Julian Bailey

Julian Bailey (born 9 October 1961 in Woolwich, London) is a former Formula One driver who raced for the Tyrrell and Lotus teams.

Although born in the United Kingdom, he was raised in Menorca, Spain, and became an accomplished Formula Ford 1600 racer in Britain, winning the important Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch. In 1987 he got his chance to race in Formula 3000 in a GA Motorsport Lola, in which he won in only his second Formula 3000 race, becoming the first British driver to win a race in the formula. This attracted the attention of Ken Tyrrell, and Bailey was recruited to drive for the Formula One team the following year. Unfortunately the car was very uncompetitive and he did not score a single point, while his team-mate Jonathan Palmer scored five. In 1989 he joined the Nissan sports car factory team, and tried to get back into Formula One in 1991 with Lotus. He finished sixth in the San Marino Grand Prix but didn't retain his drive after Monaco. During his Formula One career he was entered in 20 Grands Prix, qualifying for seven at a time when the grids were over-subscribed, and scored a total of one championship point.

In 1993 he joined the Toyota BTCC team, finishing fifth in the championship, although his season is best remembered for his collision with team-mate Will Hoy, which flipped Hoy's car onto its roof. The next two seasons were less successful, although he outscored 1991 champion Hoy in both their seasons as team-mates. In 1996, Bailey competed in the South African Touring Car Championship (SATCC) for Minolta Toyota. He has raced primarily in sports cars since, winning the British GT Championship in 1999 and the FIA GT Championship in 2000 in a Lister Storm.

In 2008, he joined with ESPN Star Sports as a guest commentator for a number of Formula One races.

Julian's stepson, Jack Clarke, is also a racing driver with experience in Formula BMW and Formula Palmer Audi. In 2009 he graduated to the FIA Formula Two Championship.

Read more about Julian Bailey:  Top Gear

Famous quotes containing the words julian and/or bailey:

    The rich were dull and they drank too much or they played too much backgammon. They were dull and they were repetitious. He remembered poor Julian and his romantic awe of them and how he had started a story once that began, “The very rich are different from you and me.” And how someone had said to Julian, “Yes, they have more money.”
    Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961)

    I never cared for fashion much, amusing little seams and witty little pleats: it was the girls I liked.
    —David Bailey (b. 1938)