WHEELER Dealers star Marc Priestley is no stranger to life in the fast line.
The car expert, who’s known as ‘Elvis’, hosts the popular motoring show alongside Mike Brewer and is a regular on BBC Radio‘s Formula One coverage – having previously spent 10 years in the sport as a mechanic.
Twitter / @MrsMBrewerCar lover Marc Priestley gets to do plenty of driving in Wheeler Dealers[/caption]
AlamyThe expert mechanic stars alongside Mike Brewer on the show[/caption]
From 1999 until 2009, Marc worked with the famous McLaren team – which saw him link up with the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso.
He started out as the the test team mechanic before rising through the ranks – joining the race weekend squad in 2002.
In an interview with Grandprix247, Marc shared some memories of his time with the Woking-based outfit, including why he decided to leave them during the peak of their powers of the V8-engined era.
“The decision to leave McLaren after so long was very difficult,” he said.
“Working as part of an F1 race team is much more than just a job, it really is a way of life.”
“It’s easy to become totally immersed in the F1 ‘bubble’, a fast-paced world of pretentiousness and fairytale finances, and lose touch, ever so slightly, with reality.”
Marc added that being away from his family during the long F1 seasons was tough.
He added: “I have my own family and with the calendar moving towards more and more races and with more and more of those being long haul, I wanted to be able to spend more time at home with them.”
McLaren’s unsung hero also wanted to make a fresh start by doing other things, having failed to find a role inside the team that continued to pique his interest.
He said: ” I felt as though my career had gone about as far as it could go with the race team and at the time there were no suitable positions in the areas I wished to go at the McLaren factory.
“So after much debate and soul searching, I took a leap of faith and moved into a big management role at the FIA F2 Championship.”
A role in F2 lasted around a year before he focussed on his media career – including F1 and Formula E broadcasting, commentary and writing.
Since 2021, he’s been a mainstay on Wheeler Dealers, where he’s just finished filming the show’s World Tour.
The upcoming series will see Marc and Mike take in motoring hotspots across Europe, North America and even Australia in search of some top-notch motors.
Elsewhere, Marc gave fans a glimpse inside his stunning car collection – including the “dream car” he broke his “number one rule” for.
GettyMarc was part of the McLaren team during the season Lewis Hamilton was partnered by Fernando Alonso[/caption]
GettyThe petrolhead was part of the test team, before moving into the race weekened team in 2002[/caption]