FOR SOME DRIVERS, surviving a near-200mph crash at Le Mans might be something to dwell on. The thought of a Mercedes-Benz CLR taking air at the 1999 24 Hours is certainly one of the first things that springs to mind when you hear the name Peter Dumbreck, but after talking – and laughing – about it, it seems like a mere footnote rather than a defining moment for him.
We’ve just sat down to chat at his Oxfordshire village home on the morning of what will become the UK’s hottest day on record. The temperature is clearly causing no issues; he’d completed a 30km bike ride in 35ºC heat the evening before. He can keep his cool, as you would expect of any world-class racing driver, and despite decades of world travel, he hasn’t lost an ounce of his Scottish accent.
After stepping back from professional racing in 2021 – ending his 15-year stint as Falken Motorsport’s lead Nürburgring 24 driver – Dumbreck is busier than ever, thanks to a new gig as an FIA race steward in F2 and F3. He’s also involved with Tuthill Porsche, as well as development driving for Aston Martin, just down the road.
Born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Dumbreck was the fifth child to mushroom-farming parents. ‘It’s all done in buildings rather than outdoors, but we had some land. We were quite a horsey family,
