Читать книгу Every Split Second Counts - My Life with Fast Carts, Fast Women and F1 Superstars - Martin Hines - Страница 5

I don’t remember when I first met Martin Hines but for sure it was several years after I first observed the ‘King of Karting’ round the many long circuit racetracks of the UK, places such as Donington Park and Silverstone. I would see the super-slick Zip Kart team and the permanently tanned Martin winning another GP plate.

He was like a hero figure to a young lad making his way up the junior formula and at that time I wanted nothing more from my career than to be like him. I didn’t think about car racing or Formula One. Why would I when he appeared to have it all, winning races in the fastest 250cc superkarts and running a successful business producing karts for each formula below that?

As you can imagine from what I have written above, I was in awe of Martin and the way he ran his business. Therefore, you can also guess how it was finally to be introduced to him after a couple of years and then, a few more years down the line, to race for his Zip Kart team in Junior Britain through 1987 and 1988 and to win the championship for him.

A friendship was formed that has endured until today, despite the fact that my career has taken me into car racing, leaving karting behind. But kart racers stick together like a big family, and it doesn’t matter how long it is since you raced a kart, you still remember the innocent days of going racing wheel to wheel without the politics that exists in car racing.

I cannot think of anyone who has had so many drivers pass through his team and progress to success in car racing. And he always did it with a smile and without trying to take a percentage of the driver’s future earnings. He did it because he believed in the talent and knew he had the facilities to help them achieve success and then assist them on their journey into professional careers in cars.

It is easy to put words down on paper that don’t always accurately reflect the individual, because they can sound sycophantic; but, with my fingers held up and with the words ‘cub’s honour’ on my lips, I swear that you will never find another like Martin Hines: a true gentleman, a hard racer and someone with an unusual willingness to be happy for others’ success. He can also scare the hell out of you with a deathly look if you cross him, but, thankfully, I have never been on the end of that. The bottom line is, he is hard but extremely fair.

I never raced wheel to wheel with Martin and I am glad, because I know he would have won.

David Coulthard Monaco, May 2008