My hero

By Mark Blundell

“When I was a kid, Ronnie Peterson caught my attention. I wasn’t really into motorsport, but the colours of his JPS Lotus and his style stuck in my mind. He was a real racer.

“When I got into the sport, I started in motocross, then switched to Formula Ford in 1984. My inspiration then was Ayrton Senna and I set my aspirations to race against him one day. I achieved that and then shared a podium with him at the South African Grand Prix in 1993, which was very special for me. I had another podium that year at Hockenheim, but I was ahead of him that day. You can have complete respect for a rival, but that doesn’t mean you don’t want to kick their arse on the track”