The hard way

Nigel Mansell, the 1992 Formula 1 World Champion, had a fairly slow start to his racing career, using his own limited amount of money to help work his way up the ranks. In 1976, he moved to the Formula Ford series and won six of the nine races he took part in, including his debut event at Mallory Park.

He entered 42 races the following year and won 33 to become the 1977 British Formula Ford champion, despite suffering a broken neck in a qualifying session at Brands Hatch. Three weeks before the accident he had resigned for his job as aerospace engineer, having previously sold, with the support of his wife Roseanne, most of his personal belongings to finance his racing career.

Mansell then raced in Formula Three in 1978 – 1980. Nigel’s first season in F3 started with a pole position and a second-place finish. However, the car was not competitive, as a commercial deal with Unipart (picture above, alongside team mate Brett Riley at Silverstone) required his team to use Triumph Dolomite engines, that were vastly inferior to the Toyota engines used by the leading teams.

The next season saw him drive for David Price Racing. Following a first win in the series at Silverstone in March, he went on to finish eighth in the championship. Another accident sent him again to the hospital, this time with a broken vertebrae.

His driving was noticed by Colin Chapman, owner of Team Lotus, and shortly after the accident, hiding the extent of his injury with painkillers, Mansell performed well enough during a tryout at the Paul Ricard circuit with Lotus, and was selected to become a test driver for the Norfolk-based Formula One team in 1980.

Mansell’s skill as a test driver, including setting the fastest lap around Silverstone in a Lotus car at the time, impressed Chapman enough to give him a trio of starts in F1 in 1980. He had finally reached the pinacle of motorsport, but had to wait until 1985 and his passage to Williams-Honda, to claim the first of his 31 Grand Prix victories, at the 1985 European Grand Prix held at Brands Hatch (picture below).