“Mike the Kart”

Mike Wilson heads Terry Fullerton on the Kalmar circuit in Sweden in 1983 (photo above), and goes on to win the World Karting Championship (Formula K 135cc) for the third consecutive time.

Mike Wilson, a native of Barnsley (Yorkshire), began his international karting career by joining the Zip team in 1977. Having emigrated to Milan at the age of 20, he then joined the Birel structure to progress through the ranks.

Mike Wilson also clashed with Ayrton Senna. Their battles left a lasting impression. “  He was very fast, very determined, and very tough on the track,” the Englishman emphasized in AUTOhebdo. ” The kind of guy you didn’t want to have on your tail because you knew he wouldn’t let you go. That he would do anything to get past. We collided at Jesolo during the Champions Cup in 1979. It was in a qualifying heat. I was in the lead, Ayrton was second.”

Unlike the three-time Formula 1 world champion, Mike Wilson never made the leap to single-seaters. But the Briton, who had acquired dual Italian nationality, didn’t really want to force his destiny. A karting legend in his own right.