 38 but is by no means sios, as he showed with canny upset win in the first round , of the Grand Prix. Smitt is driving the quick March 782B in which Teo Fabi TOD last years series, although he has to rum it without skirts this season. GRANT CAMPBELL freely admits that he is racing in the 1980 Aurora AFX series mainly for the experience. This is his first full season of Formula Pacific racing after winning the Formula Ford championship in 1978 and he should be a top runner in Formula Pacific racing in a year or tWo.