What is the first sport you remember playing/competing in?
“Like pretty much everyone in the UK it was probably football and I was absolutely terrible! I was okay in goal until the kicking bit came into it, then it all went very wrong! I still love to play football now, and try to play when I come back to England, and thankfully I do enjoy playing in goal.”
When did you first remember bring at a race track and what event was it?
“I remember being at various places when I was younger as my dad used to race Austin 7s so Lydden Hill, Snetterton, Brands Hatch, Prescott and Wiscombe Hill Climbs spring to mind. I never really found it that interesting until I started following F1 and Le Mans in 1999 then I was hooked.”
If you could have become a professional in any other sport what would it be?
“A rugby player as I think rugby is an incredibly tough sport. Whilst I am also a big football fan, I think the fame side of it can be quite overwhelming with having people follow your every move.”
Photo: Stuff.co.nz - Rubgy legend Dan Carter
Which sports stars outside of Motorsport do you most admire?
“The ones which stand out for me are Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry and Dan Carter. All three of them have remarkable talents and success in their own fields but they’re completely class acts on and off the pitch and people you can look up to. I can’t remember seeing or hearing anything bad about any of them.”
Which sporting venue other than a race circuit would you like to visit?
“La Bombonera in Argentina. This is Boca Juniors home stadium and I remember watching the Boca Juniors vs River Plate game on TV at a race in Italy once and the atmosphere was incredible, and the passion the players had for the game was very impressive, I can’t remember seeing one player going down too easily which is all too common in football nowadays.”
Which circuits that aren’t on the FIA WEC calendar would you most like to drive the Manor ORECA-Nissan on?
“Suzuka, Kyalami and Mosport Park.
“Suzuka as having spent a while in Japan there is no better track to nail a qualifying lap on as you are right on the edge on every corner and it still stands as my absolute favourite circuit.
“Kyalami I drove in 2013 in a Renault 3.5, and it’s a fantastic old school circuit with a lot of character. I think the layout would create good racing for sportscars and, having driven Mosport Park a few weeks ago in the IMSA series, I can say this has also become one of my favourite circuits. It keeps the old school track feeling in places where it isn’t dangerous, and the places where it needs to be safer for the modern generation of cars, like turn two, it has run offs which the drivers wouldn’t abuse as it’s not on our racing line.”
If you could share the Manor cockpit with two racing heroes from the past who would they be?
“Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost. Michael quite simply because he is the most successful driver in the history of our sport and an icon for everyone and Alain because I think he would be perfectly suited to endurance racing being very clever and we would make quite a formidable team!”
Did you ever go to endurance races as a spectator, if so what memories do you have?
“I went to the Le Mans Series race at Silverstone and it poured with rain! I can’t remember what year it was but I remember Allan McNish driving a PlayStation-sponsored Team ORECA Audi R8.
“The rain put a damper on the day but I was in love with Le Mans since the 1999 race. There were so many manufacturers, beautiful cars and the fact that prototypes and GT1s were able to compete with each other for the overall victory made it look incredible. Ever since then I always wanted to win Le Mans far more than winning the F1 world championship.”
