Martin Brundle

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Name	Martin Brundle
Caption	Brundle in 2004
Nationality	British
Birth date	June 01, 1959
Years	–, –
Team(s)	Tyrrell, Zakspeed, Williams, Brabham, Benetton, Ligier, McLaren and Jordan
Races	165 (158 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	9
Points	98
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	1984 Brazilian Grand Prix
Last race	1996 Japanese Grand Prix

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Years	–, , –,
Team(s)	JaguarNissan MotorsportToyota Team EuropeTeam Bentley
Best finish	1st ()
Class wins	1 ()

|} 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 and for the BBC from 2009.

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.

Career

Early racing career

Brundle had an unorthodox route to Formula 1. He began his racing career at the age of 12, competing in grass track racing, The next year, he battled Ayrton Senna, for the F3 championship, which Brundle eventually lost on the final laps of the last race. In 1984, he was promoted to Formula One.

Formula One (1984–1987)

His Formula One career began with Tyrrell in 1984. He put in a number of aggressive and fast drives, finishing fifth in his first race at Brazil and then second at Detroit. 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, prior to his 2010 comeback partnering Nico Rosberg.

To the shock of the F1 paddock,

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 Nigel 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. 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".

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."

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 BBC commentator James Hunt 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 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. Their clients include McLaren test driver Gary Paffett and British Formula Three champion Mike Conway.

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 2004 he released his first book 'Working the Wheel'. The title is a reference to his 1996 crash in Melbourne.

His sports car prowess led to an invitation to the 1990 International Race of Champions, a three-race series in 1990 because of the switch to Dodge cars, where he won the second round at Cleveland's Burke Lakefront Airport during the Champ Car event.

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. Alex will compete in the FIA Formula Two Championship for 2009.

Brundle also presented a documentary show 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.

On Friday 13 February 2009, Brundle presented BBC Look East's 6.30pm bulletin, with Susie Fowler-Watt, reproducing his famous gridwalk.

For the Formula 1 season, the BBC announced Brundle was to become the lead commentator, with former F1 driver David Coulthard, who was part of the 'pundit' team during 2009 and 2010, moving alongside Brundle as co-commentator for the BBC coverage of Formula One.

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.

Criticism of Max Mosley and the FIA

In September 2007 he suggested that the treatment of McLaren "had the feel of a witch hunt" in his Sunday Times column. 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 9 December 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.

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. saying "It's not appropriate behaviour for the head of any global body such as the FIA." 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.

Pikey probe

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 pre-race live 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. Laterly, it has become a derogatory term for Irish travellers and Gypsies.

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.

Helmet

Brundle's helmet was white with two red stripes and a blue stripe between the two red stripes (inspired by the British flag)running 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.

Complete Formula One results

(key)

* - Tyrrell were disqualified from the entire world championship for 1984 due to a technical infringement.

Personal

The son of a motor car dealer, he and his brother Robin (a fellow racing driver, who today competes in historic racing events), took over the family car dealership from their father. The business closed in 2003 after losing the local Toyota and Peugeot franchises.

Brundle is married to Liz Alex competed in 2006 in the Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Trophy . Brundle has always lived within a 5-mile radius of King's Lynn, and currently lives in Gayton, Norfolk.

References

External links

Official Website

Martin Brundle at itv.com

ITV commentator">Quotes as an ITV commentator

Fan site

Category:English racecar drivers Category:English Formula One drivers Category:McLaren Formula One drivers Category:Williams Formula One drivers Category:International Race of Champions drivers Category:British Formula Three Championship drivers Category:British Touring Car Championship drivers Category:British sports broadcasters Category:Motorsport announcers Category:People from King's Lynn Category:Segrave Trophy recipients Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:BRDC Gold Star winners Category:Formula Palmer Audi drivers Category:24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Category:24 Hours of Daytona drivers Category:BBC sports presenters and reporters