My hero

by Murray Walker

Tazio Nuvolari captivated me as a youth, but I would have to say Stirling Moss. He became an icon for motorsport and for British motorsport in particular. Britain was in a low state after the war and it was amazing to watch this young chap doing extremely well against the likes of Farina and Fangio, often in greatly inferior cars. It still amazes me just how young he was, but mature beyond his years in his approach to racing. One of the things I admired most about him back then was that he drove British cars for as long as could, despite their inferiority. It was with great reluctance that he eventually went with the Maserati 250F. He was the first of the real professionals at a time when most of the other drivers were wealthy amateurs, and Stirling remains a very personable man.

& favourite road car

Well, dream road car would have to be a McLaren F1 which I’ve had the pleasure of driving. I can’t imagine living with one, though, as it would probably be vandalised the second I parked it. In the real world, my favourite road car has consistently been the BMW 3-series. I’ve always admired BMW’s sporting tradition. I used to ride BMW motorcycles and then made the switch to its road cars and remain very impressed. These days there’s no such thing as a bad car but what I like about the 3-series — and my current one is a diesel, too — is that they have this inherent sportiness and are built so well. I’ve never been tempted to stray.