How Good is Justin Wilson?

[Snrub]

How do you rate Justin Wilson. I don't think anyone will say that he's the next Hiro Masush|tsa , but exactly how good do you think he is?

He's obviously got the pedigree as ex-F3000 champ. He did fairly well at Minardi as a rookie, but wasn't stellar at Jaguar, although that team had a reputation for getting lackluster results with good drivers. Last year he had periodic impressive positioning in the Mi-Jack car and this year he's been close to the front and outperformed AJ, except at Milwaukee.

[icemachine]

I think he's a legitimate midfield contender, which this season can mean finishing anywhere on the grid

[trevisio]

Very good, actually I'd go as far to say extremely good.

I raced him a long time ago in karts, which aren't the best froms of transport for long legged individuals like Justin! He was extremely rapid and blessed with the midas touch where racecraft is concerned. He is even better now. I was gutted for him when his car broke last weekend.

[Muzza]

Wilson is an extremely good driver and, in my opinion, is amongst the five most skilled competitors in the current Champ Car line-up (beside Sébastien Bourdais, Paul Tracy, Cristiano da Matta and A. J. Allmendinger - I need to see more of Timo Glock's racecraft to pass a judgement on him). I saw Wilson driving in Formula 3000 and Formula 1 and I was much impressed, particularly with his ability to keep driving pace along a race and with his precision. It is a shame that Wilson is not in Formula 1, and I have seen and heard enough on Jaguar to completely excuse Wilson and Pizzonia for not shining when driving the green cats.

Last year I predicted he would score Dale Coyne Racing its first victory and he almost did it. I will not be surprised if he grab the Champ Car title next year (I believe Allmendinger and Wilson will remain at RüSPORT for 2006, and by them this team will be a powerhouse).

[Kicking-back]

Muzza - Wilson has never driven for Dale Coyne.

[BootsOntheSide]

He must've meant Conquest. The point is still valid - impressive though his resutls have been, there have been times where a bit of luck would have translated into even more. I'd be inclined to agree with Muzza's perspective on who the top 5 drivers currnetly out there are. It's particularly intersting than he's outperformed Allmendinger, who was the incumbant driver, and essentially the man who lead them into ChampCars in the first place.

[Muzza]

Originally Posted by Kicking-back

Muzza - Wilson has never driven for Dale Coyne.

Thanks for the correction, Kicking-back.

I am embarrassed - maybe a case of too many yellow cars in my mind. Indeed as you pointed Wilson never drove for DCR; I meant Conquest Racing.

My apologies,

Muzza

[jjspierx]

I rate Justin Wilson extremely high. I think he has an edge on AJ and is on a similar to same level as Bourdais. Wilson did impressed a lot of people in his stint for Minardi and drove fantistically considering his equipment. He also shone with the Conquest team and he's showing he's a legitimate contender for race wins with RuSport.

[macdaddy]

I never really knew who he was until he started in a ChampCar, but I am quite impressed by Wilson. I think he's very good and has a bright future in this series. His first win can happen at any time.

[enemy-ace]

Originally Posted by BootsOntheSide

It's particularly intersting than he's outperformed Allmendinger, who was the incumbant driver, and essentially the man who lead them into ChampCars in the first place.

I don't think this should come as any great surprise. Wilson has a lot more experience than AJ in upper tier racecars. He is probably helping his engineer as much as his engineer is helping him. I imagine AJ is probably still rather dependant on his engineer however. I rate both drivers rather highly and think AJ can learn alot from Wilson, not unlike Dominguez and Roberto Moreno a couple of years back.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Wilson challenge for the title this year, if he keeps going from strength to strength.

[jjspierx]

Originally Posted by enemy-ace

He is probably helping his engineer as much as his engineer is helping him. I imagine AJ is probably still rather dependant on his engineer however. I rate both drivers rather highly and think AJ can learn alot from Wilson, not unlike Dominguez and Roberto Moreno a couple of years back.

AJ has admitted that he is a driver, NOT and engineer and that he doesn't understand engineering or race setup much at all.

[Snrub]

So do you think technical abilities are the difference between Wilson and AJ? It's true that this year AJ has complained of problems with his car and Wilson has driven away with an apparently quiet capable car.

I'm starting to think that I've underrated Wilson and overrated AJ. I don't know that I'd put Wilson in Bourdias' catagory, but he's definately in the top 8 drivers. The way he's performing makes me think that maybe he will become Bourdias' closest competitor on driving skill. I'm not at all upset that Wilson isn't in F1, to bad for F1! AJ is really struggling this year, I'm starting to wonder if we've all hyped him up too much because we wanted to see him succeed so much.

[enemy-ace]

I don't think AJ is overrated, he is still young. He has made very big moves up the ladder, Barber Dodge, Atlantic and now Champ Car. All within 3 years. He still has a lot to learn, especially in a series that is virtually spec and requires a solid car to move up to the front with.

[Woolley]

He is very good. Comfortably beat both Enge and Webber and was able to hold a very fast race pace or overtake as required during his F3000 championship. He seems to take a couple of years to get a proper feel for a type of car, so don't be surprised if he's right at the front from the end of this season.

[BootsOntheSide]

As I stated in the Coyne thread recently, having good knowledge on the techncial side is more important when you're in an inexperienced or disorganised team (and RuSport is the former, although certianly not the latter), and perhaps Wilson's time in F1 and F3000 has given him a short-term advantage on that. I say 'short-term' because I agree that AJ cna go far in the long term. I wonder how much he learnt from Jourdain last year?

[mac]

Originally Posted by Woolley

He is very good. Comfortably beat both Enge and Webber and was able to hold a very fast race pace or overtake as required during his F3000 championship.

I wouldn't say he comfortably beat Webber. They both won four races and if Mark didn't win he usually crashed or had some sort of problem.

Despatched of his team mate (Enge) pretty comfortably though.

I think he is very good. He has a history for taking quite a while to reach the top in any given formula. That he has been this fast this soon in Champ Car should perhaps ring some alarm bells for the opposition.

I've no doubt his first win is just around the corner.

[N I Tram]

He might be worth a flutter for the 2006 title - I'm sure the odds on him winning it will drop as this season goes on, especially if he continues to outpace AJ and wins a couple of races. I was gutted when he broke down at Portland, but hopefully it's just for suspense.

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by N I Tram

and wins a couple of races.

I think that ineviatable this year. Hopefully AJ can bag a few aswell.