Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2011 | Page 72

MOTORING
team, and I had fantastic times, winning 28 races for
them as well as three for Ferrari. It was wonderful
winning the title at Williams, and I still have so many
great friends there to this day.”
Nigel recalls his favourite cars came in the turbo
era, when wheel-spin in sixth gear at 160mph was
commonplace – just awesome! He overcame an early
setback to his career after breaking his neck in a race
accident. But after being told he may never walk
again, he battled back in true British style, even
though he now admits: “It was the most terrifying
experience of my life.”
Nigel sported his trademark moustache throughout
most of his racing career. That has since been shaven
off, although he still grows it occasionally, only to
have it shaved off again for charity. His back-to-back
world championships, in F1 and Indy Car meant
his face went global, and he is still noticed and
approached wherever he goes.
After his racing career finished, he started a hotel,
golf and sports complex in Devon, and stayed there
16 years. He said: “The hardest thing in that business
was it was 24-7, 52 weeks of the years. And I didn’t
enjoy having the bad work of some people around
me reflecting on us. So for seven years we took it on

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totally and had the most success.”
Nigel has been heavily involved in charity work
for the past 30 years, and continues to be so. He
was a member of the Cancer Help Association
on the Isle of Man following his mother’s death;
Save the Children in the Frank Williams era, and
is now supporting UK Youth, having become
President 10 years ago.
“It is a wonderful charity. We reach up to
750,000 children in any one year, have 40,000
volunteers and we are letting people know about
it. So it is very rewarding and the diversity of the
children we meet is just incredible.
“We give children who have been expelled or
left school early the education and opportunity to
empower them to make right decisions. Without
helping and supporting them how do they know,
and that is why our slogan is ‘Positive About
Youth’. If you are not positive about youth, you
are not positive about life of the future,” he said.
“We work with three-year-olds up to early 20s,
trying to keep people safe and save lives.”
Nigel accepts his best years might be behind him,
but has set his sights on losing 15lbs in weight
before the New Year, and get himself fit. But he
smiled: “Once you are in your 50s, you have to do
three times the exercise to lose the same amount of
weight as someone in their 20s, so it is going to be
tough.”
But no doubt it will be another challenge that he
will meet head on – and almost certainly succeed.