Why fast cars still give former racing driver Matthew Marsh the chills

Lotus blossom: I was born in Welwyn Garden City, in Hertfordshire (Britain), in 1968. My dad had a Lotus Seven sports car and was an amateur racer, but he gave up racing when I was born. Two years later my sister came along.

As a kid, my dad took me to the races. I went to my first Formula One Grand Prix in 1977, which was won by James Hunt. I loved the noise and the speed. I remember being scolded by a teacher for running around the St Albans School grounds making racing car noises. What the teacher didn’t realise was that I was taking the right lines around school with perfect gear changes, but there were no prizes for that.

When my grandfather died, he left us some money and we moved to an affluent town called Radlett, also in Hertfordshire. It was there that I got my first job, as a 14-year-old working in a shop that sold model cars, Grand Prix Models. My dad wrote a letter to the shop owner, Brian Harvey, telling him that I was a good lad, could make a good cup of tea, and asking if I could have a Saturday job. It was a mail-order business, open on Saturdays and during the week by appointment.

I met all sorts of people there. One weekday afternoon – when I probably should have been doing my homework, but was at the shop – Nick Mason, the drummer for Pink Floyd, knocked on the door. He apologised for not having an appointment and asked if I could let Brian know he was there. I left him on the door­step while I went to ask Brian. We laughed about that later.

Heading to Hong Kong: I took my A-levels in 1986. I didn’t do especially well and left school to work full time at Grand Prix Models. The following year, I decided I wanted to start racing. My grandad had left me some money and I used it to buy an old single-seater racing car. I quickly learned that racing was much more difficult than it looked.