A Driven Individual

A

DRIVEN!

INDIVIDUAL

Words by Ian Rae, Photos by Author, Gary Grant, BimmerWorld / Wes Due

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nkel Motorsport Photography

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Ken Wilden’s life is all about driving. He owns a thriving driving school in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga. He has been racing since his early twenties and has multiple championships to his name, he was one of the Canadian stunt drivers on the Renny Harlin / Sylvester Stallone racing movie Driven. In fact that movie title describes the Oakville, ON native best. He is Driven to perfection, Driven to succeed and he does it admirably in all aspects of his life. When Kenny Wilden got behind the wheel of the #78 BimmerWorld BMW M3 Grand Sport car it was not the first time had driven a BMW. He may be more famous for his exploits in the Player’s GM series or taking the Rehagen Mustang to the 2009 GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS Championship but returning to the driving seat of a BMW is a sort of homecoming for him. Back in 2005 or so Wilden drove with Al Wortzman in Kirk Spenser’s team out of Ancaster, ON. It was not the best of times, there were many mechanical issues and the team was not very competitive but it gave Wilden the appreciation of how good a BMW handled and performed. “I always loved driving BMWs, they have such a great racing heritage and when the time came for Bob Michaelian and I to look for a new team, the BMW runners were high on our list. It was a four-month process where we looked at Stevenson Racing and their Camaros plus a few others but when decision time came there

were so many check marks on the plus side for BimmerWorld that the BMW team won out in the end. True, their new V8 M3 program is new to them but just look at what they did when they entered GRAND- AM in the ST class in 2010, they tied for points in the championship, the final decision was only made once the third place finishes were taken into account. That is impressive to say the least, their dedication and professionalism is what made the difference to Bob and I when we made the decision to run the Bizrate.com program with BimmerWorld.” The Bizrate and BimmerWorld partnership may be the latest step on Kenny’s racing ladder but there is more to this forty something racer from suburban Toronto, as we will reveal. Kenny has a checkered career in motorsport, he was not a child motorsport prodigy, no making a name for himself in karting, he got into the sport through much hard work and determination. Wilden had put himself through racing school and got bitten by the racing bug. He went and bought himself a Honda Civic for the Michelin Honda series that ran out of Southern Ontario and Quebec. He prepared it himself and

A Trans Am win at home!

as he puts it, just ran and ran. The series got to run at some of the classic tracks and events in North America. Wilden smiled as he said, “Look at the tracks we ran on, Mosport is a huge ballsy track whereas Shannonville is very technical. The other places in the series were somewhere in between the two, so after mastering Mosport and Shannonville there was nowhere you could go and not get on the pace quickly. Plus you got to run at the Grand Prix weekend at Montreal and the Molson Indy. What more could a young guy ask for.” Then came the move to what many think was the greatest showroom stock series ever. It was the heyday of tobacco sponsorship in Canada and Player’s got together with GM to create the Player’s GM series for third generation Camaros and Firebirds. Wilden joined the series in its third year, 1989 with backing from Young Drivers of Canada. As a franchise owner for YDC, the Player’s GM series was an ideal place for Wilden to showcase his business and have fun doing it. With racers like Richard Spenard, Ron and Rob Fellows, Scott Maxwell, David Empringham and Robin Buck it was a cut and thrust series, no quarter was given or asked. Wilden went on, “It was an amazing series; one that I don’t think has been

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The Bizrate, com Mustang at Watkins Glen

bettered to this day. Everything was so close in that series. I know by the fact that we won the series and won many races, there was no cheating, everyone had the same equipment, motor, shocks, springs, fuel, tires and even brake pads! The only thing we ever did was to make sure the springs in the diff were fresh but that was not cheating, just good preparation. Because the cars were so similar, you really had to learn how to drive, especially with the guys we were competing against. That also opened the eyes of the guys who were two or three seconds off the pace, they had no excuse like bigger engines or better equipment, it was all down to the driver, if you wanted to be a front runner you had to focus on your driving and see where you could make up time. Remember back then, datalogging was not so prevalent, you had to work it out yourself.” Wilden would move on to single-seaters in the Champ Car Toyota Atlantic series. Driving for Mike Shank Racing, he would finish second in the series in 1999 with one win and

four podiums. An anticipated move to Champ Cars in 2000 was 95% done when both Wilden’s major sponsors had to pull out as both companies were sold and the marketing focus changed. “It probably is the biggest disappointment of my life, being so close to Champ Car and then having the rug pulled out from under me. I don’t miss singleseaters now but I do miss the power, those things were fast, especially on an oval. Mind you I think an Atlantic round Mosport would be scary.” After Toyota Atlantics Wilden would get behind the wheel of an array of racecars, varying from Showroom Touring to Trans-Am and Daytona Prototype. A Trans-Am win in front of a home crowd was the pinnacle of that period until Wilden hooked up with Rehagen Racing and their Mustang. The year went well and Wilden would finish as Series Champion with 317 points, Bret Seafuse and James Gue runner-upped with 309 points. 2010 was not to be as successful for Wilden but the positive part of the year was being paired with Bob Michaelian, the pair gelled

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right away and formed a formidable partnership even if it was let down at times by the Mustang’s performance. That brings us back to Wilden and Michaelian getting behind the wheel of the BimmerWorld prepared Bizrate. com BMW M3. Part of Wilden’s job within the Bizrate. com program is acting as a driver coach for Michaelian. The duo had run together at Rehagen during 2010 and worked well together. Wilden remarked, “Bob is the guy who brings the program to the table, he works at Bizrate.com and put together the deal with them. Obviously the more exposure we get them, the happier they are. We have to do well to get that exposure, so we both have to be competitive. There is a term in motorsport, ‘Gentleman driver’, it tends to be used for people who have no problem with bringing sponsorship but they don’t necessarily have the talent required to be racing at that level. Bob may have brought the cash but he has the talent to match. It is rare for me to point out something to a co-driver where it may require

them to change to how they do something. With Bob we can review the data, I suggest a change and within a couple of laps he has accomplished it and is immediately quicker.” Michaelian added, “The great thing about Kenny is he has so much experience. When he gives me advice I can see the difference within a few laps. He can verbalize a lot better than most when getting across what he wants and when it comes to setting up a car he is the master. The time we have in these cars during practice is limited so it is important for us to get on the pace as quickly as possible.” He went on, “When we went testing for the first time with the BimmerWorld M3 we started off around the bottom of the timesheets but Kenny is so methodical and patient he just worked away with the engineers and worked to get the data we would need when we came back to Daytona. Don’t get me wrong,

Close racing in the GRAND-AM Grand Sport class

Bob Michaelian

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the guys at BimmerWorld are great, they are very talented but I think having Kenny on board is going to be a huge asset to them. The sixth place finish was great for a first time out but you just have to look at how successful these guys at BimmerWorld have been through the years. We just need to keep getting top six finishes and by the end of the season should be challenging for a championship. Kenny Wilden is a huge part of that plan and I’m confident the Bizrate.com M3 will get the success we and BimmerWorld deserve. BimmerWorld team owner James Clay wholeheartedly agreed with Michaelian, “ I’m really excited having Kenny and Bob on board, it is important for us to win races and Kenny is a key player in that happening. Realistically we are 1½ to 2 years behind the other BMW M3 teams, it is going to be an uphill battle so any help we can get to shorten our learning curve is a bonus. Kenny’s experience gives us a different perspective, we have a familiar group of faces in the team, all great guys with a lot of experience but when Kenny suggests something outside of the box to us, we know it is because there is something he has seen in the past that might just be what we are looking for to move forward. He adds validity to the process! The rest of the season should get very interesting.” The first race proved to be so. Michaelian qualified the car in ninth spot in the Fresh from Florida 200, the season opener in the GRAND- AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. Michaelian would start the car but when attacked by a wayward Mustang spun to twenty-third spot. He would recover well to twelfth before handing the car over to Wilden who would eventually finish the Bizrate.com M3 sixth. Wilden said, “It was a good result considering, it bodes well for the rest of the year.” With the first GRAND-AM event over, Wilden got a chance to sit down with MotorWerks Magazine to discuss his past, present and future, both personal and in racing.

and was heavily involved in growing the brand, then things changed, we were no longer family, just seemed we were numbers any more. I found out about DriveWise and after much soul searching and discussion I decided to go with them. When I left, a large number of YDC franchise holders moved over with me. My school is based in Mississauga, ON and caters both to new drivers and commercial driver testing. MWM – The commercial testing is quite high tech from what I saw when I sat in on an evaluation. KW – It is, we have a state of the art GE Driver Development simulator that allows the driver to see the road and surroundings in three planes. It is extremely adaptable; we can throw a multitude of scenarios at the person being tested. We can even make it snow, which is handy up here in Canada. MWM – How accurate are the results? KW – Pretty good, people who are flustered when we throw multiple scenarios at them will get flustered behind the wheel of a vehicle as just as easy. It really is a great indicator of whether they will be a good driver. MWM – You mentioned Mosport being a challenging place. Ever had a big off there? KW – Yep I did. The positive side to it was it was just around the time people were sort of getting interested in the HANS device. I had the clips on my helmet but had not bought a collar yet. I was driving for Leighton Reese and he was one of the first to actually use one religiously. He was totally sold on the deal. I was looking around in the trailer for something and I came across the HANS. I asked if I could use it. It was a good job I did as the rear suspension broke at the bottom of corner two and I hit the wall hard. When the device was sent back to HANS they

Team owner, James Clay is excited

MWM - First of all we have to clear up a few things. There is some confusion in your bio about your birthplace. KW – Oakville, ON born and that’s where I currently live. I grew up and went to school in Burlington, ON MWM – Ken or Kenny? KW – I’m Kenny at the track, I guess it just looks more business-like to be Ken now that I am over forty, but Kenny is fine. MWM – The bio says owner of a driving school in Hamilton, ON, is that right? KW – That is history; back in the days when I had the franchise for Young Drivers of Canada. My region actually covered as out as Brantford but once the bean counters got control of the company they started to nickel and dime us, which was bad. I had been involved with YDC for a lot time

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said I had destroyed it, they estimated the deceleration g-force to be in the region of 85Gs. What amazed the doctors was I was not even knocked out. They never expected me to walk away from an accident like that, never mind still be conscious. It no doubt saved my life. I did have a headache for about eight months after but sure is better than the alternative. MWM – So what is next for Ken Wilden? KW – I have been approached by Paul Gentilozzi to test one of his Jaguar’s. I guess beating up on him in Trans Am made and impression! MWM – On a personal front? KW – My wife and I have gotten involved with a new company called FROGBOX TM and we have the Greater Toronto Area franchise. It is a convenient, affordable and eco-friendly alternative to cardboard moving boxes. The customer orders the boxes, we deliver, they pack and move and we pick them up after the move is done. We have had great press in the Toronto area and the founder of the company did a pitch on CBC Television’s ‘Dragon’s Den’ show. It was pretty cool; it gave us lots of exposure, especially when three of the Dragons wanted in! MWM – And, what else? KW – Well, after years of sitting behind a steering wheel you have convinced me to get behind a pen and write for MotorWerks Magazine. MWM – We were glad you accepted, your Track Notes column will give our readers an insight into the glamorous life of a racecar driver. KW – I don’t know if it is all that glamorous, there are some high points to it for sure. You have to be fit to race at this level and staying fit only gets harder as you get older. Then there are all the flights and associated delays. We give up a lot to do this; Track Notes will give some insight into what we go through on a race weekend. Of course I won’t be giving away any secrets, James would kill me if I did that but there will be some interesting aspects of racing revealed that only insiders generally know about! MWM – Well thanks for sitting down with us, we are extremely happy to have you on board. We look forward to the rest of the season. Good luck and be safe!

An evaluation on the GE Simulator

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