Perry McCarthy
McCarthy in 2003
|
|
| Born |
3 March 1961 Stepney, East London, England |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |
 British |
| Active years | 1992 |
| Teams | Andrea Moda |
| Entries | 10 (0 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1992 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1992 Italian Grand Prix |
Perry McCarthy (born 3 March 1961) is a British racing driver, who drove in Formula One in 1992 before moving into sportscars, including driving in the 24 Hours of Le Mans five times between 1996 and 2003.
McCarthy also portrayed The Stig in the first two series of BBC motoring show Top Gear.
Born in Stepney, East London, McCarthy grew up to work for his father's company servicing North Sea oil rigs. Unlike most Formula One drivers, McCarthy did not start racing in karts. He worked his way through the junior categories of motor sport in Europe, such as Formula Ford, Formula 3, eventually F3000 and various touring and sports car races in the US, including drives for Spice Engineering.
In 1991, McCarthy was chosen to test for the Footwork Formula One team. Although he impressed the team, his break did not come until the eve of the 1992 Formula One season, when he was signed by the independent Andrea Moda team run by Andrea Sassetti who thought that entering Formula One would be a good way to advertise his shoe business. The team was uncompetitive, disorganized and poorly managed, and after a lengthy battle to gain an FIA Super Licence the season soon descended into farce. McCarthy, frequently denied more than a handful of laps in which to prepare, failed to qualify for any Grand Prix. His Grand Prix debut at Spain lasted eighteen metres down the pit lane in pre-qualifying. The team folded before the end of the season in controversial circumstances and McCarthy was left without a drive. In a July 2004 interview with The Times, McCarthy discussed how this period in his career had contributed to him being dubbed the world's unluckiest racing driver, saying "Dick Dastardly had more luck than me".
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