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Marcus Pye
Author

Marcus Pye

Raised initially within earshot of South London’s fabled Crystal Palace circuit, racing engines are the soundtrack to my life. Car enthusiast Dad and godfather took me to British Grands Prix of the 1960s, which sowed the seeds of my passion. Reading Autosport every Thursday morning, following my hero Ronnie Peterson’s exploits, fuelled it.

Volunteering as a BARC junior at Thruxton in the mid-'70s led to lap-charting for commentator Simon Taylor, Autosport's publisher, and grid/pit marshalling. Landed my dream Autosport job aged 19 in July 1977, working under legendary editor Quentin Spurring and Robin Bradford. A staffer for 20 years (1000 issues!), freelance since 1997, I’m its longest-serving writer.

Over 45 seasons I have reported 1200-plus events - covering F2, F3000, F3, club and Historic racing to hillclimbs and sprints at towards 100 venues - and commentated worldwide, most notably at Goodwood and the Spa Six Hours.

My driving CV lists almost 550 competition cars spanning 140 plus marques. Since 1981 I’ve contested over 200 events, from Brands Hatch to Daytona, scoring the occasional result. Co-owning and racing the Chevron B40 in which Keke Rosberg won Enna-Pergusa’s European F2 round the weekend after I joined Autosport and an F5000 Lola T332 were special!

A lottery windfall would see me buy a Chevron B8 (my favourite car from boyhood), Lola T294 and March 782 - and expand my racing sticker archive, popular on Facebook. Beyond the sport and family, my abiding interest is classical music.

Latest articles by Marcus Pye

Obituary: Special Saloons star Tony Sugden dies aged 91

Obituary: Special Saloons star Tony Sugden dies aged 91

National
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Obituary: Special Saloons star Tony Sugden dies aged 91 Obituary: Special Saloons star Tony Sugden dies aged 91
Obituary: Formula Ford Festival and British F3 winner Gerrit van Kouwen dies aged 60

Obituary: Formula Ford Festival and British F3 winner Gerrit van Kouwen dies aged 60

National
National
Obituary: Formula Ford Festival and British F3 winner Gerrit van Kouwen dies aged 60 Obituary: Formula Ford Festival and British F3 winner Gerrit van Kouwen dies aged 60
Long-running Brighton Speed Trials event is axed amid rising costs

Long-running Brighton Speed Trials event is axed amid rising costs

National
National
Long-running Brighton Speed Trials event is axed amid rising costs Long-running Brighton Speed Trials event is axed amid rising costs
Club racer building V8-powered Citroen 2CV Special Saloon

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National
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Memorable moments from the 2023 national racing season

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National
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Skoda Special Saloon star John Turner dies aged 81

Skoda Special Saloon star John Turner dies aged 81

National
National
Skoda Special Saloon star John Turner dies aged 81 Skoda Special Saloon star John Turner dies aged 81
Five key elements to watch at the 2023 Goodwood Revival

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Historics
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Obituary: Mini racing legend Peter Baldwin dies aged 82

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National
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Obituary: Mini racing legend Peter Baldwin dies aged 82 Obituary: Mini racing legend Peter Baldwin dies aged 82
National novelties: Batmobile BMW and rear-engined Mini Buick

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National
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Obituary: Formula Ford champion and key Reynard figure Peter Morgan

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National
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Obituary: Formula Ford champion and key Reynard figure Peter Morgan Obituary: Formula Ford champion and key Reynard figure Peter Morgan
The anniversary celebrations to see at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

The anniversary celebrations to see at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

Goodwood Festival of Speed
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National novelties: Ex-Mosley Lotus and F3 cars return to Thruxton 50 years on

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National
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National novelties: Thundersaloon Carlton and Ligier JS2-R

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National
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‘Slim’ Borgudd obituary: F1 points finisher dies aged 76

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Formula 1
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‘Slim’ Borgudd obituary: F1 points finisher dies aged 76 ‘Slim’ Borgudd obituary: F1 points finisher dies aged 76
Lotus F1 mechanic and Hawke cars creator David Lazenby dies aged 86

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Formula 1
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Lotus F1 mechanic and Hawke cars creator David Lazenby dies aged 86 Lotus F1 mechanic and Hawke cars creator David Lazenby dies aged 86
The UK national racing highlights from a poignant 2022 campaign

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National
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Obituary: Historics and hillclimb star Charles Barter 1943-2022

Obituary: Historics and hillclimb star Charles Barter 1943-2022

National
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The "intimate" London parkland track where F1 aces thrilled

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National
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Ten on-track highlights for this year's Goodwood Revival

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National
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Obituary: Key Lola motorsport figure Mike Blanchet dies aged 74

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General
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10 things to look forward to at the 2022 Silverstone Classic

10 things to look forward to at the 2022 Silverstone Classic

Historics
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How the Gold Cup's revamp had mixed success

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National
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Ranking the 10 greatest Lola cars

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General
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The key step needed for the survival of beleaguered club series

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National
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The wackiest saloon racers of yesteryear revived for modern thrills

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National
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How Lotus emerged as a period Goodwood force

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Plus
Historics
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Ten things to watch at Goodwood's Members' Meeting

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National
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The UK national racing highlights from a mixed 2021 campaign

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National
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Successful Karmann Ghia Special Saloon to return to action

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National
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Tony Dron obituary: Touring car racer and journalist dies aged 75

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BTCC
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Plus
National
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Plus
Historics
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Plus
Historics
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Eight reasons to watch the Silverstone Classic

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How modern challenges are confronting historic racing

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Historics
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10 reasons to attend the Goodwood Festival of Speed

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National
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British touring car legend Vince Woodman dies aged 83

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BTCC
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Ken Tyrrell to race Tyrrell 011 in Historic F1

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National
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Donington delights as national motorsport returns to the new normal

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National
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The unusual racing journey forged by a youthful historics ace

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Plus
Historics
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How the Marshall club racing dynasty remains intact

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Plus
Historics
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Brian Jones: Memories of a national motorsport great

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National
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National
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Memories from the unusual 2020 national racing season

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National
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New UK club racing prototype series launched

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National
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How production giants cemented Britain's racing pedigree

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The greatest moments in Castle Combe's 70 year history

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National
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The difficult historics decision that was sadly inevitable

The difficult historics decision that was sadly inevitable

General
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Why national motorsport hasn't stood still during the pandemic

Why national motorsport hasn't stood still during the pandemic

National
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CSCC's first meeting of 2020 draws huge entry as UK national meetings increase

CSCC's first meeting of 2020 draws huge entry as UK national meetings increase

National
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CSCC's first meeting of 2020 draws huge entry as UK national meetings increase CSCC's first meeting of 2020 draws huge entry as UK national meetings increase
Remembering an F1 designer with a legacy of greatness

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Formula 1
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Brands Hatch Super Prix headlines weekend's UK racing

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General
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Brands Hatch Super Prix headlines weekend's UK racing Brands Hatch Super Prix headlines weekend's UK racing
Inside UK club racing's 'new normal'

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National
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Formula Fords and GTs headline UK club racing's return after COVID-19 hiatus

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National
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Two-time F1 starter and 1981 Trans-Am champion Eppie Wietzes dies

Two-time F1 starter and 1981 Trans-Am champion Eppie Wietzes dies

Formula 1
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National News: Why COVID-19 hasn't diminished the appetite for club racing

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National
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Obituary: Popular historic racer Mike Bell - 1949-2020

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Historics
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Obituary: Popular historic racer Mike Bell - 1949-2020 Obituary: Popular historic racer Mike Bell - 1949-2020
Historics News: VSCC cuts back 2020 event programme amid COVID-19 guidelines

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Historics
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Historics News: VSCC cuts back 2020 event programme amid COVID-19 guidelines Historics News: VSCC cuts back 2020 event programme amid COVID-19 guidelines

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