Working the Wheel: Le Mans.

Le Mans is right there alongside Monaco, Monza and the Nurburgring as one of the top circuits in motorsport, a venue where drivers dream of racing in one of the most famous races that there is.

Martin Brundle has tasted success in the 24hrs of Le Mans in 1990, but three years earlier he saw the other side of the race as, with speeds in excess of 200mph, when things go wrong at Le Mans, they go wrong big time...

"I'll never forget going down the old Mulsanne Straight in the middle of the night during the race in 1987. I was flat out as usual when I began to see bits of bodywork on the track. There were no warning flags so I figured that, whatever this was, it must have just happened. I slowed as more and more debris appeared to the point where the track began to resemble the scene of a plane crash. As I was dodging various bits and pieces, I noticed out of the corner of my eye some purple bodywork, the same colour as my Silk Cut Jaguar. One of my team-mates had clearly had a massive accident. Eventually I came across what looked like just the chassis lying on its side. In fact, the gearbox and entire rear suspension were missing, as were the doors and windscreen. But I couldn't see the driver.

"I radioed back to the pits: 'Has one of us had an accident?' I was still doubting what I had just seen. There was no reply. 'I think one of our cars has had an accident on Mulsanne,' I said. Then a voice came on, asking me to repeat what I had just said. Clearly, the team did not know but they quickly worked out that it was Win Percy, who had just joined the race for the first time as reserve driver in a car shared by Jan Lammers and John Watson.

"It turned out to be the ultimate nightmare of Le Mans: a puncture. When a tyre finally goes at these speeds - say, for example the right rear - then it takes the rear wing, rear bodywork, and right-rear brake. The whole lot sails away and now you are in a car that has three wheels, no brakes and is about to take off. By some miracle, Win's car landed on the barrier and came back down on the track side rather than going into the trees. It skidded and bounced and slithered for about a kilometre, spraying parts and debris as it went...

"The radio that night was too quiet for my liking and we trailed behind the Safety Car for just under two hours because so much of the crash barrier needed replacing. During that time, they found Win. He was sitting on the other side of the fence, some way from the scene, getting his breath back. He'd had the shunt of all time and he was OK. A truly remarkable escape, one that reminds you of the race's unfortunate past..."

Extract taken from Working the Wheel by Martin Brundle, courtesy of Ebury Press (copyright: Martin Brundle and Maurice Hamilton 2004).

If you want to meet Martin Brundle, then now is your chance, as he continues his tour to promote his new book. Brundle will be visiting numerous locations in the coming weeks, full details of which are provided below.

Martin Brundle book signing schedule:

Tuesday 2 November
1pm - 2pmLondon Alex Reade Motorsport, off Carnaby Street

Wednesday 3 November
12 - 1pmCoventry Waterstones
6pm - 7pmBirmingham WH Smith, Fort Shopping Centre

Thursday 4 November
12.30-1.30pmNottingham WH Smith
5.30- 6.30pm Leicester, Fosse Park WH Smith

Tuesday 9 November
7pm - 8pmMilton Keynes Ottakars

Wednesday 10 November
1pm - 2pmManchester St Anne's Waterstones
6pm - 7pmEllesmere Port BordersThursday 18 November
1pm - 2pmNorthampton Waterstones,
5pm - 6pmPeterborough Waterstones,

Friday 19 November
4pm - 7pmKing's Lynn Brundle Volkswagen,

Working the Wheel is available in all good book stores now, priced ?18.99 and also right here in the Crash.net online shop.