PERRY McCARTHY
Perry McCarthy was a Formula One driver in 1992, during which time he failed to qualify probably the worst car of all time, the Andrea Moda. He is much better known as The Stig from BBC 2's Top Gear. In 1989 he was testing the Leyton House F3000 at Pembrey, and he spoke to us about having the pressure on to impress some prospective employers.

"It must have been 1989 and as usual I had no drive and no money but I went down to Pembrey to help the Leyton House Formula 3000 team do some testing. In those kind of situations you've got to take the chance and grab it with both hands. Grip the steering wheel, get white knuckles and just go for it - you've got one chance!

"The car was quite stiff and the long left-hand corner [Dibeni Bend] was really bumpy and in that car I just couldn't see anything. The car felt like it had been set up by someone who'd had their nerves removed. You're jolting around, and your eyes feel like they're in a coffee blender. You just turn in with lots of throttle and pray you've got the arc right because it's anyone's guess where you end up if you haven't.

"Later on the lap there's the Brooklands Hairpin, a tight right-hander which at least in those days had a very high kerb. I touched that which made the car list up. Because I wasn't going very fast at that point on the circuit, it came down almost vertically. That hurt - first you've had your eyes put in a coffee blender and now your back feels like it's been whacked by a sledgehammer!

"Screaming down the back straight, the kink was no problem (unless it was raining in which case in a F3000 car it became very much a corner!) and there I was trying to beat everyone else's time who'd run a Leyton House, and I was successful. Unfortunately on one particular lap, in the quest for ultimate perfection, at the final corner, Honda Curve, I tried to get another 0.1 of a second. I already knew I was fast through the corner, but I had the classic devil and angel fight.

"The devil won and I applied just a millimetre or two more pressure to the throttle and of course I spun. The car was still spinning as it was coming towards the pitwall further down the straight. But you're still aware of what's happening and I managed to do all the right things and stopped the car. There I was, engine still running, facing in the right direction directly below the guy who was leaning out with pit board.

"I looked up at him, and said, 'could you tell me what that last lap time was?' He just looked at me and shook his head, with that look that just said, 'you idiot'!"

PAUL SEABY
Paul Seaby, currently with the World Champions Renault, was working with Benetton in the early Nineties. He recalls a couple of moments at Pembrey.

"We were down in Pembrey testing in 1992 and at the time the circuit didn't have the catering facilities it has now with the clubhouse. We already knew at this point how dedicated Michael Schumacher was with his fitness and a big part of this was his diet.

"For lunch a truckie would go out and forage, we were having a McDonalds while Michael ordered a salad. It duly arrived and we all tucked into the burgers and fries and you could see him looking at the burgers. He had eaten his salad and he asked if we had all eaten and if the Big Macs were good... Obviously we told him they were great so he tucked in and loved every mouthful.

"After lunch the car was readied and he set off for his first run of five timed laps, but after two or three he came back into the pits unexpectedly, he jumped out of the car and ran the 50 yards or so to the toilets and threw up all his lunch! We knew this was happening so we cut out a 'golden arches' M and taped it to the front of his helmet as a new sponsor! - luckily he did see the funny side."

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