Julian Terence Bailey (born 9 October 1961) is a British former
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
driver from England, who raced for the
Tyrrell and
Lotus teams.
Racing career
Although born in the United Kingdom, Bailey was raised in
Menorca
Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...
, Spain. He became an accomplished
Formula Ford
Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single-seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world have historically been an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...
1600 racer in Britain, winning the important Formula Ford Festival at
Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...
. In 1987 he got his chance to race in
Formula 3000
Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines.
Formula 3000 championship ...
, in a GA Motorsport
Lola, in which he won in only his third Formula 3000 race, becoming the first British driver to win a race in the formula. This attracted the attention of
Ken Tyrrell
Robert Kenneth Tyrrell (3 May 1924 – 25 August 2001) was a British Formula Two racing driver and the founder of the Tyrrell Formula One constructor.Setright, L. J. K. "Tyrrell: A Shrewd Talent-spotter", in Northey, Tom, ed. ''World of Automo ...
, and Bailey was recruited to drive for the Formula One team the following year. The car was very uncompetitive and he did not score a single point, while his teammate
Jonathan Palmer scored five. In 1989 he joined the
Nissan
is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...
sports car factory team, and tried to get back into Formula One in 1991 with
Lotus. He finished sixth in the
San Marino Grand Prix but didn’t retain his drive after Monaco. During his Formula One 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 1992 Bailey joined the
Toyota
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
BTCC team, and the following season, he finished fifth in the championship, although his season is best remembered for his collision with teammate
Will Hoy at
Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...
, which flipped Hoy’s car onto its roof leading BBC commentator
Murray Walker
Graeme Murray Walker (10 October 1923 – 13 March 2021) was an English motorsport Sportscaster, commentator and journalist. He provided television commentary of live Formula One coverage for the BBC between 1976 and 1996, and for ITV (TV netw ...
to quip “The car upside down is a Toyota!” (a play on the company’s UK advertising slogan “The car in front is a Toyota”). In the following round at
Knockhill, he took his one and only BTCC win. The next two seasons were less successful, although he outscored 1991 champion Hoy in both their seasons as teammates. Toyota withdrew from the BTCC as a works team at the end of 1995, but Bailey was still contracted to them. For 1996, Bailey competed in the South African Touring Car Championship (SATCC) for Minolta Toyota. He has raced primarily in sports cars since. For 1997, Bailey joined
Lister, eventually winning the
British GT Championship
The British GT Championship is a sports car racing series based predominantly in the United Kingdom. The series was originally created by the British Racing Drivers' Club in 1993 and, for its first two seasons, was known as the National Sports G ...
in 1999 and the
FIA GT Championship in 2000 in a
Lister Storm
The Lister Storm was a homologated GT racing car manufactured by British low-volume automobile manufacturer Lister Cars with production beginning in 1993.
Road car
The Storm used the largest V12 engine fitted to a production road car since ...
.
Personal life
Bailey’s stepson,
Jack Clarke, is also a racing driver with experience in Formula BMW and Formula Palmer Audi. In 2009 he graduated to the
FIA Formula Two Championship, and in 2014 moved to the
British Touring Car Championship
The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), officially known as the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by ...
.
Post-racing career
In 2008, he joined with
ESPN STAR Sports as a guest commentator for a number of Formula One races.
’’Top Gear’’
On the show ‘’
Top Gear‘’, he was one of several drivers to appear as
The Stig
The Stig is a character from the British motoring television show '' Top Gear''. Created by former ''Top Gear'' presenter Jeremy Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman, the character is a play on the anonymity of racing drivers' full-face helmets, w ...
.
Racing record
Complete International Formula 3000 results
(
key) (Races in ‘’’bold’’’ indicate pole position; races in ‘’italics’’ indicate fastest lap.)
Complete Formula One results
(
key)
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete British Touring Car Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Bathurst 1000 results
* Super Touring
Super Touring, Class 2 or Class II was a auto racing, motor racing touring car category defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) for national touring car racing in 1993. It was based on the "2 litre Touring Car Form ...
race
Complete British GT Championship results
(
key) (Races in ‘’’bold’’’ indicate pole position) (Races in ‘’italics’’ indicate fastest lap)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Julian
1961 births
Living people
People from Woolwich
Sportspeople from the Royal Borough of Greenwich
English racing drivers
English Formula One drivers
British Touring Car Championship drivers
Formula Ford drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
24 Hours of Daytona drivers
International Formula 3000 drivers
British GT Championship drivers
Tyrrell Formula One drivers
Team Lotus Formula One drivers
World Sportscar Championship drivers
Nismo drivers
TOM'S drivers
20th-century English sportsmen