Simon Wills


Simon Wills is a former racing driver who currently runs a graphic design business.

Racing career

Formula cars

Wills finished runner up in the 1995 New Zealand Formula Ford Championship. He had gained a large lead in the series, but left the championship two races early to attempt to launch a career in Europe. He won Class B of the British Formula 3 Championship in 1996. However, he didn't have the finances to continue his career in Europe and decided to focus on racing in Australia and New Zealand.
Wills won the 1998 and 1999 New Zealand Grands Prix. He was the Australian Drivers' Champion in both 1999 and 2000, and New Zealand Gold Star Champion for 1998 and 1999, including winning the 1999 Tasman Cup. He also holds, or has held, the outright lap record at several tracks, including the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Hidden Valley Raceway, Pukekohe Park Raceway, Manfeild Autocourse, Canberra Street Circuit and Queensland Raceway, which were all set in a Reynard 94D.

Touring cars

Wills won the Konica V8 Supercar Series in 2001. In the main V8 Supercar series, he also competed in nine Bathurst 1000s, debuting with Gibson Motorsport in 1998, and finishing in 2007 with Brad Jones Racing. Wills also held the lap record of the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst between the 2001 and 2002 races, having set the lap record during the 2001 Bathurst 1000. Following Bathurst in 2001, Wills completed the remaining rounds in the 2001 season with Briggs Motor Sport, and then drove full-time from 2003 to 2005 with Team Dynamik. In 2007, he drove the bulk of the rounds with Brad Jones Racing after team owner and lead driver Brad Jones retired mid-season.
Wills' most significant achievement in V8 Supercar was winning the 2002 Queensland 500 endurance race for Stone Brothers Racing, co-driving with David Besnard. Wills went close to going back to back at the Bathurst lead-up event, with co-driver Jason Richards going off late in the 2003 Betta Electrical Sandown 500 while attempting to overtake Mark Skaife for the lead. Wills was also the driver when Team Dynamik infamously ran a test session on an airfield near Woomera, South Australia in 2004, which resulted in significant penalties for the team.

Career results

SeasonSeriesTeamRacesWinsPolesF/LapsPodiumsPointsPosition
1995European Formula Ford Championship?????198th
1995British Formula Ford Championship?????597th
1996British Formula Three ChampionshipZ-Speed Racing?????0-
1996-97New Zealand Touring Car ChampionshipTSW Alloy Wheels1221232167th
1997British Formula Three ChampionshipIntersport Racing1400002213th
1998Australian Drivers' ChampionshipGreg Murphy Racing31??1238th
1999Australian Drivers' ChampionshipBirrana Racing1311??122351st
1999Shell Championship SeriesJohn Faulkner Racing2000019242nd
2000Australian Drivers' ChampionshipBirrana Racing168??132391st
2000Shell Championship SeriesStone Brothers Racing2000023625th
2001Australian Drivers' ChampionshipBirrana Racing43??3609th
2001Konica V8 Supercar SeriesTeam Dynamik1710231012721st
2001Shell Championship SeriesBriggs Motor Sport2001041641st
2002V8 Supercar Championship SeriesBriggs Motor Sport22100149620th
2003V8 Supercar Championship SeriesTeam Dynamik220000105922nd
2004V8 Supercar Championship SeriesTeam Dynamik23001092926th
2005V8 Supercar Championship SeriesTeam Dynamik23000043734th
2007Fujitsu V8 Supercar SeriesTeam Dynamik200000-
2007V8 Supercar Championship SeriesBrad Jones Racing2900001245th
2008Commodore Cup National Series2000010232nd
2008V8 Ute Racing SeriesNandi Kiss Racing300008236th
2008Fujitsu V8 Supercar SeriesEggleston Motorsport200006344th

Bathurst 1000 results

Business

In the latter years of his racing career, Wills launched a graphic design and signwriting business in Adelaide, South Australia. Formed with his wife, Sinch Creative focuses on motor racing designs amongst other areas.