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PHILIP A. WICKS
74 Polo Ridge Circle
Columbia SC 29223
Date of Birth: February 9, 1940 – London, England
1947 — Rode pillion with father on Norton 500
- 1954 — Owned first bike: Francis Barnett with Villier 197cc engine
- 1955 – Started building own race bikes: mostly Triumph-based. Started riding race practice days at Brands Hatch,Kent,England. Received help and encouragement from John Surtees.
- 1957 – Track bike BSA Gold Star B34 500cc
- 1958 – Track bike 1953 Ex-works Isle of Man TT Racer Matchless G45, 500cc
- 1960 – Started racing cars: Austin-Healy Sprites
- 1962 – Started racing in Europe Lightweight Sebring Sprite – Radbourne Racing Works driver
- 1962 – Works sponsored Austin Mini Cooper for Radbourne Racing
- 1963 –Started driving as development engineer for Taurus Performance Tuning, a race and road car preparation company specializing in race prep on clients’ cars as well as entering full BMC supported Mini Cooper “S: 1071 cc, for Britain National Championship and 999cc “s” for European Touring Car Championship. Taurus also prepared and maintained various cars for British TV shows including the first ever made Mini Cooper “S” ‘HOP 731’ for the Danger Man TV series which Wicks was asked to drive occasionally.
- 1964 – Development engineer and works driver for Fiat Abarth – Radbourne Racing – driving saloon and GT cars in British and European races.
- 1966 – Built and developed first ever lightweight 850 Cooper “s”. This car won every race it started and established several lap records. This was the prototype “instant” Mini racer sold to clients to compete in Openj Class Group 3 Saloon Car Championship.
- 1960 – 1975 – Various co-drives in long distance classics; Stunt driving in British TV Films; Coordinating and instructing stunt drivers in various movies
- 1967 – Employed by Lamborghini UK as test driver and engineer in Italy for Lamborghini at factory in Bologna. Upon returning to England, organized ride and drive track days utilizing Formula 1 and other successful drivers of that era to demonstrate Lamborghini cars.
- 1970 – Sponsored and occasionally drove “Spiders Nightclub” Ford Escort saloon car with Brabham Formula 2 Grand Prix car chasis and Cosworth BDA engine. This was the fastest saloon car inEngland, winning every race entered.
- 1970 – 1980 – Successfully raced off-shore power boats in Europe
- 1976 – Outright winner of Putney (England) toCalais(France) off-shore race
- 1979 – Moved to Florida; imported European classic cars specializing in Lamborghini, Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Mini, and Fiat Abarth; had restoration shop, and Rolls Royce Classic Limousine service
- 1983 – Present – Specific racecar instructor at various racetracks in United States with BMW, Porsche, Audi, SCCA; Guest speaker at various clubs (including Sebring and Daytona)
- 1996 – 1998 – Team manager for Yamaha Grand Prix 250 cc race team, won national title
- 2002 – Present – Owner Phil Wicks Safe Driving Academy and Phil Wicks Ultimate MINI Driving Academy, instructing over 10,000 students since inception
56 years riding experience
56 years racing bikes and cars
Tracks
England: Brands Hatch, Lyden Hill, Silverstone, Snetterton,MalloryPark,AultonPark, Aintree, Goodwood, Castle Coombe
Europe: Le Mans, Nurburgring, Spa (Belgium), Clemond Feront, Muggelo,Monza, Zandvort,Monaco, Zolder, Karlskoga
South Africa: Kylami Ranch (Johannesburg)
USA: Sebring, Daytona, Palm Beach International Raceway, Homestead, Roebling Road, Putnam Park, Blackhawk Farms, Gateway International Raceway, Nashville Superspeedway, Carolina Motorsports Park, Beaver Run (PA), Autobahn Country Club (Joliet IL), Topeka Motorsports Park, Talladega Gran Prix, Brainerd (MN), Barber Motorsports Park (AL), Willow Springs (CA), Buttonwillow (CA), Streets of Willow (CA), Alameda Country Sheriff’s Training Facility (CA), Road Atlanta, Virginia International Raceway, Laguna Seca, Summit Point (WV)
Bikes on Racetracks: Developing and testing, track days, and instruction
Triumph, Norton, BSA Matchless, BMW, Yamaha, Honda (Current track bikes are Honda RC51 Joey Dunlop TT Isle of Man replica and Kawasaki 250 KX Motorcross)
Cars on Racetracks: Building, development, and competition
Austin Healey, MG, Mini Cooper, Porsche, Abarth, Lotus, Ferrari, Mercedes, AC Cobra, Ford Mustang, Ford Falcon, Ford GT 40, TVR, Diva, Marcos
Co-drivers: John Anstead, William Kelly, Roy Salvadori, Alain Decadenet
Road and track tested Lamborghini with Sir Stirling Moss, Juan Manual Fangio, Graham
Hill.