Former Le Mans 24 Hours winner Martin Brundle is tempted to make a return to the famous French endurance race next year – and says he'd love to share a car with his racing driver son, Alex.
In an interview with Autocar, BBC F1 commentator Brundle reveals how he still has a hunger for competition and wishes he hadn't taken a long break from the circuit.
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"I seriously regret not racing for ten years," says Brundle, who raced in F1 between 1984 and 1996 but scaled back his racing exploits when he became an F1 commentator in 1997. "I took my eye off the ball and got involved in too many other things: car dealerships, driver management, the British Racing Drivers' Club – all on top of the telly work. Maybe if you've won loads of grands prix or world championships the desire is satiated, but I still have a burning desire to get out there."
The 52-year-old's desire for racing was reignited when he contested the Daytona 24 Hours at the start of this year. Racing alongside his former F1 team-mate Mark Blundell, as well as Zak Brown and Mark Patterson, Brundle finished fourth at the US track and says he quickly realised he still had the bug.
"You get in the car, it's been a while and there's this moment of doubt when you wonder if you can still do it," he says. "Three minutes later you realise you can. I did eight hours 52 minutes in that car. We finished 3.7sec behind the leader after 24 hours of racing."
In tandem with his F1 career, Brundle carved a fearsome reputation as a sports car driver. He won the World Sportscar Championship with Jaguar in 1988 and was part of the Big Cat's Le Mans 24 Hours-winning squad two years later. He says he's interested in returning to both Daytona and Le Mans in 2012.
"I'm looking hard at doing it again next year and, if possible, going to Le Mans with my son Alex," he says.
Read the full interview with Martin Brundle in this week's Autocar, dated 31 August, which is out now.
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