Perry McCarthy – Life
Perry McCarthy was born in Stepney, East London – a place that has historically produced remarkably few successful racing drivers, which makes Perry’s story even more amazing. He funded his early career by working on the oil rigs of the North Sea, racing Formula Ford, Formula 3, and F3000 in the US before testing for the Formula One team in 1991.
His F1 break didn’t come until 1992, when he was signed by the independent Andrea Moda team. His time here was not the most positive; the team was uncompetitive, disorganised, and poorly managed. He made appearances at the British Grand Prix (until his engine failed, the Hungarian Grand Prix (due to a timing issue, it was impossible for him to set a lap time), and in the Belgian Grand Prix (where he was sent out with a broken steering part in his car).
He did not drive in the F1 after that but did test for Williams and Bennetton, before taking a brief retirement; he would return to sports racing, appearing at the famous Le Mans five times between 1996 and 2003.
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Perry McCarthy – Media
Perry McCarthy is a regular contributor, commentator, and presenter on channels including BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio 2, BBC News, BBC One, BBC Scotland, BBC Sport, Bloomberg Business, ESPN, Eurosport, ITV, NBC Sports, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 4, Channel 4, Sky News, and Women’s Hour.
Outside of F1, he is best known for being the first version of The Stig on BBC’s Top Gear.
In 2013, Perry released his autobiography, Flat Out Flat Broke. The memoir covered his ‘wild boyhood, a trial at the Brands Hatch Racing School which noted his outstanding natural talent, and working on oil rigs to fund his start in the junior formulae’.
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Perry McCarthy – Speaker
Throughout his entire motor racing career, Perry was renowned not just for his speed and determination, but for his sense of humour and unique look at life. His quit wit has entertained spectators, race guests, and other drivers in pit lanes, paddocks and bars around the world.
He is now in high demand for small and large corporations across the globe, where he engages audiences with hilarious anecdotes covering his F1 career and his time on Top Gear. He is also known for his incredible determination, resilience, opportunism, and deal-making abilities.
Formula One is generally considered to be the most expensive sport in the world, with roughly $2.5 billion spent by the ten teams competing in the 2019 World Championship. So, F1 is big business, and the pressure to perform and the pursuit of excellence is relentless.
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Perry McCarthy – Speaking Topics
- Formula One
- Racing
- Personal Performance
- Passion
- Teamwork
- Performance and Marginal Gains
- The Power of the Individual: Preparation, Focus, Resilience, Pressure
- Pursuing a Dream Against the Odds
- Communication
- Brand and Customer Excellence
- Technology and Data
- Goal Setting
- Top Gear and The Stig (and Jeremy Clarkson)
- Turning Failure Into Success
- Recognising Opportunities
- Risk Management
- Fear
- Fellow Drivers: Leis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Nigel Mansell
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Perry McCarthy – Road Safety
Recent reports state that globally over 1.2 million people die on the road each year. If those deaths were caused by a disease it would be noted as an epidemic. Tens of millions of dollars have been spent in trying to understand the cause of collisions but a common cause is ‘lack of due care and attention’ which includes driver distraction.
Perry McCarthy is passionate about his message for the need to concentrate whilst driving, the need to focus, the need for judgement, the need to anticipate and the need for common sense, patience and consideration. His approach is not complicated. It is simple and adaptable by the everyday driver and is designed to saves lives. As always though, Perry’s talks are fun and engaging but he uses that style to keep audience attention to pass on his serious messages.
Perry’s achievements as a racing driver and his popularity as the original Stig from BBC Top Gear ensure he is listened to and, as the Police and other motoring organisations have commented, that has proven highly effective as a great way to encourage best driver attitudes. Perry is available to give corporate speeches and interviews on better driving, business driving and road safety.
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Perry McCarthy – Clients
ABN-AMRO, Agresso, Airbus, Alfa Romero, Alliance Boots, Armour Risk, AstraZeneca, Audi, Aviva, AXA, Bang & Olufsen, Barclays, Boneham, BP, Brambles, Bridgestone, British Aerospace, British Gypsum, Citi, Coca Cola, Colt, DeLaRue, Deloitte, Dextra, DP World, Dunlop, EDF, Ferrari, Fix Auto, Fortis, F-Security, Garmin, GE Capital, Grant Thornton, Haven Power, HBOS, Hiscox, Hitachi Capital, HSBC, IBM, ING, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Integra, JLT, KPMG, Kwik Fit, Lamborghini, LinkedIn, Lloyds Bank, Mahle, MBAM, Mindshare, MotorSport, NEC, On 365, PCI, Police Federation, Rathbones, RBS, RHB Bank, Roland, Sage, Shell, Siga, Skoda, Sony, Stone Island, Tesco, Traffex, Verity, Visit Herefordshire, Volkswagen, Volvo Trucks, Whitbread, Wilson James, Zycko
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To check fees and availability for Perry McCarthy, contact Great Business Speakers on 0044 (0)1753 439289
