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!