JULY 5, 2002

McCarthy bites back

THE name Perry McCarthy may not be well-known by racing fans of today but those who have been following the sport for more than 10 years will remember Perry as the man who tried to make it to Formula 1 without any backing at all. Perry has now written about his exploits in a hilarious book entitled "Flat Out, Flat Broke" which chronicles the adventures of McCarthy as he rose through the ranks with the likes of Damon Hill, Johnny Herbert, Mark Blundell and Martin Donnelly. McCarthy's dream was to race in Formula 1 and he talked his way all the way to the top, getting his chance (admittedly not a great one) with a shocking F1 team called Andrea Moda Formula which collapsed when the owner Andrea Sassetti was arrested in the paddock at Spa in 1990.

Although he had considerable talent McCarthy never made it to stardom in Formula 1 but his story is an inspiration for those who dream of the big time but can find no way of getting there...