Island Life Magazine Ltd June/July 2011 | Page 71

MOTORING recently changed hands at auction for £3.6million – a reasonable investment!" “We delivered one to a German customer, and before we got back to Frankfurt airport he had written it off. I did three laps in one with F1 driver Mika Hakkinen at Donnington Park, and I was exhausted just as a passenger. I also did a 220mph run with Jonathan Palmer, both helped me appreciate just how highly skilled and fit racing drivers are. But the highlights were having the opportunity to drive a car like that myself.” Simon was also a member of the F1 GTR team that achieved a landmark win at Le Mans in 1995. He left McLaren in 1996. But not before he worked in Brunei on part of the incredible collection of top-of-the-range cars of all makes, owned by the Sultan and his family. "The collection was worth hundreds of millions, each child in the family had their own collection in their chosen colour. Twenty full time drivers kept all the cars operable and valeted." When Simon moved to the Island he worked in publishing before getting married, starting a family and moving back into the motor trade. He's now the owner of SK Automotive in Freshwater – a slightly slower pace of life than in years gone by, but perhaps just as satisfying. www.visitislandlife.com 71