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Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959 in King's Lynn, Norfolk) is a British racing driver from England, known as a Formula One driver and as an F1 commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008, the BBC from 2009 to 2011 and Sky Sports from 2012.[1]
Brundle contested the British Formula Three Championship with Ayrton Senna in 1983, finishing a close second, and the two progressed to Formula One the next year. Brundle failed to score a victory at the top level of single seaters, but he has been very successful in other disciplines. He was the 1988 World Sportscar Champion, with a record points haul, and won the 1990 Le Mans 24 hour Race for Jaguar in an XJR-12.
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Brundle had an unorthodox route to Formula One.[2] He began his racing career at the age of 12, competing in grass track racing,[3] in the Norfolk village of Pott Row.[2] In 1975, he moved to Hot Rod racing and received 'Star grade' status. In 1979, he started single seaters with Formula Ford. During this time, he also raced Tom Walkinshaw's BMW race cars, achieving second against a field of international drivers at Snetterton. He won the BMW championship in 1980 and partnered Sir Stirling Moss in the BP/Audi team of 1981. In 1982, he moved up to Formula 3 achieving five poles and two wins in his debut season. He won the Grovewood Award as the most promising Commonwealth driver.[3] The next year, he battled Ayrton Senna, for the F3 championship, which Brundle eventually lost on the final laps of the last race.[4] In 1984, he was promoted to Formula One.
His Formula One career began with Tyrrell in 1984.[5] He put in a number of aggressive and fast drives, finishing fifth in his first race at Brazil and then second at Detroit.[5] At the Dallas Grand Prix, Brundle broke his ankles and both feet in a crash [4] during a practice session. Then Tyrrell were disqualified from the world championship in 1984 because of a technical infringement, wiping his achievements for that season from the record books.
For the next two seasons he remained with Tyrrell, but without a works engine supply the team struggled against the works engine teams. In 1987 he switched to Zakspeed, but managed only two points, the car unable to compete with the frontrunners. These two points were the only ones in the team's history.
Brundle started his famous link with Jaguar in 1982, driving touring cars.[4] Four years of F1 racing for underfunded teams led him to seek a new challenge, and thus he took a year out and competed in the 1988 World Sportscar Championship and won the world sports car title,[6] with a record points haul. He also won the Daytona 24 Hours the same year, for Jaguar. He became the test driver for Williams and stood in for Nigel Mansell at the 1988 Belgian Grand Prix,[6] after Mansell was struck down with chickenpox.
In 1989 he returned to F1 full-time with the returning Brabham squad, but the former champions were unable to recapture their early 1980s success and Brundle opted to move back into the sports car arena for 1990. The Le Mans victory came that year and rejuvenated his career, but still a top-line race seat in Formula One eluded him. As well as contesting races in sports prototypes, Brundle also contested the American IROC series in 1990, taking a victory at the temporary circuit at Burke Lakefront Airport (the only IROC victory for a British driver) and coming 3rd in the overall standings. In 1991 he rejoined Brabham, but the squad had fallen even further down the grid and results were sparse.
Seasoned observers noticed Brundle's drives into the points in the uncompetitive Brabham Yamaha in 1991, which was the last points finish for the Brabham team. This helped Brundle get a 1992 switch to Benetton, with whom he would finally claim a recognised podium finish and consistent points finishes with some gritty drives.
In 1992 he had a productive season, with a strong finish to the year. He came close to a win at Canada, where having overtaken Schumacher and closing on leader Gerhard Berger, the transmission failed.[5] He never outqualified team-mate Michael Schumacher, but made up places with excellent starts (sixth to third at Silverstone), outraced the German at Imola, Montreal, Magny-Cours and Silverstone, and scored a notable second place at Monza. At Spa, Brundle went by when Schumacher went off the track. Schumacher noticed blisters on his team-mate's tyres on his return to the circuit and came in for slicks, a move that won him the race. Had Brundle not been distracted he would have pitted as planned at the end of that lap, with victory the most likely result. 1992 was his best F1 season,[3] and is regarded in F1 as the closest any team mate came to matching Schumacher,[7] prior to his 2010 comeback partnering Nico Rosberg.
To the shock of the F1 paddock,[6] Brundle found himself dropped from Benetton for 1993, Italian Riccardo Patrese taking his place. He came very close to a seat with world champions Williams, but in the end Damon Hill got the drive instead. Still in demand within F1, Brundle raced for Ligier in 1993. More points finishes and a fine third at Imola were achieved in a car without active suspension. With finishing 7th in the World Drivers Championship behind the two Williams drivers Alain Prost (1st) and Damon Hill (3rd), McLaren team leader Ayrton Senna (2nd), the Benetton drivers Michael Schumacher (4th) and Riccardo Patrese (5th) and the Ferrari driver Jean Alesi (6th), Brundle was the most successful driver who did not have an active suspension system in his car and Ligier were the most successful team without an active suspension.
For 1994 Brundle was in the frame for the vacant McLaren seat alongside Mika Häkkinen. McLaren were hopeful of re-signing Alain Prost, who had retired at the end of 1993 after winning his fourth championship title, but decided not to renege on his retirement in March, and Brundle got the drive, beating out McLaren test driver Philippe Alliot. He was confirmed less than two weeks before the season-opening 1994 Brazilian Grand Prix.[8]
Joining the team was a case of bad timing in many ways. McLaren were on a downturn and throughout 1994 were unable to win. The team's Peugeot engines were unreliable, as was to be expected from a debuting engine supplier. At Silverstone Brundle's engine appeared to explode just as the starting lights turned green. In reality the culprit was a clutch that cracked spilling its lubricants on top of the hot engine causing a spectacular fire. Nevertheless, when the car was reliable, Brundle put in strong performances that season, most notably at Monaco where he finished second to Schumacher.
Having had poor luck and with Mansell signed to McLaren for 1995, Brundle once more raced for Ligier that year, although not for the full season. To appease Mugen-Honda he had to share the second seat with Aguri Suzuki, a move denounced by many commentators and fans. He impressed however, a strong fourth at Magny-Cours and what would be his last F1 podium, at Spa, being the highlights. In 1996 he teamed up with Rubens Barrichello at Jordan and enjoyed a good season, despite a slow start and a spectacular crash at Melbourne's inaugural GP, with regular points, fourth his best result. He finished fifth in the 1996 Japanese Grand Prix, which was his last Grand Prix in Formula One.
Brundle achieved 9 podiums, and scored a total of 98 championship points, with a best championship finish of 6th in 1992. He was especially strong on street circuits and similarly slow-speed, twisty courses — Monaco, Adelaide and the Hungaroring each produced 4 points finishes for him.[5] He holds the dubious distinction of having the longest Formula One career (158 Grand Prix starts) without a race victory, a pole position or a fastest lap.
Brundle had hoped to stay in F1 beyond 1996, but could not find a seat. He was offered a seat at Sauber in 1997 following the dropping of Nicola Larini, but decided against it. Brundle did however return to Le Mans. Drives for Nissan, Toyota and Bentley impressed, but a second victory failed to materialise. Brundle's last Le Mans outing came in 2001, after which he focused on his role with the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC).
Having largely retired from motor racing, Brundle became a highly regarded commentator on British television network ITV, whom he joined when they began Formula One coverage in 1997, initially alongside Murray Walker, and from 2002 James Allen. Brundle joined the BBC's commentary team alongside Jonathan Legard when they won the rights to show F1 from 2009. Before the start of the 2011 season, the BBC announced that Brundle was being promoted to lead commentator and would be joined by fellow former F1 driver, David Coulthard.[9] He signed for Sky Sports' coverage at the end of 2011 following the BBC's decision to relinquish their rights to show half of the following season's races live due to budgetary constraints.[10]
For his television work Brundle has won the RTS Television Sports Award for best Sports Pundit in 1998, 1999, 2005 and 2006. In 2005 the judges described him as:
"...an outstanding operator at the very peak of his game – with an extraordinary ability to simplify and entertain in an often complex sport. He also exhibited a fearless authority on some of the most sensitive issues – not least his gimlet-eyed pursuit of Formula one boss Bernie Ecclestone on the grid at Indianapolis".[11]
The production company responsible for ITV's F1 coverage, North One Television, also won the Sports Innovation Award for its Insight features, presented by Brundle. Discussing the return of Formula One to the BBC in 2009, The Times described Brundle "as the greatest TV analyst in this or any other sport."[12]
Brundle first commentated on F1 during the 1989 Belgian Grand Prix on the BBC. Having retired from the race, Brundle was asked by the BBC to enter the commentary box alongside Murray Walker as regular co-commentator James Hunt had failed to show up. Brundle was also part of the 1995 BBC commentary team whenever Aguri Suzuki was driving the Ligier-Mugen Honda such as the 1995 San Marino Grand Prix.
With Steve Rider busy covering the England versus Kazakhstan 2010 FIFA World Cup Group 6 qualification match, Brundle co-commentated and presented coverage of the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway.
Brundle took the wheel of a Jaguar F1 car for the Formula One demonstration in London prior to the 2004 British Grand Prix and drove a BMW Sauber during a demonstration in 2006. Also in 2006, Brundle drove a 2005 Red Bull Racing car around Silverstone as part of ITV's 'F1 Insight' feature. This was followed up in 2007 with Brundle and colleague Blundell both driving Williams F1 cars to demonstrate overtaking.
In 2008 he came out of retirement to drive in the Formula Palmer Audi Championship alongside his son Alex, who was a series regular. He scored three top-eight finishes from the three races in which he took part.[13] Alex will compete in the FIA Formula Two Championship for 2009.
Brundle came out of retirement again to race for United Autosports in the 2011 Daytona 24 Hours, sharing a Ford-powered Riley with Zak Brown, Mark Patterson and former Ligier and Brabham teammate Blundell; the team finished fourth overall.[14]
In June 2011, shortly before the 2011 European Grand Prix, Brundle completed a one-off Formula One test for the series' tyre supplier Pirelli at Jerez. He completed a total of 70 laps on all of their tyre compounds, with the results and events of the day aired before the 2011 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Brundle is scheduled to return to Le Mans in 2012, teaming up with son Alex to race a Greaves Motorsport-run Zytek-Nissan LMP2. It will be his first appearance at the French classic in over a decade.[15]
Brundle has also been involved in driver management. At present, he is David Coulthard's manager (as well as his co-commentator). He also co-owned a management company, 2MB Sports Management, alongside Mark Blundell until January 2009, when he announced his intention to step down in order to focus on his television responsibilities and his son's career.[16] Their clients include McLaren test driver Gary Paffett and British Formula Three champion Mike Conway.
Brundle also presented a documentary on British television in 1998 called Great Escapes, which showed generally live recordings, and occasionally reconstructions, of stories where human beings managed to somehow survive in face of various dangers or perils. It ran for one series on ITV.
In 2004 he released his first book Working the Wheel. The title is a reference to his 1996 crash in Melbourne.
On Friday 13 February 2009, Brundle presented BBC Look East's 6.30pm bulletin, with Susie Fowler-Watt, reproducing his famous gridwalk.[17]
In September 2007 he suggested that the treatment of McLaren "had the feel of a witch hunt" in his Sunday Times column.[18] As a result of these comments Brundle and the Sunday Times received a French writ from Max Mosley and the FIA for libel. In the same column on December 9, 2007 he accused the FIA of double standards and of issuing the writ at the same time as clearing Renault of spying as a warning to other journalists:
The timing of the writ is significant, in my view, given the FIA’s decision to find Renault guilty of having significant McLaren designs and information within their systems, but not administering any penalty. It is a warning sign to other journalists and publications to choose their words carefully over that decision. I’m tired of what I perceive as the "spin" and tactics of the FIA press office, as are many other journalists. I expect my accreditation pass for next year will be hindered in some way to make my coverage of F1 more difficult and to punish me. Or they will write to ITV again to say that my commentary is not up to standard despite my unprecedented six Royal Television Society Awards for sports broadcasting. So be it.[19]
Brundle also asserted his right to voice his opinion about Formula One:
As a former Formula One driver, I have earnt the right to have an opinion about the sport, and probably know as much about it as anybody else. I have attended approaching 400 grands prix, 158 as a driver. I have spilt blood, broken bones, shed tears, generated tanker loads of sweat, tasted the champagne glories and plumbed the depths of misery. I have never been more passionate about F1 and will always share my opinions in an honest and open way, knowing readers will make up their own minds.[19]
In March 2008 Brundle voiced his opinion regarding the position of Max Mosley following the News of The World's allegation that Mosley had engaged in sexual acts with five prostitutes in a scenario that involved Nazi role-playing;[20] saying "It's not appropriate behaviour for the head of any global body such as the FIA."[21] In April Brundle argued:
"The specific detail of the scandal surrounding him is largely irrelevant, in my view. The sporting regulation he has used over the years to keep teams in check relates to bringing the sport into disrepute. If you live by the sword, you die by the sword. Sitting on the fence on this issue for any of us inside the sport is not an option. We must condone or condemn the situation he finds himself in. Mosley's position as president is untenable.[22]
Brundle was the subject of 14 complaints to Ofcom and 22 to ITV, for using the term "pikeys" during ITV's coverage of the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix. In a live pre-race interview with Bernie Ecclestone, Brundle referred to 'pikeys' making repairs to the surface at turn 10 of the track by laying down fresh tarmac. ITV later apologised for the incident.
The word is considered insulting by the traveller community. The Oxford English Dictionary traced its use to 1837 by The Times, referring to "strangers harvesting in the Isle of Sheppey". Later that century it meant a "turnpike traveller" or vagabond. Latterly, it has become a derogatory term for Irish Travellers and Gypsies.[23][24]
Brundle and ITV were later cleared by Ofcom, as Brundle was not aware of the racial or cultural implications of the word, and ITV did apologise and explain the situation to him.[25]
Brundle's helmet was white with two red stripes and a blue stripe between the two red stripes (inspired by the British flag) from the chin to the back of the helmet. In 1996, there were added a golden ring (with either 'Bensons and Hedges' or 'Brundle' written) and a blue drawing resembling a B upside down.[26]
(key)
* - Tyrrell were disqualified from the entire world championship for 1984 due to a technical infringement.
The son of a motor car dealer, he and his brother Robin took over the family car dealership from their father. The business closed in 2003 after losing the local Toyota and Peugeot franchises.[27] Robin is also a racing driver, who today competes in historic racing events, and is managing director of Lola Cars.
Brundle is married to Liz [2] and they have a daughter, Charlie, and a son, Alex.[28] Alex competed in 2006 in the Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Trophy .[29] Brundle has always lived within a 5-mile radius of King's Lynn,[2] and currently lives in Gayton, Norfolk.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Raul Boesel |
World Sportscar Champion 1988 |
Succeeded by Jean-Louis Schlesser |
| Preceded by Jochen Mass Manuel Reuter Stanley Dickens |
Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1990 with: John Nielsen Price Cobb |
Succeeded by Volker Weidler Johnny Herbert Bertrand Gachot |
| Awards and achievements | ||
| Preceded by Tommy Byrne |
Autosport National Racing Driver of the Year 1983 |
Succeeded by Johnny Dumfries |
| Preceded by Jonathan Palmer |
Autosport British Competition Driver of the Year 1988 |
Succeeded by Nigel Mansell |
| Preceded by Nigel Mansell |
Autosport British Competition Driver of the Year 1990 |
Succeeded by Nigel Mansell |
| Preceded by None |
RTS Television Sport Awards Best Sports Pundit 1998–1999 |
Succeeded by Alan Hansen |
| Preceded by John Francome |
RTS Television Sport Awards Best Sports Pundit 2005–2006 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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