RACING star Mark Webber is having a roaring time racing around Glasgow as part of the IGNITION Festival of Motoring.
The 2015 World Endurance Champion and winner of nine Formula One Grand Prix lapped around the city's first ever street circuit, on roads snaking between the SECC and nearby SSE Hydro Arena.
Speaking to the Evening Times ahead of his appearance, he said: “It’s really good to be here. I love Scotland - it’s a great part of the world, very picturesque and there’s stunning scenery.
“They’ve gone to a lot of effort to bring the event to the people and long may it continue. Closing the streets off is not that straightforward, I imagine.”
Mark was joined by a number of big names in Scottish motor sport including five times British Rally champion Jimmy McRae, who inaugurated the specially constructed IGNITION Street Circuit, driving late son Colin McRae’s famous Subaru Impreza world championship winning rally car.
IGNITION is the first motoring festival of its kind and is set to attract around 30,000 motor sport fans from across Scotland.
“There’s an incredible heritage in Scotland with motor sporting in particular with Sir Jackie Stewart, Jimmy Clark, Colin McCrae and great rally legends and that gives people a passion and something to follow,” Mark explained.
Now approaching his 40th birthday, the driver has turned his hand to endurance racing, which tests the durability of equipment and participants.
Despite being a significant change from the “racing wheel to wheel” events which got Mark hooked on the sport from a young age, he is finding the change in pace rewarding.
“Formula 1 is very individual which I obviously enjoyed but it’s not forever”, he explained. “I’m 40 this year so endurance is the best category for me to do.
“There is a lot more camaraderie in endurance, it’s a bit like the Davis Cup. We go to work together, I share the car with three other drivers and the race is a long 24 hours, which is a lot of fun.”
The three day festival is likely to not only please motoring fans but inspire a new generation of Scottish driving stars following in the footsteps of the likes of Jackie Stewart.
Does Mark ever see a Scot becoming the next motor racing icon?
He said: “It’s not a question of if, it’s just a question of when. You’ve just got to keep throwing young guys at it, giving them a chance to go through the junior categories.
“The skills are here, the difficult thing is just trying to get them through the very expensive junior categories. The biggest problem we have is that there’s guys that just have more sponsorship than others and that can be very frustrating.”
Some petrolheads looked on in shock at yesterday’s festival after a McLaren supercar crashed into a barrier.
The car, worth between £350,000 and £400,000, hit the barrier as it raced around the specially-built street circuit, but the driver was uninjured.
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