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Don't Lift Off

Don't Lift Off

Written by: Anthony Dunn
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Don't Lift Off podcast - for anyone who loves to keep it pinned with their foot hard on the throttle! Talking to anyone who is flat out in life...Anthony Dunn
Episodes
  • #32 - Ian Ashley | A Life Less Ordinary: F1 Racing Driver, Jet Pilot and Motorcycle/Sidecar Champion
    Nov 14 2025

    Ian Ashley is a former British Motor Racing Driver, Pilot and Motorcycle and Sidecar Champion. He has also been an instructor in all three disciplines.In a hugely varied life and career, Ian went from dominant novice at the Jim Russell Racing School to a fast, but uncut diamond in Formula Ford and Formula Three (against future champions such as Britain's James Hunt), to pace setter in Formula 5000 and then giant killing performances in underfunded and uncompetitive British Formula One teams including Token, BRM, Williams and Hesketh. After a huge crash that ended his F1 career, he then diverted to become a pilot, flying crop dusting bi-planes, Lear and Gulf Stream private Jets and Sea Planes from Alaska!He briefly returned to cars, racing Indy Lights and Indy Cars in the USA and also raced motorbikes and turned his hand to three wheels in Motorcycle and Sidecars. He had a brief foray into the BTCC, TVR Tuscan and Lotus Elise racing in the UK and later in his life returned to historic racing cars and finally winning multiple championships in historic Sidecars.In his rich life, he has created had a few stories and had a few crashes along the way...#f1 #f3 #formulaford #formula5000 #hesketh #jameshunt #williams #brm #btcc #indycar #tvr #lotus #racing #british #motorsport #stories #crashes #crash 00:00:00 - Coming up...00:01:59 - Intro00:06:35 - Holding on to a sidecar...00:10:29 - My Dad was a test pilot for Concorde00:18:07 - A start at Jim Russell00:23:00 - Into Formula Ford and Formula 300:27:35 - Racing with Fittipaldi brothers Emerson and Wilson in Brazil00:31:54 - Becoming a star in Formula 500000:38:52 - Formula One with BRM00:40:15 - James Hunt00:42:19 - Giving no quarter00:44:36 - Learning the art of slipstreaming00:48:34 - F1 debut at...the Nurburgring!00:53:29 - Racing with Williams00:55:19 - Racing with a plaster cast leg...00:58:25 - A mistake moving to BRM01:00:08 - A drive with Hesketh01:06:35 - A brave shit01:12:24 - Becoming a Lear Jet pilot01:20:15 - Flying Jackie Stewart01:25:56 - Learning to drive or fly - the principle of starting with one axis01:31:14 - Looking like Ian Anderson from Fairport Convention01:33:10 - The accidental arrest!01:35:28 - Flying sea planes from Alaska01:37:22 - Indycars & Indy Lights01:40:55 - Motorbike and sidecars!01:49:37 - "Shunt" and "Crashley"!01:50:36 - Back to historic racing cars...01:52:15 - An unusual link01:56:00 - Motorcycle and Sidecar Champion01:56:59 - Can you remember...?Note: Due to technical issues with the audio that almost caused a cancellation and re-record, AI was used to help clarify voices. You may notice a slightly digital sounding voice in places, but I wanted to make sure the production happened and voices could be heard well. Hope that's understandable. If you enjoy this episode and would like to see more please Like, Share and Subscribe! Thank you, AnthonyIf you are interested in learning more about Ian's career, here are some good articles:https://www.f1forgottendrivers.com/ian-ashley-f5000/https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/march-2012/113/more-than-a-tocken-effort/http://www.forix.com/8w/ashley.html

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    2 hrs and 1 min
  • #31 - Kelvin Burt | From a £100 scholarship...to Formula 1
    Oct 20 2025

    Kelvin Burt is a British Racing Driver with nearly 40 years of motor racing success. From the late 1980’s as David Coulthard’s title rival in Formula Ford 1600, Kelvin rose through the ranks to become a Formula Vauxhall Lotus Champion, British Formula 3 Champion, Porsche Supercup race winner, Formula 1 test driver for Jordan Grand Prix, British Touring Car Championship race winner with Ford, Volvo and Alfa Romeo, Japanese Touring Car and Super GT race winner, Macau Grand Prix Winner, British GT Champion, multiple ASCAR race winner and FIA GT podium finisher with Ferrari onto become a racing team owner.


    Today he continues his career in motorsport as a race winning coach in International GT’s and Single Seaters.


    #dontliftoff #F1 #Formula1 #EddieJordan #JordanGP #Tyrrell #Arrows #F3 #champion #FF1600 #FormulaFord #FormulaVauxhallLotus #british #motorsport #MotorRacing #underdog #Japan #GT #racing #btcc #TouringCars #ford #AndyRouse #Volvo #TWR #AlfaRomeo #Macau #KelvinBurt #british #BritishGT #ferrari #FIAGT #JackieStewart #PaulStewartRacing #Coaching



    Chapters

    00:00 Teaser

    01:48 Intro to Kelvin Burt

    10:58 Starting At Jim Russell

    13:32 Drifting My Dad’s Capri

    16:55 My Dad’s Story - Motorbikes And Road Rallies

    20:54 A Formula First Scholarship

    23:38 Getting His A**se Out At Brands Hatch

    27:28 Formula Ford 1600

    33:30 David Coulthard’s Closest Rival

    38:15 A Modest Attitude

    40:40 First BTCC Race And Win With BMW

    44:15 1990 Formula Vauxhall Lotus

    49:00 Formula 3 With Fortec 1992

    53:07 - F3 Champion With Paul Stewart Racing 1993

    59:48 A Good Story About Richard Dutton

    1:02:00 Drive To Survive: Drama That Isn’t There?

    1:07:40 The 1993 F3 Season Into An F1 Test

    1:11:54 F1 Testing - Grabbing An Opportunity

    1:25:24 British Touring Cars With Ford

    1:31:25 BTCC With TWR In A Volvo

    1:36:15 The Oulton Park Crash

    1:44:06 A Return To BTCC With Alfa Romeo With Gary Ayles

    1:45:20 Porsche Supercup Win At Silverstone

    1:47:13 Touring Cars And GT In Japan

    1:52:48 Group C testing and more Japan

    1:55:43 FIA GT & Le Mans with Ferrari 360 & 550

    1:59:50 Making Myself Sick At Sebring

    2:01:50 ASCAR

    2:08:49 “I Could Listen To You All Evening”

    2:09:38 The Thruxton Carrera Cup Crash

    2:16:27 Jan Magnussen At Jim Russell

    2:19:17 A Bedford DTM Drivers Story…

    2:22:06 Silk Cut Jaguar Le Mans Winner

    2:23:35 Coaching In Single Seaters & GT’s

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    2 hrs and 33 mins
  • #30 - Steve Markham
    Oct 10 2025

    Steve Markham is a former Oval Grass Track Racer, Stock Car Racer, Hot Rod Champion, Start Marshall, Rally Driving Champion, Rally Co-Driver and Instructor and lifelong HGV Truck Driver, Logistics Organiser and Trainer.#rallying #ovalracing #hotrod #rockingham #silverstone #stockcarracing #briscaf1 #grasstrack #hgv #hgvtraining #hgvdriver #truckdriver PLEASE NOTE: Views shared in this podcast are the individuals own and do not represent those of the companies or agencies mentioned.Chapters00:00 Steve Markham’s Early Life and Influences02:58 Discipline and Parenting06:05 Health Challenges and Resilience09:08 Grass Track Ovals, Stock Cars and Hot Rods11:51 The World of Motorsports14:50 Friendships and Collaborations in Racing18:01 Rallying memories20:52 Memorable Stories23:59 The Evolution of Racing Cars27:02 Geoff Capes57:25 Nostalgic Reflections 58:51 Establishing a Performance Driving Center01:01:29 Barry McGuigan and Encounters with Sports Personalities01:02:59 The Intersection of Sports and Entertainment01:05:39 Training and Assessing HGV Drivers01:09:31 The Evolution of Electric Vehicles01:12:43 The Next Generation01:15:10 Politics01:20:51 Social Media01:23:03 Kier Starmer 01:26:45 The State of the UK01:30:15 The Future of Energy and Sustainability01:34:30 Brexit01:39:18 The Challenges The Government01:45:10 Global Conflicts01:49:56 The Future of EV’s and wrapping up

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    2 hrs and 1 min
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