BIOGRAPHY

B L U N D E L L , Mark (GB)
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b 8/4/1966
Place of birth:      Barnett/GB
Height:              1,70 m (5 ft 7 ins)
Weight:              73 kg
Marital status:      single, fiancee 
                     Deborah
Children:            2 sons (Mark Jr., 
                     Column)
Hobbies:             Classic Cars
Sports:              golf, squash
Favourite music:     pop
Favourite singers:   Chris Rea, Madonna
Favourite drink:     freshly squeezed 
                     orange juice
Favourite food:      roast beef
Dream:               to be Formula 1 World 
                     Champion
Start racing career: Motocross 1980
First racing car:    Lola Formula Ford 
                     1600 (1984)
First success:       Champion of 
                     Snetterton 1984

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SOURCE: Darren Galpin
http://www.bath.ac.uk/~py3dlg/motorsport/
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Blundell biography by McLaren
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A former test driver for Marlboro McLaren,
Mark "Billy" Blundell was recruited to
replace Nigel Mansell in the first two
rounds of the 1995 championship.

Having carried out his duties admirably,
he was retained to complement the Marlboro
McLaren Mercedes driver line-up for the
rest of the season.

Unlike most of his colleagues who graduated
in karting, Mark started his racing career
on two wheels, competing in 125cc motocross
for three years.

In 1984, he entered the Formula Ford 1600
category junior championship, finishing
runner-up in his maiden season, winning 25
of 70 races in the series and receiving a
well-deserved Grovewood Award for this
achievement.

He followed this promising debut by
clinching two championship titles in the
next two seasons: the Esso FF1600 in 1985
and EFDA FF2000 in 1986.

In 1987, he raced in F3000 and his
breakthrough to Formula One came in 1989
when, while still competing in F3000, he
was nominated as test driver for the
Williams team for two seasons. In his spare
time, he also drove for Nissan in the World
Sports Car Championship.

This latest series brought him the highest
point in his career, with a victory at the
1992 Le Mans 24 Hours in a Peugeot 905.

That same year, Marlboro McLaren recruited
Mark as its principal test driver for the
MP4/7, offering him the opportunity to
develop his racing skills alongside Ayrton
Senna and Gerhard Berger.

In 1993, he joined the Ligier team as a
full-time racing driver and made it to the
rostrum in South Africa and Germany. 

The following year, he raced for the
Tyrrell-Yamaha team, and finished the
Drivers' Championship in 12th position.

In 1995, besides his activities as a
Marlboro McLaren Mercedes driver, Mark once
again took part in the Le Mans 24 Hours,
finishing fourth at the wheel of a McLaren
GTR.

Mark is 29, married to Deborah and has two
sons, Mark Jr. and  Callum. 

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Source: http://www.mclaren.co.uk/mclaren/
1995
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RACING CAREER:

B L U N D E L L , Mark (GB)
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1980 - 1983 - Motocross
1984 - Won Grovewood award for winning 25 
       out of 70 FF1600 races. 
       FF1600 junior championship, 2nd 
       place. Champion of Snetterton. Won
       Grovewood Award and Autosport 
       Golden Helmet. Won BP & Dunlop 
       FF1600
       championship.
1985 - FF1600 Senior (champion). RAC 
       FF1600, 2nd. FF2000 champion. 4th in
       FF1600 festival at Brands Hatch
1986 - FF1600. Euroseries FF2000 champion. 
       Britsih FF2000, 2nd.
1987 - F3000 in elderly Lola, 14th. Points 
       scores at Spa (2nd) & Vallelunga. 
       British F3, 13th (2nd at Donington)
1988 - F3000 - Works Lola drive. 2nd in 
       Jerez & Zolder, 6th.
1989 - F3000 with Middlebridge, 11th. 3rd 
       at Silverstone. Sportscars (Nissan),
       11th (3rd at Donington, Spa)
1990 - Nissan sportscar works driver, 10th 
       (2nd Montreal, Mexico). Williams 
       GP test driver
1991 - 16 F1 races (Motor Racing 
       Developments/Brabham), 1 point 
       (Spa).
1992 - McLaren test driver. Won Le Mans on 
       one-off with Peugeot (with
       Derek Warwick & Yannick Dalmas)
1993 - 16 races (Ligier), 10 points. (3rd 
       S.Africa, Germany)
1994 - 16 races (Tyrrell), 8 points, 12th 
       in championship.
1995 - 17 races (McLaren), 13 points, 
       10th. (4th Italy, Australia,
       5th Monaco, Britain, Belgium, 6th 
       Brazil). 
       4th in Le Mans 24hrs (McLaren F1)

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SOURCE: Darren Galpin
http://www.bath.ac.uk/~py3dlg/motorsport/
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