Former AFL West Coast Eagles star Troy Wilson will contest the coming Porsche City Index Carrera Cup Australia round at Barbagallo Raceway.
Renowned for his hardness at the ball with the Perth-based AFL club, Wilson will line up in the Porsche City Index Carrera Cup Australia Guest Car for the third round of the all-Porsche championship, May 04-06, 2012.
Wilson played 37 games for the West Coast Eagles from 2001 to 2003, in which time he was the leading goal kicker for the club in 2001.
Wilson also played over 150 games in the West Australian Football League (WAFL), winning two premierships with West Perth (1999) and East Perth (2000).
Following his football career, Wilson took part in several forms of motorsport including sprint cars, tarmac rallies and monster trucks.
“For me it’s still quite surreal thinking I’ll be on the Carrera Cup grid. I don’t think it will sink in until I’m on the start line staring at the lights,” said Wilson.
“It’s much like my first AFL game where I ran through the banner towards the three- tiered stand at the other end of the field with 60,000 people screaming and cheering. For me, it was a very strange feeling being around guys like Glen Jakovich, Ben Cousins and Daniel Kerr on the same field. Last year I was sitting on the couch watching Carrera Cup on television and now I’m actually going to be on the grid. It will be a bit of a déjà vu feeling for me.”
Wilson added that contesting Carrera Cup will be a completely new experience for the seasoned sports star.
“It’s almost a little bit intimidating due to the fact that it’s so different from what I’ve been doing in the past, not only from AFL but also sprint cars and tarmac rallies.
“I’ve got my head around the Barbagallo Raceway circuit; I’ve done plenty of laps there in the past. If I get my head around sitting on the other side of the car and the sequential gearbox, I should be alright.”
Porsche Cars Australia Motorsport Manager, Jamey Blaikie, is looking forward to seeing Wilson progress throughout the weekend, and in turn promoting the category in the region.
“From all accounts, Troy is a great driver so it will be interesting to see how he fairs against the seasoned drivers in the Carrera Cup field,” said Blaikie.
“Troy has a strong public profile in Perth having formerly played for the Eagles. We hope to leverage this in order to gain some great exposure for Carrera Cup at its western-most round.”
Wilson will be the second driver to race in the #60 Porsche Guest Car in 2012 following German former F1 ace Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s stint at the wheel in March at the Formula 1TM Qantas Australian Grand Prix.
