William Michael Wilds (born 7 January 1946) is a British
racing driver from England. He participated in eight
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 20 July 1974. He scored no championship points.
After winning a few races in
Formula 3 in the early 1970s, Wilds moved on to
Formula 5000. At the same time, he took part in a few Formula One Grands Prix, firstly with a non-works
March, then with
Ensign and
BRM. After he failed to qualify at his
home Grand Prix in 1976, with a privately run
Shadow
A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two- dimensional silhouett ...
, he concentrated on other forms of motor sport, including
sports car racing and
historic racing.
In an interview with Wilds, published on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
, he described one of the highlights of his short-lived Formula One career, at the
1974 United States Grand Prix after qualifying,
Tyrrell founder
Ken Tyrrell walked up to him, telling Wilds that
Jody Scheckter wanted to speak to him. Wilds had gone out in qualifying just ahead of Jody, assuming he was going too slow for the Tyrrell. Upon approaching Scheckter, Wilds thought he would be told he was slow. When the South African driver approached him, Wilds raised his voice to him, thinking he would be complained at. After this, Scheckter complemented Wilds' control and handling of the old
Ensign N174.
Wilds won the Formula Two class in the
1978 Aurora AFX championship, driving a
Ralt
Ralt was a manufacturer of single-seater racing cars, founded by ex- Jack Brabham associate Ron Tauranac after he sold out his interest in Brabham to Bernie Ecclestone. Ron and his brother had built some specials in Australia in the 1950s unde ...
and finished ninth in the overall standings.
[ He also won the Thoroughbred Sports Cars championship in 1984 driving an Aston Martin DB4.][
Wilds' sports car racing career included driving at Le Mans 8 times, including C2 cars for ]Ecurie Ecosse
Ecurie Ecosse (French: "Scotland Stable") was a motor racing team from Edinburgh, Scotland. The team was founded in November 1951 by Edinburgh businessman and racing driver David Murray and mechanic Wilkie Wilkinson. Its most notable achieveme ...
(World Champion C2, 1986), and Group C for Nissan
, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun bra ...
in 1988 with team-mate Win Percy.
Wilds won the 2008 Britcar Drivers Championship together with Ian Lawson and Mike's son Anthony Wilds in the ING Sport BMW; the team also went on to win again in 2013 and also won the 2008 Group C Enduro Trophy in the Porsche 962 with Henry Pearman.
He still occasionally drives in events for historic cars. He raced a Porsche 962 and an Elva Mk5 in the 2008 Silverstone Classic
The Silverstone Classic is an annual three-day car and race event at the Silverstone Circuit, home of the British Grand Prix. The event features hundreds of historic race cars in circa 20 races over the weekend, displays from over 100 car clubs wi ...
. He returned to the Britcar Endurance grid in May 2016 posting his first win as a shared drive with son Anthony in a Ferrari 458.Redline Racing
Redline Racing is a British racing team that is currently competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain and are defending team and drivers champions. They have previously competed in the Porsche Supercup between 2007 and 2008.
Early h ...
team at Brands Hatch.
Racing record
Complete European F5000 Championship results
( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)
Complete Formula One World Championship results
( key)
Complete Shellsport International Series results
( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)
Complete British Formula One Championship results
( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)
Complete British Saloon / Touring Car Championship results
( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)
† Events with 2 races staged for the different classes.
‡ Endurance driver.
Complete World Sports-Prototype Championship results
( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
;Footnotes:
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
24 Hours of Silverstone results
Complete British GT Championship results
( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Britcar results
( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position in class – 1 point awarded just in first race) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap in class – 1 point awarded all races)
References
External links
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilds, Mike
English racing drivers
English Formula One drivers
Ensign Formula One drivers
People from Chiswick
BRM Formula One drivers
1946 births
Living people
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
British Touring Car Championship drivers
British GT Championship drivers
Porsche Carrera Cup GB drivers
World Sportscar Championship drivers
British Formula One Championship drivers
Britcar drivers
Britcar 24-hour drivers
Nismo drivers
Ecurie Ecosse drivers