Desiré Wilson (), born 26 November 1953, is a former racing driver from South Africa and one of only five women to have competed in Formula One. Born in Brakpan, She also raced in the 1981 non-world championship South African Grand Prix in a one off deal with Tyrrell Racing. This race was not part of the 1981 World Championship due, in part, to the FISA–FOCA war. She qualified 16th and, after the car stalled during the start of the race, she moved up through the field in wet conditions; as conditions dried, she fell back and damaged the car when it touched a wall while she was letting the race leader through.
Wilson became the only woman to win a Formula One race of any kind when she won at Brands Hatch in the short-lived British Aurora F1 Championship in 1980. and sports car racing.
In 1967, at the age of twelve, Wilson came second in the South African nationals, driving midget cars. By 1972, she had made her full racing debut and was fourth in her first season of the South African Formula Vee Championship. After two more seasons on the Formula Vee circuit, finishing fourth and second respectively, Wilson decided to pursue the international acclaim associated with Formula One. She won the South African Formula Ford Championship in 1975 and defended the title the following season, as well as securing the "Driver to Europe" award. As a result, Wilson moved to Europe for the 1977 season, competing mainly in Formula Ford 2000 races, in the Benelux and British Championships, where she finished third and fourth respectively, winning races at Zandvoort and Colmar-Berg.
Wilson took another huge step forward in 1978, racing a Formula One March 751, updated to 761 specifications. After impressing many team bosses, she signed up to race in the Aurora AFX F1 Championship for Mario Deliotti Racing. Driving their Cosworth-powered Ensign N175, her best finish was a third place at the Thruxton Circuit. As her knowledge of the European tracks improved, so did her results. Whilst racing F1, she still drove a Lola T490 in the British Sports 2000 Championship, despite it being a minor national championship.
During this time, sportscars had definitely not been forgotten. Wilson competed around the world in various series and cars, scoring some decent results in the process, but the highlight of 1983 was her 7th place at Le Mans, sharing an Obermaier Racing entered Porsche 956 with Axel Plankenhorn and Jürgen Lässig. With the help of these Germans, she finally broke her major-race duck with an excellent result. A return to Brands Hatch for the 1984 1000 km race, saw her take the Kremer Racing's Porsche 956 to fourth place, with the help of David Sutherland and fellow South African, George Fouché.
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Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"
! Year
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! 12
! 13
! 14
!
! Pts
|-
| 1980
! nowrap| Brands Hatch Racing
! nowrap| Williams FW07
! nowrap| Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8
| ARG
| BRA
| RSA
| USW
| BEL
| MON
| FRA
|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| GBR<br/>
| GER
| AUT
| NED
| ITA
| CAN
| USA
! NC
! 0
|-
!colspan="20"|
|}
Complete Formula One Non-Championship results
(key)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"
! Year
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
|-
| 1979
! nowrap| Melchester Racing
! nowrap| Tyrrell 008
! nowrap| Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| ROC<br/>
| GNM
| DIN
|-
| 1981
! nowrap| Tyrrell Racing Team
! nowrap| Tyrrell 010
! nowrap| Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8
|style="background:#efcfff;"| RSA<br/>
|colspan=2|
|-
!colspan="7"|
|}
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
|-
! Year
! Team
! Co-Drivers
! Car
! Class
! Laps
!
!
|-
! 1982
|align="left" nowrap| Grid Racing
|align="left" nowrap| Emilio de Villota<br> Alain de Cadenet
|align="left" nowrap| Grid Plaza S1-Ford Cosworth
| C
| 7
| DNF
| DNF
|-
! 1983
|align="left" nowrap| Obermaier Racing
|align="left" nowrap| Axel Plankenhorn<br> Jürgen Lässig
|align="left" nowrap| Porsche 956
| C
| 347
| 7th
| 7th
|-
! 1991
|align="left" nowrap| Euro Racing<br> A.O. Racing
|align="left" nowrap| Lyn St. James<br> Cathy Muller
|align="left" nowrap| Spice SE90C-Ford Cosworth
| C1
| 47
| DNF
| DNF
|-
!colspan="8"|
|}
Complete 24 Hours of Daytona results
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
|-
! Year
! Team
! Co-Drivers
! Car
! Class
! Laps
!
!
|-
! 1982
|align="left" nowrap| Thunderbird Swap Shop
|align="left" nowrap| Preston Henn<br> Marty Hinza
|align="left" nowrap| Porsche 935
| GTP
| 229
| DNF
| DNF
|-
! 1993
|align="left" nowrap| Tom Gloy Racing
|align="left" nowrap| Ron Fellows<br> Tomiko Yoshikawa<br> Pieter Baljet
|align="left" nowrap| Ford Mustang
| GTS
| 189
| DNF
| DNF
|-
!colspan="8"|