Peter Dumbreck

You may remember him best for the flip at Le Mans in 1999, but Dumbreck could also be the busiest driver you've ever heard of, as Matthew Hayward finds out

- Matthew Hayward

FOR SOME DRIVERS, surviving a near200mph crash at Le Mans might be something to dwell on. The thought of a Mercedes-Benz CLR taking air at the 1999 24 Hours is certainly one of the first things that springs to mind when you hear the name Peter Dumbreck, but after talking - and laughing about it, it seems like a mere footnote rather than a defining moment for him.

We've just sat down to chat at his Oxfordshire village home on the morning of what will become the UK's hottest day on record. The temperature is clearly causing no issues; he'd completed a 30km bike ride in 35°C heat the evening before. He can keep his cool, as you would expect of any world-class racing driver, and despite decades of world travel, he hasn't lost an ounce of his Scottish accent.

After stepping back from professional racing in 2021 - ending his 15-year stint as Falken Motorsport's lead Nürburgring 24 driver Dumbreck is busier than ever, thanks to a new gig as an FIA race steward in F2 and F3. He's also involved with Tuthill Porsche, as well as development driving for Aston Martin, just down the road.

Born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Dumbreck was the fifth child to mushroom-farming parents. 'It's all done in buildings rather than outdoors, but we had some land. We were quite a horsey family, and all seven of us had them. I was allergic to horses and I got a bad pony. Every time I got on it, I was thrown off. I suppose it taught me how to toughen up a wee bit.'

The driving bug bit thanks to access to old vehicles on the farm. 'It seems crazy that you'd let a ten-year-old off with a car, driving around the fields. No seatbelts, just me and my mates making jumps, having the time of our lives.

And from there came karting. Although he showed a lot of promise early on, money was always the limiting factor, and Dumbreck eventually found his feet in Vauxhall Junior, at the age of 21 in 1994. Getting into cars provided a much more level playing field.