IT’S QUITE COMMON FOR SPORTS STARS to bolt to a tax haven as soon as fame or fortune strike, but convention has seldom been the Mark Blundell way. “I did think about it, ” he says, “but the idea of bringing the kids up in Monaco or somewhere, away from most of the family… It wasn’t for me.”
Appropriately, then, when we meet to discuss a career that embraced a Le Mans 24 Hours victory, grand prix podium finishes and some notable Champ Car successes, we do so at the head office of MB Partners, his sports marketing and management agency in Royston, the Hertfordshire town he has considered his home since childhood.
It is 38 years since Blundell burst onto the motor racing scene as an unknown novice with zero karting experience and a spectacular line in car control, and little more than one since he formally announced his official retirement – though he had raced only intermittently for the best part of two decades, while developing his agency, and continues to compete in historic events for a bit of fun.
His office reflects the Blundell ethos – practical and uncluttered, with a few bits of racing memorabilia neatly aligned. “I have lots more in storage, ” he says, tucking in to a plate of sushi, “but I’m never sure why we all keep so much stuff.”
They are fragments from a career he’d never thought possible.
Motor Sport: The modern trend is for former grand prix drivers to become media pundits. You’ve done some of that, but seem to have found your niche on the commercial side. How did that start?
MB: “It began [in 2004] when Martin Brundle and I were on the board at the British Racing Drivers’ Club, which at the time was quite flush with funds and allocated some of it to young drivers to support their careers. That was great, but there was nobody helping to make sure the money was spent wisely, to give them guidance, so we set up 2MB.
“Martin’s TV career flourished as the years rolled on and he eventually decided to concentrate on that, so I bought out his share of the business and 2MB became MB Partners. We run various events, bringing companies together
