Celebrity appeal

The cult of celebrity, however spurious, is everywhere in our society, on our TVs and social media feeds and even on traditional billboards. You’d think that motorsport would have renewed its complicated relationship with the glitterati by now, but no. The heights of household-name petrol-powered daredevilry were the 1970s.

The chief exponent of the celebrity race was former Brands Hatch director John Webb, who organised contests that pitted a host of notables against a few game pros and, from time to time, Webb’s roster of aspiring