Spinning Wheels

How do you go from being the unluckiest driver in Formula One to been the most famous person ever to be fired off a military aircraft carrier a Jaguar XJS?

Perry McCarthy's career began in the North Sea, and it could have ended there had it not been for how that famous TV moment captured the imagination of the fans worldwide.

By his own admission, this is a career that didn't go as planned, but as a result its one of the most fascinating stories in Motorsport.

Guy and Paul meet the racing driver behind the original Top Gear Stig, in episode 30 of Spinning Wheels.

In then in ties, BTCC drivers were superstars. Add to that Group A Rovers and Cosworths, and the iconic Group C sports car era and you start to realise why our latest guest has become one of British motorsport's household names.

In episode 29, we complete our super touring themed back -to - back podcast series telling the story of the 1992 BTCC season, straight from the mouth of the champion.

Its time to go back behind the visor with ITV4 BTCC pundit and racing legend, Tim Harvey.

Five Le Mans victories rivals the very best drivers in the business, but with a CV that includes two American Le Mans series titles.two Italian karting Championships, DTM, Formula One, Emanuelle Pirro has a fascinating story to tell.

Respected by his fellow drivers for his boundless energy, and adored by the fans for the same, Pirro wears his heart on his sleeve here on Spinning Wheels as he journeys through the highs and lows of a long, distinguished motor racing career, and explains the offside rule. test, really!

Derek Warwick is a racing driver who appreciates a lucky hand, but who hasn't always been at then of one. A driver who has experienced the highs and lows of F1, from his first race at Imola to tragedy and betrayal, the welder who started his career in F2 super stock cars has a huge ,yet humbling story to tell.

In his own words, Derek Warwick is an anorak of the sport, and has loved everything about being a professional racing driver. And that includes joining us on Spinning Wheels to share his inspiring story with you.

John Cleland comes from an era when racing drivers were racing drivers, and touring cars were touring cars.

That's what you'd hear if you asked a nineties super touring fan about the BTCC.

Behind the on-track rivalries and the glamorous budgets, however were a group of superstar drivers who could barely have imagined the international stardom they'd enjoy, when they climbed behind the wheel of the racing versions of a selection of humble 'rep-mobiles'.

Every super touring driver will tell you that the bubble had to burst at some point, shortly before they tell you it was one heck of a ride!

In this episode of the Spinning Wheels podcast Guy and Paul go behind the visor of one of the world's best loved racing drivers who, you'll be pleased to know is every bit the character he was in the spotlight of his career.

When you think of iconic Touring car races, Steve Soper is never far from the conversation.

A fan's favourite on-and-off the race track, 'Soperman' is a racing driver who has always worn his heart on his sleeve , and he wears it once more for the 25th episode of Spinning Wheels.

To say Steve's career has been a roller coaster would be putting it mildly, so strap in tightly and join Guy and Paul for an eye - opening motorsport adventure.

British drivers have always proved popular in American race series, but few have covered themselves in glory stateside as much as Oliver Gavin, Corvette Racing's most successful driver.

But a record stint - including five Le Mans victories and five ALMS titles - is only part of the adventure, which includes F1 politics and a mid nineties DTM drive.

Join Guy and Paul for a second series of Spinning Wheels podcast with a story or two to tell!

For the final episode of 2020,Guy and Paul review the series, and we finally get the full story on Guy's Williams Formula One test, back in 1995 have won the Formula Renault Championship.

Just what was it like ,as a young driver stepping into the best car on the F1 grid, and how did it feel pulling on the famous Rothmans race suit that would become so iconic when Damon Hill won the World championship the following season.

Matthew Wilson grew up in one of rallying's most famous families. A racing career beckoned, team mate to Lewis Hamilton in Formula Renault, but when your first driving lesson was with Ari Vatanen in a MK2, your career is only headed in one direction - gravel.

The youngest ever winner of a British Rally Championship round. and of a WRC stage, Matthew competed on one of the most competitive eras of the World Championship.

Find out how, as he hung up his full time rally gloves, a chance return to racing led to Wilson Jnr running one of the most successful GT racing debuts with Bentley, and go behind the scenes with some of the worlds biggest rallying names in episode 22 of Spinning Wheels.

Andy won Le Mans with Jaguar in 1988 and is a three time winner of the Daytona 24hrs and a two time winner of the Sebring 12hrs which makes him one of only a handful of drivers to win Sports cars triple crown.

Andy talks about cycling 30 miles each way to Silverstone with his cheese and pickle sandwiches to watch the cars racing at Silverstone as a young Boy and making the step up to racing himself and winning the British Formula three championship and the Macau GP. An incident with Jan Lammers in the Macau GP bizarrely led to a friendship with Jan who was also racing for Jaguar in sports cars, this opened the door for Andy to test for Jaguar and become one of their factory drivers and he repaid their faith by winning Le Mans for them in 1988.

Andy has raced for Dyson racing in the ALMS and has been a huge part of their success  along with Chris Dyson, James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger, Andy tells us about his horrifying accident while testing at Mosport where the car flipped several times in an accident that lasted well over 200 metres.

He also has a passion for electric vehicles which surprised us and he talks about where he see's the future going for the automotive industry.

Andy is currently the test driver for Bugatti and in 2019 he set the worlds first speed over 300mph in a hypercar at 304.77 mph!!! in the Bugatti Chiron.

If you watch the run on YouTube it looks pretty calm and easy but Andy tells us what it was really like!

Andy has a great way of telling a story and we loved listening to him chat about his career and we could have easily doubled the length of the podcast!

Mike Nicholsons career has been spent at the top flight of British motorsport.

He starred as a co driver during the halcyon days of the British Open Rally Championship alongside legendary names such as Tony Pond and Russell Brookes, and taking the title with in 1984 with Jimmy McRae.

A career-long association with Vauxhall then saw the Derbyshire man take the helm of the Griffin's race programme, fielding drivers such as John Cleland, James Thompson and Jason Platoin the British Touring Car Championship during the revered Super Touring heyday.

Guy and Paul go behind the pace notes and the deals to discover the story of one of the sport's great characters in the latest episode of Spinning Wheels.

Every now and agin, someone comes along and inspires not only people within motorsport; but uses their platform to raise the profile of wider issues outside of the sport.

Nathalie McGloin is a race and rally driver, an ambassador for global organisations ,president of the FIA commission for disability and accessibility, and a charity founder.

As the worlds's first female tetraplegic racing driver, Nathalie pushes boundaries and changes expectations with every race start.

Guy snad Paul explore the world of motorsport from a different perspective in episode 19.

Matt chats with Guy and Paul about the struggle to the top of British rallying from working all night on his own rally cars to sleeping in tents on events as there was no money for accommodation, However that hard work and determination paid off and Matt got the support to move into a Fiesta R5 and that was the break he needed to prove what he could do. Back to back British rally championships followed in 2018 and 2019.

Guy and Paul chat with David Brabham son of 3 time world Formula One champion Sir Jack about his career in the sport and what it was like growing up as the son of such an iconic racer.

David started racing late by todays standards at age 17 but it wasn't long before he gave up life on the family farm to pursue  a career in motorsport.

David has raced in Formula One, Sports cars, Touring cars, Aussie V8's you name it he's done it and tased success many times throughout his career.

David has taken control of the Brabham name after a long court battle and is now building beautiful sports cars under the Brabham BT62 name and is ensuring the Brabham name continues to shine bright.

Ben Collins has done it all raced in the US, Le Mans, ASCAR and was one of Britain's brightest stars on the motor racing ladder which not many people may know about but its his time as Top Gear's STIG the man in the white suit that people know him best and latterly the amazing stunt driving work he has done for films such as James Bond's Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre with Daniel Craig and National Treasure with Nicholas Cage.

He has now turned his talents to writing books and has just finished a book on Aston Martin's history.

An all round great guy and it was brilliant to get behind the scenes with Ben.

Guy and Paul go back in time with one of rallying's original superstar co-drivers. Mike Broad's rise to rallying success came at a time immense national interest in the sport, with huge terrestrial TV audiences and glamorous international entry lists.

Co-driver to some of the biggest stars the sport has ever seen ,from Walter Rohrl to Russel Brookes, Tony Pond and Colin McRae, Mike takes us back to the glory days of Group B, right through to his thoughts - as BTRDA President-on the future of rallying.

Andy Chats to Guy and Paul about his rise through the sport and how he was originally planning on becoming a professional footballer but turned his focus to car racing having taken a trip to Oulton Park.

Andy has driven for British brands Bentley and Aston Martin and is only a handful of drivers that have raced the radical Delta Wing and he tells us what it was like to drive, Andy is also instrumental in the developing of British racing talent with his work for both the Motorsport UK academy and as director of the BRDC superstars.

'Mad' Max Papis talks to Guy and Paul about been mentored by the great Ayrton Senna, the disappointment of Formula one, The highs of racing in Indycar and having the most NASCAR starts for a European driver.

An all round 'Bas ass' Max's story is really inspirational and we really enjoyed speaking with him.

Described by Ayrton Senna as the best driver he had raced again Terry Fullerton was World karting champion and multiple European and British champion. He has worked with some of the best drivers in the world and he shares with Guy and Paul some of the secrets of the trade and what made him so successful.

He talks about his rise to the top of the sport and what it was like as team mate to Ayrton Senna and how their rivalry reached boiling point when Terry made a last lap move on Senna to win the Champions cup at Jesolo in 1980.

Triple World touring car champion Andy Priaulx MBE tells Guy and Paul about the struggles of making it to the top of the sport and living in a caravan at Silverstone until he got his big break into touring cars and then joining BMW for 13 years that saw him win 3 world titles, a European title, the Nurburgring 24hrs plus many races. He talks about his decision to leave BMW and move to Ford with the GT and his new role with Multimatic. Andy's son See is also on the rise in the sport just been signed by Multimatic on a long term deal so it will be interesting to watch his progress in the sport.

Bentley's former director of motorsport Brian Gush tells Guy and Paul the tails of the boardroom in getting Bentley back to Le Mans and winning it in 2003. Brian was also responsible for taking Bentley back to the race track with GT3 racing with the Continental GT plus multiple records at Pikes Peak. Hard work and dogged determination got these programs over the line and without his vision and passion they  may not have happened.

Jason talks to Guy and Paul about negotiating with Frank Williams, winning two titles in the BTCC and becoming the most winning driver in BTCC history. He chats about nights out in Milan (With Guy) and what it takes to make it to the top of the sport.

Chris Dyson is a double American Le Mans series champion who is part of the Dyson Racing dynasty who have been one of the top sports cars racing teams for the past 40 plus years. He has been driving on and off with Guy for over 15 years and the pair won the ALMS championship together in 2011 and are currently racing together in the World endurance championship in the LMP1 class for Ginetta.

Chris tells us what it was like growing up in a motor tracing family and how he made his own name in the sport.  As well as sports car racing he  has also raced in the Pirelli world challenge, Trans - Am, Nascar and Sprint cars 

Le Mans legend Derek Bell a five time winner of the French classic talks to Guy and Paul about how he got started in motorsport ,working on the Le Mans film with Steve McQueen and racing for Enzo Ferrari, Winning Le Mans 5 times and racing Lawn mowers and Pram racing!! Derek really is one of the greats and one of the nicest people you can meet. We could have gone on for another two hours at least as there are still so many stories.

Stefan tells us what it was like driving for for Enzo Ferrari and his time at McLaren and having Alain Prost as his teammate. He talks about Indy cars both as a driver and as manager to Scott Dixon. He touches on his Le Mans 24hrs win and his 12hrs of Sebring win plus driving a Porsche 956 around the Nordschleife with over 1000 HP!!

Guy and Paul chat with Nicky  who lets us get behind the scenes and tells us what it was really like working with the rally greats such as Colin McRae and Juha Kankkunen. The ups and downs of professional motorsport and some of the amazing trips and adventures he has encountered during his time in the WRC. Sit back and relax its a lot of fun!

Guy and Paul chat with Toyota WRC star Elfyn Evans and find out about his path to the top level of rallying.

Mark takes us on the motor racing adventure of a lifetime - Join us behind the scenes in Formula one, IndyCar Sports Cars and the BTCC.

In this episode Abbie tells us about her racing and rally cross exploits and her time as the test driver on amazons Grand Tour with Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond. She has a great pass along question for our next guest! What would you choose??

In the first episode of Spinning Wheels Guy and Paul catch up with WEC LMP1 racer and Ginetta factory driver Micheal Simpson to find out a little more about the man behind the visor.