Spring 2012 - University of Buckingham

‘I wanted tostudy at thesame timeas racing’Jonathan Sale interviews Marc Gené,a Formula 1 test driverMarc Gené (Economics 1995) is thefirst Spanish driver to win the 24 Hoursof Le Mans, in which he has been acompetitor five times, most recentlylast year (2011). A go-kart championas a teenager, he began motor racingin 1992 and started his Formula 1 careerwith Minardi in 1999, joining the Britishteam Williams in 2001. He joinedPeugeot in 2007. Mainly for Ferrari,he has driven more F1 test miles thanany other driver.“When I was eight or nine, my father saidthat if I did well at school in Barcelona, hewould buy me either a go-kart or a bike.I chose the go-kart and we – my brotherand I – did it just for fun. One day there wasa “spotter” who came – and he spotted mybrother, not me. My brother got involved inracing go-karts and I thought, “If he can doit, so can I.” I was the Spanish champion at13 or 14.The teachers were very aware of all thisand most were very supportive. Not all ofthem were, which would develop my skillsof diplomacy! I was an average student – sixout of 10 – but I was a good student, tryingvery hard, and I always used to take mybooks when I was racing.In Spain you finish your schoolat 17 and that’s when my kartingwas over. I began competing incars. My brother did a lot ofmotor racing in England andhis experience was very useful tome. England was the place to go.I had to come to England; alldrivers around the world cameto England. You were reallycompeting against thebest.I went to do atwo-month wintertrainingcampwith two months racing in Sheffield.At 17-and-a-half, I was among the youngest.I did not have my driving licence. When Iwas walking through a department store,I saw some information about SheffieldUniversity.I wanted to study at the same time asracing, to have something to fall back on,but studying in Spain while racing inEngland was logistically difficult.The team I was racing with for thefollowing year was based at Silverstone,so I looked at universities around theOxfordshire area. I heard that Buckinghamhad an international atmosphere and wentto be interviewed. At the interview, I asked,“What’s that noise?” Malcolm Rees of theEconomics Department said, “That’sSilverstone down the road.”I did the two-years Economics degreeand a Masters. My parents were surprisedand worried: I was the only one in the familyto live outside Spain and to go to auniversity. (I have two kids, a girl of five anda boy of three. If he wants to do motorracing, I’ll support him but I’ll try not topush him.)I would say that I missed one day a week,usually a Friday, when teams practisedbefore weekend races. My friends wouldpass on their notes from the lectures.Malcolm Rees was very supportive andwe keep in touch once a year. There wereone or two teachers who didn’t like whatI was doing and I had to work very hard forthem. If I had to change a tutorial, theymade life difficult. I don’t remembermissing an exam. Everything worked outfine. What was my final grade? I don’tremember, I think it was average.I was in Formula 3 at the time. I didn’t domuch socialising; I would go to the lecturesand I would go to the gym. I lived on campusfor the first two years and in my third year Iwent to live in a house on my own.My degree was the bestinvestment I made. It’slike having a passport.You might not need itbut it’s thereNow people start in motor sport muchyounger. It’s difficult now to go to universitywhile racing; it’s difficult even to finishschool. I don’t remember any drivers whowent to university in the last 20 years.The last one I can remember was JonathanPalmer; he was a doctor. Among thedrivers, there were never any negativecomments about my being universitytrained; people would say it was very good.How has my economics degree beenuseful? Sponsors may ask about theeconomy of Formula 1 and I can explainthat Formula 1 runs on the same principlesas any other company.My favourite subject was macroeconomics.I’ve always been interestedin the big picture.There was a Spanish community in theUniversity and I still see friends from thattime. In my first two years I was veryfocused and was one of the students whowent out least. In my third year I startedto go out more. Graduation was one of themost important days of my life; MargaretThatcher gave me my degree.You could postpone your military servicewhile you were studying and I did it in 1996as soon as I got back to Spain. I studiedFrench and Italian. (I also speak Catalan,Castilian, English and German.) In 1997 Idid the International F3000 Championshipand in 1998 I won the Open Fortuna byNissan. I wasn’t sure if I was going to makeit to Formula 1. I started sending out CVsto accountancy firms and was selected forPricewaterhouseCoopers and ended upworking for them as an auditor in 1998.Now they are my advisers; they take care ofthe company I use for racing. Finally I madeit to Formula 1 in 1999.Three things stand out in my career.The 24 Hours of Le Mans: I’m the first andonly Spanish driver to win that race and theday I won it was a big day in Spain. In futureI’ll look back on it and know that I madesomething big and fulfilled all the years ofhard work. Then there was the time whenI first signed for Ferrari – I was never aracing driver for them but a test driver –and I put on the Ferrari overalls and joinedthe Ferrari family. And finally, in the historyof Spain, only ten drivers had made it toFormula 1 before me.Now I have two main incomes: Ferrariand Peugeot. I also am a televisioncommentator in Spain for the F1 races.My aim is to continue with the threecompanies for the next three years sinceI love the work I do with them. Ferrari haveindicated that I could be involved withthem in developing cars.I’m 37 and in Formula 1 that starts to bethe age – Schumacher was the exceptionat 42 – when you are replaced by youngdrivers. My degree was the best investmentI made and I’m so relaxed now. If the racingsuddenly stopped, I would be very relaxed.A degree is like having a passport. You maynot need it but it’s there.The writer is a freelance journalist8 The Independent The Independent 9