Mark Blundell (born 8 April 1966) is a British racing driver who competed in Formula One for four seasons, sports cars, and CART. He won the 1992 24 Hours of Le Mans. He was a Formula One presenter for the British broadcaster ITV until the end of the 2008 season when the TV broadcasting rights switched to the BBC. Blundell returned to the track in 2019, driving in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship for the Trade Price Cars team. Info from Wiki
Bio by Stephen Latham
Born on the 8th April 1966, Mark Blundell would go on to race in Formula One between 1991 and 1995, with four different teams, plus took three victories in the 81 races contested in CART. However he enjoyed his greatest success in winning 1992’s 24 hours of Le Mans (with Derek Warwick and Yannick Dalmas) and in 2003, took second place in the race with David Brabham and Johnny Herbert.
His racing career began with motocross bikes when he was 14 and after winning many championships he switched to four wheels when he was 17 to contest British Formula Ford. He started with a Lola before switching to a Van Diemen ad in an impressive debut season took his first win at Snetterton and went on to win 25 of the 70 races. He was second in the British Junior championship, after taking 25 race wins, 24 pole positions and 21 lap records, plus won the Golden Helmet and received a Grovewood Award. He followed this with the Esso British and Champion of Snetterton FF1600 titles and a move into FF2000 later in the year saw him win the BBC Grandstand series. He returned to the 1600 category to take pole in the European Cup event and finished fourth, with fastest lap, at the Brands Hatch Festival. Racing a Reynard in 1986 saw him take the FF2000 European Championship and finish runner-up in Britain and from there he decided to move up into F3000. Despite having an under-funded car there were some promising displays, including a podium at Spa and sixth places at Vallellunga and Brands Hatch. During the year he also had a number of F3 races with TOMS-Toyota, his best result a second place at Donington Park.
For 1988 he joined the works Lola Motorsport team in F3000 and was fifth in the Championship, taking podium finishes at Jerez, Zolder and Brands Hatch plus fifth at Vallelunga and contested one round in Japanese F3000 with Footwork at Suzuka. He raced with Middlebridge in the following year but only had four finishes though all were in the points, with third at Silverstone, fifth at the Halfords Superprix on the streets of Birmingham and sixth at Pau and Le Mans. There was also a seat with Nissan Motorsports in the World Sports Prototype Championship, teamed with Julian Bailey, but though they retired at Le Mans after just five laps they would later take podium finishes at Spa and Donington.
In 1990 he signed a testing contract with the Williams F1 team plus continued with Nissan in sports cars. He took a sensational pole position at Le Mans with the R90CK plus with a new lap record but during the run his turbo wastegates stuck and propelled the car past 1,100bhp. As he frantically weaved in and out of the chicanes, the odometer reached 238mph and he later recalled how “Every input was pure reflex-things were coming at me everywhere I looked. For about 50 per cent of the lap, I felt like I was on the verge of a massive accident.” During the race he, J.Bailey and Gianfranco Brancatelli retired after 142 laps though he took three podium finishes before season end at Montreal, Mexico and Dijon. After having tested for Williams, he joined Brabham for 1991’s Formula One season and teamed with Martin Brundle in the Yamaha-powered Brabham BT59. He debuted at the US Grand Prix in Phoenix though spun off in the race and retired due to engine failure in the Brazilian GP. Imola saw the team introduce the BT60 and he came home eighth but despite frustration in the following races he finished sixth in the Belgian Grand Prix, achieving his and the team’s first championship point. He wasn’t retained by the team for 1992 so signed as a test driver for McLaren and there was a return to sports cars and Le Mans with Peugeot Talbot Sport. Although this would be a quiet year for him it provided him with his greatest result of his career when he, Yannick Dalmas and Derek Warwick, took victory with the 905 Evo with a six-lap advantage over the second placed Toyota.
1993 saw him back in Formula One, this time with Ligier (and reunited with M.Brundle) and he took his first podium finishes with the Renault powered JS39. His first came with third in South Africa (behind A.Prost and A.Senna) and there was another third place at Hockenheim (behind A.Prost and M.Schumacher). This would prove to be his best season in F1 but he found himself on the move at the end of the year, joining Tyrrell for 1994 alongside Ukyo Katayama. He added another podium to his CV with a third place in Spain, behind D.Hill and M.Schumacher, plus had two more points scoring finishes but a lack of sponsorship meant he did not stay with Tyrrell.
During 1995, Nigel Mansell’s retirement saw him take over his seat at McLaren, teamed with Mika Hakkinen, and he had six points scoring finishes with the MP4/10. After qualifying ninth in Brazil he went on to finish sixth but retired in Argentina and Mansell was back in the car for San Marino and Spain. Mark took over the drive for the rest of the season and had points finishes with fourth place in Australia and Italy and fifth in Britain and Belgium. June that year saw him back at Le Mans with Gulf Racing’s McLaren F1 GTR (alongside Ray Bellm and Maurizio Sandro Sala) and there was a fourth place result.
With David Coulthard signing for McLaren for 1996, Mark was on the move again and he travelled to America to race in IndyCar with PacWest Racing. Driving alongside Maurcio Gugelmin, his debut year with the team saw top six finishes at Indianapolis, Detroit and Michigan, plus achieve the Valvoline and BRDC North America Awards and finish third overall in the Rookie of the Year standings. Unfortunately he sustained a broken foot and ankle in a crash in the season’s second race in Rio which caused him to miss three races. Describing the crash, he told how ”I suffered a brake failure in my Reynard-Mercedes, a wheel hub collapsing on me after 10 laps. From the moment I realised I was out of control, I lost no speed at all until I hit the wall at a recorded 196mph. I tried to point my car at my team-mate Mauricio Gugelmin’s car, which was just ahead of me on the track, because I knew if I could hit him it would be better for me-if not him-but I missed him by an inch. Then I tried to slow the car down by trying to spin deliberately-I bent the steering wheel with the forces I put through trying to do that. That didn’t work so I took my hands off the wheel and thought: ‘Well, this is it, goodnight Vienna.’ Boof! I sustained a 120G impact…Instead I hobbled away from the accident with a fractured heel and vertebra.”
In his second year he came close to achieving his first CART victory in Detroit but agonisingly ran out of fuel on the last lap while in the lead. However he took it at the following race in Portland, which also saw the closest finish in the Championship’s history, and added two more at Toronto and Fontana plus second places at Michigan and Laguna Seca. He finished sixth in the points at the end of the season and his performances saw him voted British Competition Driver of the Year by Autosport magazine and he also received a BRDC ERA Award. A title challenge seemed to be on the cards but the following seasons were frustrating ones and he wasn’t on the podium, with best results in 1998 sixth and two seventh places at Fontana, Long Beach and Road America. His fourth year with PacWest started with eighth in the first race at Miami but a few races later he was involved in a huge crash at Nazareth, which sidelined him for several months due to his injuries. After missing eight races, on his return he was tenth at Detroit, which proved to be his best result in the remaining races. During the year while testing at Gateway he lost control and slid backward into the wall, then travelled along the wall for several hundred feet. He was fortunately not seriously injured but was taken to hospital after suffering a concussion and kept overnight for observation. His final season in 2000 was a tough one, with best results only seventh and eighth at Long Beach and Rio and he left PacWest and Champ Cars at the end of the year.
He then became involved with MG and was part of a six driver line-up with the MG Lola EX257 at Le Mans, being teamed with Julian Bailey and Kevin McGarrity. Despite not finishing in the first year the car impressed on its debut, with both cars qualifying one-two in class, and at one point ran as high as third overall and also established the fastest wet weather lap. The trio returned the following year though again retired from the race and Mark later tried rallying and after two preparatory events raced an MG ZR 1600 in the British WRC round.
Following this he was part of the Bentley team for 2003 and took the Bentley Speed 8 to third at Sebring and second at Le Mans when teamed with Johnny Herbert and David Brabham, in a 1-2 finish for the marque in France. After this he was away from racing until 2010 but joined ITV in 2003 and worked as an F1 analyst with them until 2008. He was part of a BBC2 Motorsport team covering the first CART race held in Britain, at Rockingham and filmed items for a ‘Pulling Power’ motoring programme and established MB Partners, a sports management and marketing group.
He returned to the track in 2010 with United Autosports and took their Audi R8 LMS to a ninth place finish in the Spa 24 Hours with Eddie Cheever, Zack Brown and Richard Dean. He drove Michael Shank Racing’s Riley-Ford prototype in Grand American Rolex Series races in 2011 at Homestead, Watkins Glen and Mid Ohio with fourth place in the Daytona 24 Hours his best finish (with M.Brundle, Z.Brown and M.Patterson). There was also a return to the Spa 24 Hour with the Audi R8, but did not finish the race. He continued with United Autosports over the following two years, racing a McLaren MP4-12C GT3 and the Audi R8 in 2012’s Blancpain Endurance Series and two rounds of the British GT Championship in 2013.
He focused on his MB Partners’ company after this and after sporadic races in one-make competitions or historic events he competed full time in 2019’s British Touring Car Championship. Racing Audi S3 for Trade Price Cars Racing, thirteenth place at Silverstone was his best result and Mark announced his retirement from full time racing at the beginning of 2020.
Mark Blundell is one of those British racing drivers who will feel that he never had the chance to fulfill his enormous potential in Formula One.
Unlike most of his contemporaries in the top flight, Mark eschewed the usual route to the top via karts for a junior career on motorbikes. From the age of 14, he raced at the top level of schoolboy motocross, becoming a top 36 nationally-ranked rider and winning many championships.
Having achieved all he felt he could achieve on two wheels, the now 17-year old Blundell transferred his abilities onto four wheels, and immediately set about becoming one of Britain’s rising stars in Formula Ford. His debut season proved remarkably prolific, as the second places in both British Junior championships (despite 25 race wins, 24 pole positions and 21 lap records) were followed winning by both the Golden Helmet and a prestigious Grovewood Award.
The following season proved that 1984 had been no fluke, as Mark took the Esso British and Champion of Snetterton FF1600 crowns. Having achieved his aim of winning a title, Blundell moved into the higher FF2000 category later in the year, and promptly won the BBC Grandstand series but, for good measure, returned to the 1600 class to take pole for the European Cup event, and finish fourth overall – with fastest lap – amongst the best of the world’s FFord drivers at the annual Brands Hatch Festival.
1986 was no less successful, either, as a full season in FF2000 netted the European crown and runners-up spot in Britain.
Maintaining his reputation for not sticking to motorsport’s traditional ladder of progression, Blundell then decided to skip Formula 3 in favour of the bigger, more powerful F3000 machines. One step away from grands prix, many expected the Briton to fall on his face but, despite running in an under-funded car, Mark produced a series of promising displays. And, just to prove that he wasn’t avoiding the category altogether, he also tried his hand at five F3 races with the TOMS-Toyota outfit.
His performances in 1987, whilst producing race wins, had done enough to attract the attention of some of F3000’s big guns, and Mark was duly offered a works Lola seat for 1988. This allowed him to concentrate fully on his racing, and duly netted sixth overall in a closely contested season.
The following year, Mark continued to contest the international series, but already had his eye on higher things. His F3000 displays again saw him attract offers from other sources, landing a factory seat with the crack Nissan sportscar team and a testing contract with the equally rated Williams F1 outfit for the year.
Both deals continued into 1990 although, by now, Mark had decided to give up on the pursuit of F3000 glory. It didn’t seem to affect him, however, as he took the Nissan to pole position for the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours – the youngest driver ever to do so, and in a new outright lap record.
Once again, his reputation as a driver to watch saw Mark progress upwards, this time to the holy grail of Formula One. His debut season in the top flight saw a sixth place finish with the Brabham Yamaha team in Belgium, whilst still continuing to test with Williams.
The increasing decline of the Brabham team saw the unfortunate Blundell cast onto the F1 sidelines the following season, but he was able to pick up a full-time testing role with McLaren that would stand him in good stead for the future. He was far from idle between tests, either, racing sportscars for the factory Peugeot outfit, and adding a race victory to his earlier pole position at the Le Mans 24hrs.
Back in Formula One the following season with Ligier, Blundell took his first podium finishes with third places in both South Africa and Germany, to seal tenth overall in the world championship. Again, however, he found himself on the move at the end of the year, but was picked up by Tyrrell to lead its charge the following year.
A third place in Spain would prove to be the high point of 1994, before again being left out of the reckoning by a lack of sponsorship. This proved to be something of a blessing in disguise, however, as Mark was quickly snapped up by former employer McLaren to replace the retiring Nigel Mansell. Teamed with future world champion Mika Hakkinen, Blundell recorded five top six finishes to again take tenth spot in the championship race, and added a fourth place at Le Mans to his growing sportscar collection.
When McLaren signed David Coulthard for 1996, Blundell decided to seek his fortune elsewhere, and ventured across the Atlantic to sample the CART Champcar series. A debut year with the PacWest Racing Group saw him take third overall in the Rookie of the Year contest, and top six finishes in the US500, Detroit and Michigan races, netting the Valvoline and BRDC North America Awards along the way.
Race wins in a major championship finally came Mark’s way in 1997, as he notched up victories at Portland, Toronto and Fontana en route to sixth overall in the CART series. His performances were such that he was to be voted British Competition Driver of the Year by readers of Autosport magazine and also be presented with the BRDC ERA Award.
A disappointing season in 1998 left a bewildered Blundell languishing further down the points standings than he would have liked, and injury early in 1999 – after a massive crash in testing left him with broken vertebrae and he again wound up outside the top 20.
Retained by PacWest for a fifth straight season, Mark Blundell again contested the CART Champcar series in 2000, partnered by Brazilian Mauricio Gugelmin. It was a tough year though and Mark only scored 18 points and slumped to 21st in the championship standings. His teammate Gugelmin in comparison scored 39 and was classified 17th.
In 2001 Mark Blundell and PacWest agreed to an amicable split. With the CART scene no longer holding competitive prospects, Blundell switched his attentions back to a European base. Racing wise though the Brit was not able to undertake a full season of racing due to the MB/PW agreement and MB, thus concentrated on his MG Le Mans program.
Despite not finishing the 24 Hours of Le Mans the MG Lola EX257 impressed on it’s debut, qualifying one-two in the LMP675 class and before both cars retired – one after four and a half hours and the other just after the 12-hour mark – the MG had reached as high as third overall within two hours of the start of the race and also established the fastest wet weather lap, with a blistering third fastest time overall.
Away from the track Blundell joined British television company ITV and featured at a number of F1 Grand’s Prix as a studio analyst with Tony Jardine. Mark additionally joined the BBC2 Motorsport team – for the first CART race to be held in Britain, at Rockingham on September 22 – and his TV commitments also involved filming features for the Pulling Power motoring programme.
Mark also became an advisor for young driver Philip Glew. Glew competed in the 2001 Avon Junior Formula Ford Championship and is a close family friend.
For 2002, Mark again combined racing and media interests. His plans were led by an expanded MG programme, which included a run in the British round of the World Rally Championship, in addition to a regular studio expert role with ITV’s Formula One coverage and regular presenter duties for Carlton Television’s Pulling Power Series.
“I enjoyed my first experience in a rally car although it was pretty hairy at times,” he said, “I’ve now got total respect for the rally drivers.”
The Le Mans 24 Hours was once more the focus for Blundell’s on-track activities as he renewed his partnership with MG and the X Power brand to lead a six driver line-up with the MG Lola EX257. His role with the famous British marque was also broadened as he took on the position of ambassador for the MG brand, promoting and advising the company on its various motorsport activities.
The following year [2003] marked another turning point in Mark’s career, although once again he concentrated primarily on sportscar racing and television duties for ITV.
For Le Mans he joined Team Bentley, teaming up with former sparring partner Johnny Herbert and Australian ace David Brabham to lead a two-car effort for the famous British marque.
The warm-up at the 12 Hours of Sebring went well, with Mark taking third spot, while the second Bentley came home fourth.
Le Mans itself was also success, and although Bentley won, unfortunately for Mark, Herbert and Brabham, they had to settle for the runners-up spot, just two laps behind team-mates, Guy Smith, Rinaldo Capello, Tom Kristensen.
In 2004 Mark concentrated on his TV career, although towards the end of the year, it was announced, that he would join forces with Martin Brundle and David Price Racing, to launch a new assault on the Le Mans 24 hours, possibly with Aston Martin.
Currently running the DBR9 in the GT class in endurance events.
Mark and Brundle are also set to launch 2MB Sports Management Ltd – a new driver management company.
