Anyone who knows me knows I'm a huge Formula One fan, although these days truly an armchair enthusiast. But it wasn't always so!
In my late teens, along with a couple of good mates, we used to camp at the British Grand Prix (at that time alternating between Silverstone and Brands Hatch) staying for the whole weekend, soaking up the atmosphere and the sweet aroma of five-star petrol (do you remember that?).
By this time James Hunt had moved to McLaren, of course going on to win his only World Championship in 1976, but he will forever be associated with the rather maverick (and under-funded) Hesketh Racing, and the car with which he achieved Hesketh's only GP victory, the Hesketh 308. Hunt took the hugely popular win in the wet/dry 1975 Dutch Grand Prix, holding off Niki Lauda's dominant Ferrari - I can still remember the tension of those final few laps!!
Hunt's car, with the iconic Number 24, is pictured here at Donnington Park (before it was 'modified') in the hands of Frank Sytner at the Grand Prix Masters Series race in 2009. The stuff memories are made of ....
