Behind the scenes of Formula E testing
As Formula E's inaugural season draws ever-closer, MARCUS SIMMONS gives his impressions after a visit to last week's Donington test
"Come into the garage and I'll show you around the car," smiles the very amiable Peter McCool, former chief designer of the talented nucleus of the Super Aguri Formula 1 team, whose ideas played a large part in Brawn's title-winning 2009 campaign. "But don't touch it..." he warns nervously.
McCool is now technical director of Aguri Suzuki's latest international racing project: the Amlin Aguri team, which is one of 10 squads in action at Donington Park's inaugural two-day Formula E open test.
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Marcus Simmons is the Deputy Editor of Autosport magazine. As a child he was a regular on the chalk banks of Thruxton – hence his unhealthy obsession with 1970s Formula 2 and F3 – before he became an MSA timekeeper at the age of 17. At 19, his reporting debut for Motoring News arguably overshadowed Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal as the sporting moment of June 1986, and he joined the staff in 1990 after graduating from his degree course in Plymouth. A parallel Formula First career – which was as incident-packed as his childhood exploits in show-jumping and hunter trials – finished when he wrote off his car and put himself in hospital in 1991.
Marcus moved to Autosport in the summer of 1996. Since then he has had two stints as a freelancer and a brief spell as editor of Motor Sport magazine, during which the revered green cover was revived, before he rejoined Autosport in 2008. He lives in Teddington with his wife (who, gratifyingly, grew up within earshot of Castle Combe), daughter, stepson, dog, cat and guitars, and additionally has an adult daughter and stepson.
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