Cam Wilson aboard the Slideways Go Karting UteCam Wilson is making a one-off appearance this weekend in the V8 Utes Series on the streets of Surfers Paradise, and is looking to emulate the form that saw him take his maiden race win in the concrete canyon back in 2012.
On that occasion, the Gold Coast based driver held out a star studded line up on debut, including Cameron McConville, Chris Pither, George Miedecke and Ryal Harris.
To earn the win, Wilson was a last minute replacement for regular driver Peter Burnitt, who up to that point was engineered by the experienced racer.
Following that success, Wilson was a fixture in the V8 Utes Series for three full seasons.
The street circuit however hasn’t always seen smooth sailing for Wilson, whose 2013 campaign infamously came to a bone jarring conclusion after a multi-car pile up at the beach side chicane.
The 2016 season has seen Wilson take a step back from full time V8 Ute racing competition to concentrate on his business, Slideways Go Karting, which recently opened a three storey indoor drift track in the Gold Coast suburb of Nerang.
In his spare time this year, Wilson has campaigned a Peters Motorsport prepared car in the Track Attack Hyundai Excel Cup, while he is fresh from success at the nationals event for the class held at Morgan Park Raceway in September, where he dominated a strong field from around Australia.
For Wilson, the opportunity to race in front of his family and friends is one not to be missed.
“It’s been tough this year sitting on the sidelines concentrating on our Slideways Go Karting side of things, but when the chance came up to race on the Gold Coast, I couldn’t say no,” said Wilson.
“Obviously we’ve had some very good memories in Surfers Paradise, and some we would rather forget.
“There’s definitely some unfinished business there for sure, I think we had a chance of a big result last year, but things didn’t quite go our way.
“The competition at the front of the field is always tough, a lot of the better competitors from over the years are still involved, guys like Ryal Harris, David Sieders and Kim Jane are always tough to beat.
“The V8 Utes always put on a great show in Surfers, it pays to be aggressive, and I can’t wait to get amongst it again.”
Wilson will get behind the wheel of the Ford Falcon ute which was raced by long time friend and former rugby league star Jack Elsegood at Bathurst, with preparation to be carried out by Peters Motorsport.
Slideways Go Karting Centres will feature prominently on the ute, promoting its two Gold Coast venues at Nerang and Pimpama, as well as Eagle Farm in Brisbane, while Domain Residential signage will remain on the car.
The weekend schedule will feature two practice sessions and qualifying on Friday, two races on Saturday, before the final race on Sunday.