Desiré Wilson

Desiré Wilson is the only woman in history to have won a Formula One race of any kind, and she spent over five decades proving that gender had nothing to do with whether you could drive fast.

EARLY YEARS

Born November 26, 1953, in Brakpan, South Africa—a community east of Johannesburg—Desiré Randall was basically born into a helmet. Her father, Charlie Randall, was a former motorcycle racing champion, and he wasted no time getting his daughter behind the wheel. At five years old, she was racing 60mph micro-midgets, which is quite something for anyone, let alone a kindergartener. Her mother? Hated every minute of it. But Charlie was all in, and so was Desiré.

OTHER INTERESTS

After retiring from professional racing, Wilson and her husband Alan established a successful race track design and consulting business, Wilson Motorsport, Inc. Over 40 years, they worked on circuits around the world, bringing her intimate knowledge of racing lines and driver perspective to track design. She also remained active in historic racing, competing annually at events like the Goodwood Revival, where spectators could still watch the “African Queen” hustle classic machinery around some of the world’s most celebrated circuits.

EARLY SUCCESS

Wilson graduated to Formula Ford 1600 in 1974, and by 1975, she became the first woman to win a Formula Ford race in South Africa. She did it again in 1976, then went ahead and won the entire South African FF1600 national championship that same year—the first woman to win a national racing championship. She moved up to Formula Ford 2000 in 1977, finishing third in the Dutch/Benelux/European FF2000 Championship, which earned her South African Sportswoman of the Year honors in 1978. The girl was fast, and people were starting to notice.

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• 1975: First woman to win a Formula Ford race in South Africa.
• 1976: Won the South African Formula Ford 1600 Championship, becoming the first woman to win a national racing championship.
• 1978: Named South African Sportswoman of the Year.
• 1979: Became the first woman to lead a Formula One race at Zolder in the British Aurora F1 Championship; fought back from a spin to finish third with fastest lap.
• 1980: Won at Brands Hatch in the Aurora AFX British Formula One Championship, becoming the only woman to win a Formula One race of any kind.
• 1980: Won the Monza 1000km and Silverstone 6 Hours in the World Sportscar Championship, co-driving with Alain de Cadenet in a De Cadenet-Ford.
• 1981: Invited by Ken Tyrrell to drive the Tyrrell-Ford 010 at the South African Grand Prix alongside Eddie Cheever.
• 1982: Entered the Indianapolis 500 with Theodore Racing in an Eagle 81-Cosworth.
• 1991: Part of the only all-female driver lineup at Le Mans 24 Hours, alongside Lyn St. James and Cathy Muller.

INSPIRATIONS

Her father, Charlie Randall, was her driving force—literally. As a motorcycle racing champion himself, he introduced her to motorsport when most kids were still learning to ride a bike. Despite her mother’s disapproval, Charlie saw something in his daughter and gave her the opportunity to chase it. That early encouragement, combined with her own fierce determination, fueled a career that would span 58 years and over 130 types of race cars on 100 tracks in 18 countries.

REPUTATION

Many consider Wilson the best woman ever to race cars, and the most capable to have driven in Formula One. Her versatility was unmatched—she didn’t just stick to one discipline; she raced everything from Formula Ford to CART to sports cars to endurance racing. She earned the nickname “the African Queen,” which, along with her desire to maintain a feminine image in a brutally male-dominated sport, led to her signature helmet design: deep blue with a yellow crown. Wilson has been outspoken about the mental strength required to compete at the highest level, insisting that women are actually stronger mentally than men—”we’re multi-taskers,” she’s said, “and we have to put up with so much.” She also faced protests and criticism for being South African during the apartheid era, adding another layer of difficulty to an already challenging career. Despite the obstacles—both political and gender-based—she never backed down, and she never stopped proving she belonged.

FUTURE GOALS/PLANS

Alan Wilson retired from race track design and consulting after more than 40 years, marking the end of an era for Wilson Motorsport, Inc. While Desiré’s professional racing and design careers have concluded, her legacy in motorsport endures, and she remains a vocal advocate for women in racing, regularly sharing her perspective on what it takes to succeed in a sport that still struggles with gender equality.

REFERENCES

Desiré Wilson – Wikipedia
10 Quick Facts About Desire Wilson – Women Automotive Network
Desiré and Alan Wilson: Racing Lives – Motor Sport Magazine
Desire Wilson Biography – The Henry Ford
Desiré Wilson Racing Career – Wilson Motorsport, Inc.
Women in Motorsport: Desiré Wilson – Females in Motorsport
Desiré Wilson, the only woman to win a Formula 1 race – Motor Sport Magazine
Desiré Wilson: Formula 1’s trailblazing driver – Silverstone Museum
Desire Wilson: The story of F1’s only race-winning woman – RaceFans
Desiré Wilson: Women are stronger mentally than men – grandprix247
Desire Wilson – The Road Racing Drivers Club
Portraits of three female drivers in the 1980s and 1990s – 24 Hours of Le Mans
Wilson Motorsport, Inc. – World Class Race Track Design