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He has not raced competitively but Martin Brundle will dust off his driving overalls to compete with his son and fellow Formula 1 broadcaster Alex Brundle this weekend
Martin Brundle has announced he will race competitively again for the first time in years. And he will get to do so with his boy and fellow broadcaster Alex, as the father-and-son duo take advantage of a weekend away from Formula 1 to enjoy some bonding time.
Brundle Snr is known to many modern F1 fans as one of the best pundits and co-commentators in the business thanks to his work on Sky Sports. But he is also a racing legend in his own right, having started 158 F1 races in his career and won the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1990.
Now aged 66, he admits it has been a long time since he last took part in a competitive motorsport event. But that will change this weekend when he, his son Alex and historic racing specialist Gary Pearson share a classic Ford GT40 in the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the Ardennes circuit which is home to the Belgian Grand Prix.
“I just fancied driving Alex’s GT40 with him,” Brundle said. “Even on GP weekends, we don’t see much of each other, so it’s a rare opportunity for a father and son weekend. Me and Al did Le Mans together in 2012 and we’ve raced together in Jaguar E-types, so it’ll be fun.
“I haven’t raced for three years, since the Goodwood Revival, but enjoy working with Gary. I’d not driven the GT40 until a test session at Silverstone just before the Festival. I wanted to see whether I liked it, and did, so we decided to do Spa.”
Naturally, every racing driver wants to win whenever they get the opportunity, though for Brundle participation is the only expectation. He added: “I have no aspirations [of a result]. I love Spa and love the car, but have yet to experience it on full tanks. That will be interesting.”
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Brundle is not the only former F1 driver on the entry list. Christian Danner, a German racer who represented multiple teams across four seasons in the 1980s and had a best result of fourth place at the 1989 US Grand Prix, is one of three entrants who will share an Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint at the event.
Brundle’s entry in the race comes after he skipped the trip to Baku for last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Both he and regular commentator David Croft were conspicuous by their absence as they enjoyed a well-deserved break from the demanding annual F1 schedule.
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Brundle is part of a rotating pool of pundits and, though he make more annual appearances on Sky’s coverage than most, it is understood his most recent contract means he will work for two-thirds of the 24-race season, meaning he is absent from eight across the year.
As for Croft, he confirmed earlier this year that he had decided to attend 21 of the 24 race events, skipping three. He did not make the trip for the races in Imola, Austria and Azerbaijan this year, meaning he is now set to work every remaining event this year after Harry Benjamin stood in for him across that trio of race weekends.
