Martin Brundle: My life in cars
A self-fixed Toyota Corolla was Martin Brundle’s first road car and more DIY work later brought him grass-track victory in a Ford Escort
Richard Davies
My family car as a child…
My earliest memory is a red Ford Cortina GT Willment (inset). We went on holiday in it and I’d sleep in the rear footwell with my head resting on the transmission tunnel. There was always something on Dad’s used car forecourt for the family, a Ford Zephyr or suchlike, and usually a rally car around too.
My first road car…
A Toyota Corolla 1200 SR Coupé, it had been crashed and the nearside front was missing. Dad said, “if you can fix it, you can have it,” so I put a new front end on along with Wolfrace wheels, and I loved it. I passed my driving test three days after turning 17, but I’d been racing grass track since I was 12.
I was hooked on racing when…
I went to the British Grand Prix in 1964. Jim Clark won that year. You could see the cars in the paddock after the race and I remember getting Jack Brabham’s autograph. I absolutely loved the atmosphere, crowd, and noise, it was mesmerising. Watching from Paddock Hill bend I was hooked although I never imagined I’d be an F1 driver 20 years later.
Watching a Jim Clark masterclass from
the Brands banking had Brundle hooked
Grand Prix Photo
My first ever win was…
My first significant win was at Yarmouth Stadium in Spedeworth Hot Rods. I won the grand final in my self-built Ford Escort beating all the stars of the day. I was only 15; I told them I was 16. I’d moved on from grass-track racing after someone took an exception to me winning and on my lap of honour reversed into me and wrote my car off. When Dad picked me up later they were threatening me with a crowbar.
The win I remember the most was…
I won a lot of sports car, touring car and F3 races, but it’s probably beating Senna in F3 at Donington in 1983. We were nose-to-tail the whole way, and that’s when it was getting tense between us. I’ve got an evocative picture in my gym of me wearing the garland and holding the winner’s trophy with Ayrton drinking champagne. The Daytona 24 Hours in ’88 and Le Mans in ’90 with Jaguar are up there too.
Sprint race…
Lewis or Max?
Neither. Senna
Senna or Prost?
Oversteer or understeer?
Understeer
Brands Hatch or Silverstone?
If I could race in any era…
Today’s Formula 1. Incredible machines and teams, the life the drivers lead, the safety, the money. The cars appear to handle close to perfectly. They probably don’t feel like that flat-out through some corners. I love 1960s F1 cars, but many drivers didn’t survive so you can’t wish to have been part of such a dangerous era. I’m happy that I personally experienced F1 in the ’80s and ’90s.
The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given was…
On the eve of becoming a broadcaster in 1997 Murray Walker said to me, “Just remember, we are only here to inform and to entertain,” and that holds true today.
My favourite racing car is…
Dan Gurney’s Eagle that I drove at Goodwood (left). A piece of art, and the glorious sound of the Weslake V12. It’s a beautiful car, light and narrow, and with such purity of form.
When driving I listen to…
Deep Purple, Greta Van Fleet, and Fleetwood Mac for energy.
If I could take part in one more big race it would be…
Silverstone in a British car in front of the British crowd, and hopefully up on the podium again with Our Nige like 1992.
