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Mark Blundell

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. Blundell has returned to the series in a new role for 2020 helping to form the latest name to line the grid - MB Motorsport as Sporting Director working with Laser Tools Racing. He is CEO of Europe wide sports management group, MB Partners.

Mark Blundell
Blundell in 2011
Born (1966-04-08) 8 April 1966 (age 58)
London, England
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityUnited Kingdom British
Active years1991, 1993–1995
TeamsBrabham, Ligier, Tyrrell and McLaren
Entries63 (61 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums3
Career points32
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1991 United States Grand Prix
Last entry1995 Australian Grand Prix

Background

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Blundell was born in Barnet, London. He first dabbled in motor sport at the age of 14, racing motocross bikes across England. At the age of 17 he made the switch to four wheels, starting his driving career in Formula Ford. In his first season he placed second in both British Junior Formula Ford Championships. The following year, Blundell won both the Esso British and Snetterton Formula Ford 1600 crowns. The next year, he began racing in the more powerful Formula Ford 2000 category, and won the BBC Grandstand series. He returned to FF1600 to compete in the European Championship racing, taking pole,[clarification needed] and finishing fourth overall. In 1986, he won another championship in Formula Ford 2000, this time the European title.

In 1987, Blundell moved on to racing in Formula 3000[1] and started a number of Formula Three races for TOM'S-Toyota.[1] 1988 brought a switch to the works Lola team in F3000. Blundell completed the season in sixth place.[1]

Formula One

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Blundell signed with the sports car team at Nissan for 1989, landing a factory seat. He also managed a test drive with Williams F1 Team. By 1990, Blundell left F3000 to concentrate on sports cars. That same year, he earned pole position at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race driving a Nissan R90CK. Blundell became the youngest driver to achieve pole position at the Le Mans 24 Hours, with a 6.040-second margin ahead of second place.[2]

 
Blundell driving for McLaren at the 1995 British Grand Prix.

1991 marked Blundell's transition into Formula One. His debut season saw a sixth place in Belgium with the Brabham Yamaha team while also maintaining his testing deal with Williams. However, the following season, he was not retained by Brabham, and was left without a race seat in Formula One. He declined Williams' offer to stay on as their test driver for 1992, as he had his eyes solely on a full-time race seat. He told his contemporary Damon Hill about the vacant Williams test seat, which Hill eventually took. Having failed to land a drive for 1992, Blundell eventually signed a testing deal with McLaren. Whilst being a full-time tester for McLaren, he also continued to race sports cars. That year, with the factory Peugeot outfit, he won the Le Mans 24 Hours, adding to his earlier pole.

Blundell returned to Formula One in 1993. A drive with Ligier netted him his first two podium finishes in South Africa and Germany, and tenth in the final World Championship standings. It was a one-year deal with Ligier, however, and in 1994 Blundell signed with Tyrrell. Blundell managed only one podium finish in the 1994 Spanish Grand Prix, which was the last Formula One podium finish for Tyrrell. At the end of the season, owing to lack of sponsorship, Tyrrell released Blundell as the retirement of Nigel Mansell meant a return to McLaren, this time, in a race seat. Teamed with future two-time world champion Mika Häkkinen, Blundell recorded five points finishes and once again took tenth in the final standings. 1995 also saw continued success in sports cars with a fourth place showing in Le Mans, but was Blundell's final year in Formula One, owing to the signing of David Coulthard by McLaren.

Blundell achieved 3 podiums, and scored a total of 32 championship points.

Blundell came close to making a return to Formula One in 2001. He had advanced negotiations with Prost Grand Prix to be the team's test and development driver but the deal was not concluded.[3]

CART

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Mark Blundell
CART World Series
Years active1996–2000
TeamsPacWest Racing
Starts81
Wins3
Poles0
Best finish6th in 1997
Awards
1997Autosport British Driver of the Year

Out of Formula One, Blundell moved to the United States and joined the CART racing team PacWest, alongside fellow former Formula One driver Maurício Gugelmin. Early in the season, Blundell crashed head-on into a concrete wall in Rio, resulting in a broken foot and ankle and forcing him to miss three races. Despite this, he was third in the rookie standings with three top six finishes in the U.S. 500, Detroit Grand Prix, and Michigan International Speedway races.

In 1997 Blundell came within one corner of winning the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix before running out of fuel, an event he described at the time as the worst disappointment of his career.[4] In the next race, he passed Gil de Ferran on the final straight to win the Grand Prix of Portland by 0.027 seconds. Blundell recorded further race victories in Toronto and Fontana en route to sixth in the championship. That year he was also named British Driver of the Year by Autosport magazine.

A crash whilst testing at Gateway in early 1999 left Blundell to miss 8 races in the middle of the 1999 season. He returned to PacWest for a final season in 2000. However, after finishing 21st in the championship with 18 points, he left PacWest racing by mutual agreement.

From driving to commentating

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Blundell driving the Trade Price Racing Audi S3 at Snetterton during the 2019 British Touring Car Championship season.

Blundell again crossed the Atlantic to focus on his sports car racing. He failed to finish Le Mans with the MG Lola team, though he and his teammates impressed. Off-track, Blundell joined ITV television in Britain as an analyst for the 2002 Formula One season. This position lasted until the end of the 2008 Formula One season when ITV lost coverage to the BBC.

Since 2001, Blundell's racing involvement has steadily declined, with only the occasional event. He did test a Dale Coyne Champ Car to help prepare Darren Manning for a one-off in the first CART race in Britain at Rockingham, and raced in the British round of the World Rally Championship. In 2003, along with Johnny Herbert and David Brabham, he finished second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, completing a 1–2 sweep by Bentley. In 2003 he finished third at the 12 Hours of Sebring driving for Bentley alongside Johnny Herbert and David Brabham.[5]

From 2004, Blundell ran a management company, 2MB Sports Management, with fellow ex-F1 driver and friend Martin Brundle, until Brundle decided to devote more time to his television career.[6][7] The company represent drivers including McLaren test driver Gary Paffett, British Formula 3 champion and IndyCar driver Mike Conway, Ferrari junior Callum Ilott, BMW backed racer Tom Blomqvist, IndyCar driver Jordan King, British F4 champion Kiern Jewiss and British GT driver Patrick Kibble.

Helmet

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Blundell's helmet is yellow with three red stripes and two yellow gaps in the middle, a blue stripe in the entire chin area and a blue circle on the top with his golden initials on it. The rear of his helmet bears the motto "The Will To Win" – a quote from his grandfather.[8]

Racing record

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Career summary

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Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
1984 Formula Ford 2000 ? ? ? ? ? 0 ?
1985 Formula Ford 1600 ? 6 ? ? ? ? 1st
Formula Ford 2000 ? 6 ? ? ? ? ?
Formula Ford Festival 1 0 0 ? 0 0 4th
1986 Formula Ford 2000 ? ? ? ? ? 125 1st
1987 British Formula 3 Championship TOM'S GB 6 0 0 0 1 6 13th
International Formula 3000 Fleetray Racing 5 0 0 0 1 5 15th
BS Automotive 4 0 0 0 0
1988 International Formula 3000 Lola Motorsport 11 0 0 1 3 18 6th
Japanese Formula 3000 Footwork Racing International 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1989 International Formula 3000 Middlebridge 8 0 0 0 1 8 11th
World Sportscar Championship Nissan Motorsports 5 0 0 0 2 27 11th
24 Hours of Le Mans 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
1990 World Sportscar Championship Nissan Motorsports International 8 0 0 0 3 16 11th
24 Hours of Le Mans 1 0 1 0 0 N/A DNF
1991 Formula One Motor Racing Developments Ltd 14 0 0 0 0 1 18th
1992 24 Hours of Le Mans Peugeot Talbot Sport 1 1 0 0 1 N/A 1st
1993 Formula One Ligier Gitanes Blondes 16 0 0 0 2 10 10th
1994 Formula One Tyrrell 16 0 0 0 1 8 12th
1995 Formula One Marlboro McLaren Mercedes 15 0 0 0 0 13 10th
24 Hours of Le Mans GTC Gulf Racing 1 0 0 0 1 N/A 4th
1996 PPG Indy Car World Series PacWest Racing 13 0 0 0 0 41 16th
1997 PPG CART World Series PacWest Racing 17 3 0 2 5 115 6th
1998 CART FedEx Championship Series PacWest Racing 19 0 0 0 0 36 18th
1999 CART FedEx Championship Series PacWest Racing 12 0 0 0 0 9 23rd
2000 CART FedEx Championship Series PacWest Racing 20 0 0 0 0 18 21st
2001 24 Hours of Le Mans MG Sport & Racing 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
2002 24 Hours of Le Mans MG Sport & Racing 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
World Rally Championship 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2003 24 Hours of Le Mans Team Bentley 1 0 0 0 1 N/A 2nd
American Le Mans Series 1 0 0 0 1 19 21st
2010 Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup — 1 0 0 1 1 0 NC†
2011 Rolex Sports Car Series United Autosports w/ Michael Shank Racing 4 0 0 0 0 99 17th
Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup — 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP8 Volkswagen Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
2012 Blancpain Endurance Series United Autosports 4 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup — 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
2013 British GT Championship United Autosports 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2017 Mini Challenge UK United Autosports 3 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
2019 British Touring Car Championship TradePriceCars.com 30 0 0 0 0 5 27th
Sources:[9][10][11]

† As Blundell was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.

Complete International Formula 3000 results

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(key)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC Points
1987 Fleetray Racing SIL
Ret 		VAL
6 		SPA
2 		PAU DON
9 		BRH
6 		BIR
DNQ 		14th 5
BS Automotive PER
9 		IMO
Ret 		BUG
Ret 		JAR
8
1988 Lola Motorsport JER
2 		VAL
5 		PAU
Ret 		SIL
9 		MNZ
Ret 		PER
Ret 		BRH
3 		BIR
Ret 		BUG
7 		ZOL
2 		DIJ
Ret 		6th 18
1989 Middlebridge SIL
3 		VAL
Ret 		PAU
6 		JER
DNQ 		PER
Ret 		BRH
Ret 		BIR
5 		SPA
DNS 		BUG
Ret 		DIJ
6 		11th 8
Sources:[10][11]

Complete Japanese Formula 3000 Championship results

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(key)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 DC Points
1988 Footwork Racing International SUZ FUJ MIN SUZ SUG FUJ SUZ SUZ
Ret 		NC 0
Source:[11]

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

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Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1989   Nissan Motorsports   Julian Bailey
  Martin Donnelly 		Nissan R89C C1 5 DNF DNF
1990   Nissan Motorsports International   Julian Bailey
  Gianfranco Brancatelli 		Nissan R90CK C1 142 DNF DNF
1992   Peugeot Talbot Sport   Derek Warwick
  Yannick Dalmas 		Peugeot 905 Evo 1B C1 352 1st 1st
1995   GTC Gulf Racing   Ray Bellm
  Maurizio Sandro Sala 		McLaren F1 GTR GT1 291 4th 3rd
2001   MG Sport & Racing Ltd.   Julian Bailey
  Kevin McGarrity 		MG-Lola EX257 LMP675 92 DNF DNF
2002   MG Sport & Racing Ltd.   Julian Bailey
  Kevin McGarrity 		MG-Lola EX257 LMP675 219 DNF DNF
2003   Team Bentley   David Brabham
  Johnny Herbert 		Bentley Speed 8 LMGTP 375 2nd 2nd
Sources:[10][12]

Complete Formula One results

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(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 WDC Pts.
1991 Motor Racing Developments Ltd Brabham BT59Y Yamaha V12 USA
Ret 		BRA
Ret 		18th 1
Brabham BT60Y Yamaha V12 SMR
8 		MON
Ret 		CAN
DNQ 		MEX
Ret 		FRA
Ret 		GBR
Ret 		GER
12 		HUN
Ret 		BEL
6 		ITA
12 		POR
Ret 		ESP
Ret 		JPN
DNPQ 		AUS
17
1993 Ligier Gitanes Blondes Ligier JS39 Renault V10 RSA
3 		BRA
5 		EUR
Ret 		SMR
Ret 		ESP
7 		MON
Ret 		CAN
Ret 		FRA
Ret 		GBR
7 		GER
3 		HUN
7 		BEL
11 		ITA
Ret 		POR
Ret 		JPN
7 		AUS
9 		10th 10
1994 Tyrrell Tyrrell 022 Yamaha V10 BRA
Ret 		PAC
Ret 		SMR
9 		MON
Ret 		ESP
3 		CAN
10 		FRA
10 		GBR
Ret 		GER
Ret 		HUN
5 		BEL
5 		ITA
Ret 		POR
Ret 		EUR
13 		JPN
Ret 		AUS
Ret 		12th 8
1995 Marlboro McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4/10 Mercedes V10 BRA
6 		ARG
Ret 		SMR ESP 10th 13
McLaren MP4/10B MON
5 		CAN
Ret 		FRA
11 		GBR
5 		GER
Ret 		HUN
Ret 		BEL
5 		ITA
4 		PAC
9 		JPN
7 		AUS
4
McLaren MP4/10C POR
9 		EUR
Ret
Sources:[10][11][13]

Complete CART results

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(key)

Year Team No. Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Rank Points Ref
1996 PacWest Racing 21 Reynard 96i Ford XB V8 t MIA
17 		RIO
27 		SRF
Inj 		LBH
Inj 		NZR
Inj 		500
5 		MIL
22 		DET
5 		POR
8 		CLE
11 		TOR
11 		MIS
6 		MDO
10 		ROA
20 		VAN
12 		LS
24 		16th 41 [14]
1997 PacWest Racing 18 Reynard 97i Mercedes-Benz IC108D V8 t MIA
14 		SRF
8 		LBH
13 		NZR
19 		RIO
8 		STL
24 		MIL
12 		DET
17 		POR
1 		CLE
9 		TOR
1* 		MIS
2 		MDO
26 		ROA
16* 		VAN
7 		LS
2 		FON
1 		6th 115 [15]
1998 PacWest Racing Reynard 97i Mercedes-Benz IC108D V8 t MIA
12 		MOT
10 		LBH
7 		18th 36 [16]
Reynard 98i Mercedes-Benz IC108E V8 t NZR
20 		RIO
11 		STL
10 		MIL
12 		DET
22 		POR
22 		CLE
10 		TOR
26 		MIS
17 		MDO
19 		ROA
7 		VAN
12 		LS
25 		HOU
14 		SRF
11 		FON
6
1999 PacWest Racing Reynard 99i Mercedes-Benz IC108E V8 t MIA
8 		MOT
24 		LBH
13 		NZR
17 		RIO
Inj 		STL
Inj 		MIL
Inj 		POR
Inj 		CLE
Inj 		ROA
Inj 		TOR
Inj 		MIS
Inj 		DET
10 		MDO
13 		CHI
21 		VAN
19 		LS
12 		HOU
24 		SRF
19 		FON
16 		23rd 9 [17]
2000 PacWest Racing Reynard 2Ki Mercedes-Benz IC108F V8 t MIA
13 		LBH
8 		RIO
7 		MOT
19 		NZR
17 		MIL
17 		DET
11 		POR
20 		CLE
12 		TOR
22 		MIS
19 		CHI
23 		MDO
14 		ROA
11 		VAN
25 		LS
13 		STL
23 		HOU
20 		SRF
11 		FON
15 		21st 18 [18]

Complete WRC results

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Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 WDC Points
2002 MG Sport & Racing MG ZR S1600 MON SWE FRA ESP CYP ARG GRC KEN FIN GER ITA NZL AUS GBR
Ret 		NC 0
Sources:[10][19]

Complete American Le Mans Series results

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Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rank Points Ref
2003 Team Bentley LMGTP Bentley Speed 8 Bentley 4.0 L Turbo V8 SEB
3 		ATL SON TRO MOS AME MON MIA PET 21st 19 [20]

Complete British Touring Car Championship results

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(key) Races in bold indicate pole position (1 point awarded – 2002–2003 all races, 2004–present just in first race) Races in italics indicate fastest lap (1 point awarded all races) * signifies that driver lead race for at least one lap (1 point awarded – 2002 just in feature races, 2003–present all races)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 DC Pts
2019 TradePriceCars.com Audi S3 Saloon BRH
1
14 		BRH
2
27 		BRH
3
19 		DON
1
23 		DON
2
Ret 		DON
3
22 		THR
1
27 		THR
2
Ret 		THR
3
Ret 		CRO
1
21 		CRO
2
26 		CRO
3
19 		OUL
1
Ret 		OUL
2
23 		OUL
3
18 		SNE
1
23 		SNE
2
21 		SNE
3
Ret 		THR
1
27 		THR
2
26 		THR
3
27 		KNO
1
20 		KNO
2
24 		KNO
3
21 		SIL
1
Ret 		SIL
2
18 		SIL
3
13 		BRH
1
22 		BRH
2
Ret 		BRH
3
20 		27th 5
Sources:[10][21]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "About Mark". Mark Blundell Official Website. 2012. Archived from the original on 11 September 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  2. ^ "Le Mans 24 Hours 1990 – Photo Gallery". Racing Sports Cars. 17 June 1990. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  3. ^ Wilkins, Robert (14 March 2001). "Blundell moves close to joining Prost". Crash. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  4. ^ "1997 ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix". 21 October 2012. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ "Official Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Brundle leaves management role". Crash.net. 7 January 2009.
  7. ^ "Brundle to step back from 2MB role". autosport.com. 7 January 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
  8. ^ Tom Clarkson (1 April 2020). "F1: Beyond the Grid – Mark Blundell on F1 in the 90s, friendship with Martin Brundle, filling Mansell's seat and more" (Podcast). 14.22 minutes in. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Mark Blundell". Driver Database. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d e f "Mark Blundell Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d "Mark Blundell". Motor Sport. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  12. ^ "Mark Blundell". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  13. ^ Small, Steve (2000). "Blundell, Mark". Grand Prix Who's Who (Third ed.). Reading, Berkshire: Travel Publishing. pp. 83–84. ISBN 978-1-902007-46-5. Retrieved 12 January 2024 – via Internet Archive.
  14. ^ "Mark Blundell – 1996 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Mark Blundell – 1997 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  16. ^ "Mark Blundell – 1998 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  17. ^ "Mark Blundell – 1999 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  18. ^ "Mark Blundell – 2000 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  19. ^ "Mark Blundell". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  20. ^ "Mark Blundell – 2003 American Le Mans Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  21. ^ "Mark Blundell race results". TouringCars.net. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
1992
With: Derek Warwick & Yannick Dalmas 		Succeeded by
Awards
Preceded by Autosport
British Competition Driver of the Year
1997 		Succeeded by
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