Evolution champion – Craig Wilson Q&A
The #99 Fountain Worldwide 1st4boats.com team boss and throttleman talks about his back-to-back title success and his plans for 2009
They often say that defending a championship is harder than winning it first time out. After your level of dominance in 2007, what were your expectations going into 2008?
I think we took everyone by surprise last year. Outerlimits felt they had it pretty much in the bag when they sent that boat over, but we came in and won pretty much every race apart from one. This year there wasn’t that surprise factor. Everyone knew the Fountain boys, they we knew what they’ve got and we had a big bullseye on our back. We had to step up our game as a result. We knew there was no way of doing better than last year; only doing worse. But I’m not one to step backwards, and the work we did during the off-season paid dividends.
The Fountain hull and Ilmor engine was clearly the package to beat in 2007. What sort of work did you do on the boat during the off-season to try and improve it for 2008?
We didn’t make too many changes – just a few, that I can’t divulge because of the knowledge that my father (Mark Wilson) has. And he likes to keep his secrets. The boat was different enough, though, that it took me a while – even though we won the first four races – to understand how to run it, how to save the boat. After Malta, with four wins and two second places, it was into survival mode to try and protect our lead.
In 2007 you missed the first round of the championship, but you quickly started winning and then didn’t stop winning. This year, you achieved most of your success in the first two events, then seemed to adapt your strategy to a defensive one for the second half of the year…
We actually struggled in the first round in San Benedetto in Italy. In fact, we almost missed the first race because of the transport delays from the US. Then we struggled a bit. We had a few problems, but the competition was definitely stronger. Mercury have made specific engines for the Powerboat P1 series with a lot more horsepower and lots of dollars of research budget. We came back with same style of engine we had last year, which we think is optimum. It has definitely been disappointing not to have won for six races in the second half of the season, but it’s not about wins during the year. It’s about who takes home the big prize at the end of it.
How has the relationship with Ilmor evolved in 2008 after such a successful first learning year together?
Paul Ray, the president of Ilmor, and Ray Hawkins, the managing director, were my grandfather and father’s crew chief when they raced 25 and 30 years ago, so the strong relationship was already there. It was just a case of proving to them that being with Fountain was the best way to go. Last year, even they were a little surprised at the success that we had, and this year they were the same as us – they had the target on their back. They put all their faith in us, though, and sent us mechanics for every race. Fountain and Ilmor is a perfect match. I don’t think there’s a better package out there, and we already have a verbal agreement to try and go for three titles next year. As long as I’m racing in Powerboat P1, that’s the package I’d like to have.
You seemed to have a strong working relationship with pilot James Sheppard in 2007, but this year it looks like it has gone from strength to strength…
James is a smart guy and realises that the boat to be in is the Fountain. We offered him the ride again this year based on how well we worked together last year. I honestly believe that he’s the best out there, and I want him sat alongside me in the cockpit. The relationship in the boat is perfect. He even told me that he loved me when we crossed the line to win the championship! We’ve already verbally agreed to commit to him for 2009, and he’s done the same for us, so it’s looking good that you’ll see us together next year. I actually wouldn’t mind finishing my career out sitting next to James.
How important has your championship success been over the last two years for Fountain Worldwide as a pleasure boat business?
We’ve jumped from five million in sales to over 10 million last year from our success. Fountain have the best advertising campaign in the world. Pictures of James and I racing went out in 170 magazine pages last year. At Fountain Worldwide we have 18 dealers through the world, and I contacted every one of them and said: “Do you think it’s worth us coming back to race?” They said: “Of course. You’re in all the magazines, and everyone wants to be associated with winners.” The market is tight, and money is tight for a lot of people, but when they do buy they want the best and the fastest, and seeing Fountain running stronger and stronger, and they want to be associated with that.