It's 20 years to the day since PalmerSport's very own Justin Wilson was confirmed as a Minardi driver for the 2003 Formula 1 season. Wilson's signing was confirmed by Minardi at a press conference on Tuesday 17 December 2002 in the Hilton at Heathrow Airport.
Wilson was the inaugural champion in the Formula Palmer Audi Championship in 1998, after the series was set up by MSV and PalmerSport Chief Executive Jonathan Palmer as a cost-effective alternative to national Formula 3. His reward for sealing that title was a fully funded season in International Formula 3000, whilst Palmer began to manage the young Yorkshireman's career.
A first season in F3000 with Team Astromega laid the foundations for Wilson to become the first British driver to win the title in 2001, during his second year with Nordic Racing. No full-time F1 opportunities arose in 2002 so Justin raced in World Series by Nissan.
Later in the year, Wilson was in line to race as a stand-in driver for the Paul Stoddart run Minardi outfit, but plans were shelved as he was unable to fit his 1.90-metre frame into that year's chassis. That was put right during the off-season however, with the 2003-spec machine designed to accommodate his tall figure.
In order to secure the finances required for Wilson to take his place on the grid at the Australian Grand Prix the following spring, Palmer devised an innovative funding scheme through which investors could purchase shares in his career.
Throughout all this, Justin remained firmly a part of the family at the Bedford Autodrome driving facility, where he put PalmerSport guests through their paces in a wide range of performance vehicles.
Speaking at the time about his arrival on the Grand Prix scene, Justin said: "It's obviously the best car you've ever driven. The best power, the best brakes, everything is perfect. But after half a day or a day in the car you get over that feeling and start to look for ways to make it go quicker and then it'll understeer, oversteer, and be underpowered like any other car you'll drive in your career. It's just much more advanced and there are certain things that will still blow you away!"
Click here to view a news clip from the announcement in 2002.
After starting the season with Minardi, Wilson made a mid-season switch to Jaguar before crossing the Atlantic to establish himself as one of the leading drivers in Champ Car and later IndyCar. He raced successfully in the USA until his tragic death in 2015.
Photo: James Bearne