Julian Bailey (born 9 October 1961 in Woolwich, London) is a former Formula One driver who raced for the Tyrrell and Lotus teams. Although born in the United Kingdom, he was raised in Spain, and became an accomplished Formula Ford 1600 racer in Britain, winning the important Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch. In 1986 he got his chance to race in Formula 3000 in a GA Motorsport Lola, in which he won his third F3000 race, becoming the first British driver to win a race in the formula. This attracted the attention of Ken Tyrrell, and Bailey was recruited to drive for the Formula One team the following year. Unfortunately the car was very uncompetitive and he didn't score even one point, team-mate Jonathan Palmer taking five. In 1989 he joined the Nissan sports car factory team, and tried to get back into Formula One in 1991, behind a Lotus. He finished sixth in the San Marino Grand Prix but didn't retain his drive after Monaco. During his F1 career he was entered in 20 Grands Prix, qualifying for seven at a time when the grids were over-subscribed, and scored a total of one championship point. In 1993 he joined the Toyota BTCC team, finishing 5th in the championship, although his season is best remembered for his collision with team-mate Will Hoy, which flipped Hoy's car onto its roof. The next 2 seasons were less successful, although he outscored 1991 champion Hoy in both their seasons as team-mates. He has raced primarily in sports cars since, winning the FIA GT Championship in 2000. A Daily Express article has reported that Bailey is secretly "The Stig" (from BBC2's Top Gear) however Top Gear have never confirmed or denied this. |