- After all this time? - Always.
"He's obviously gone in for a wheel change. I say obviously because I can't see it"
"With half the race gone, there is half the race still to go"
"Do my eyes deceive me, or is Senna's Lotus sounding rough ?"
"Anything happens in Grand Prix racing and it usually does"
"читать дальшеAlboreto has dropped back up to fifth place"
"As you look at the first four, the significant thing is that Alboreto is 5th"
"I can't imagine what kind of problem Senna has. I imagine it must be some sort of grip problem"
"He is shedding buckets of adrenalin in that car"
"It's raining and the track is wet"
"And there's just a few more corners for Nigel Mansell to go to win the Canadian Grand Prix...and...he's going rather slow....HE'S STOPPING HE'S STOPPING!"
"and this is the third placed car about to lap the second placed car"
"they say clothes maketh the man... the clothes are Niki Lauda's, but the contents are me..." as Murray prepares to take a drive in a F1 car." [He gets a total distance of... oh, 1 foot before he stalls it.] (Apparently, this was the second attempt to film Murray in an F1 McLaren - the first, earlier that day, had gone very well, but for technical reasons couldn't be used!)
[During a F1 race, describing how the leader can see the driver following him] "... Mansell can see him in his earphone..."
"So Bernie [Ecclestone], in the seventeen years since you bought McLaren, which of your many achievements do you think was the most memorable ?" Bernie Answers, "Well I don't remember buying McLaren." [Bernie Ecclestone used to own the Brabham team].
Murrary: "What's that? There's a BODY on the track!!!" James: "Um, I think that that is a piece of BODY-WORK, from someone's car."
Murray: There's a fiery glow coming from the back of the Ferrari James: No Murray, that's his rear safety light
As an introductory piece for a rallysprint race, Murray was put in the Navigator's seat alongside Tony Pond in a Chevette HSR (270 BHP, rwd, and TWITCHY), added an in-car camera, and wired Murray for sound. The result can be deduced by extrapolating his usual excitement and enthusiasm, and adding a large pinch of raw terror! "And there's a 600 foot drop on my left..AND we're doing 120 mph... AND we're approaching a hairpin...OH MY GOD we're going to die..."
[after a post race interview with Mansell after the Austrian GP 1987] Murray : "How did you get that nasty bumb on your head Nigel?" [Nigel leans forward to show the camera as Murray pokes it with his finger !] Nigel: "OWCH!!"
Murray: And look at the flames coming from the back of Berger's McLaren
James: Actually, Murray, they're not flames, it's the safety light.
Murray, commentating on rallycross from Lydden, describes how a BMW driver has cut holes in his windscreen so that his visibility is improved in all the muck... as he is doing so, the car crashes heavily into an earth bank...
From the Spanish GP 1995: "and Eddie Jordan is in fifth place"... (actually Eddie Irvine in one of his compatriot Eddie Jordan's cars).
"...and he's lost both right front tyres" (which may have been accurate back in the days of the Tyrrell P34, but it was from 1995!)
"...Cruel luck for Alesi, second on the grid. That's the first time he had started from the front row in a Grand Prix, having done so in Canada earlier this year..."
James: "And now what's wrong with Prost's car?"
Murray: "It's not Prost's car it's that joker in the striped shirt!"
"Ah! Now here's Senna in the pits (for the black flag). No point in saying I wish I could lip read: I can't even see his lips! There's Ron Dennis bending over at the right. This is A-! Out gets Senna! For whatever reason and I just hope we can get a message about this. I hope we can get a message. Ayrton Senna with, with rage and impotent fury etched in every line of his body, reluctantly drags himself out of the McLaren." (In reality Senna calmly stepped out of the car and walked away.)
"Well let's, uh, lugsh, luxurrriate in a little hypothesis and try to work out what, if anything, is wrong with Alain Prost." (Prost was being caught by Berger late in the race.) "Has he got tire problems? Very unlikely. Is Prost having fuel trouble? Well, who knows? I think it's a bit unlikely. Is Prost having gearbox trouble? I can't tell you. And since P, uh, Prost is unlikely to come on the radio and let me know you'll have to guess along with me."
"ANNDD! We have a, uh, I - (laughing) - I, uh, I'm S- (still laughing). I have to eat humble pie again, for all the people out there. Uh, we have a lap scorrring problem and, uh, I have to rather lamely tell you that, uh, it's still Gerhard Berger in 2nd place. It's Berger in 3rd position. In four- in- in-. Um, Boutsen in 3rd position..."
"That's 55 laps completed by both Prost and Berger and and and and and the expeeerrrienced Alain Prost is really responding."
"And there's the man in the green flag!"
"The Jordan factory is at the factory gates"
Mike Griffiths
"...and there's no damage to the car.....except to the car itself."
"The beak of Ayrton Senna's chicken is pulling ahead"
Helen Gerald
'and I interrupt myself to bring you this....'
and the catchphrase 'Unless I'm very much mistaken....I AM very much mistaken!'
Colin Reed
"This is an interesting circuit because it has inclines, and not just up, but down as well."
"Only a few more laps to go and then the action will begin, unless this is the action, which it is."
"This has been a great season for Nelson Piquet, as he is now known, and always has been"
"And the first five places are filled by five different cars."
Kevin Lee's
"...the lead is now 6.9 seconds. In fact it's just under 7 seconds"
"Tambay's hopes , which were nil before, are absolutely zero now."
"You can't see a digital clock because there isn't one."
Stu Soltysiak
"...and Blundell is doing very well in sixth position...in fact he's lapping 2.5 seconds faster than Blundell who is in fifth position" [PF: Given the trouble Murray had with Brundle and Blundell perhaps it's fortunate that Mark's racing in the USA now. How on earth will he cope with Schumacher and Schumacher?]
"We're watching the Finnish Driver who is third, but he won't for very much llllong...oh yeah, he might be actually"
"And an enormous gap building before Mika Hakkinen goes through in third position...when I say enormous it's 1.5 seconds"
"Schumacher is still the fastest man on the track, not only by virtue of the fact that he leads the Australian Grand Prix, but he also holds the fastest lap"
"Eddie Irvine with smoke pouring up from the eng...I suspect something's locked up and he's out of the race"
JP: "And Alesi spins there...spins out of the race, surely... "Yes!...NO! Alesi manages to keep the engine, does not stall, but of course he will have lost the place I think. No! he's kept the place"
"Yes, the beauty of this race is that it is totally unpredictable"
"Michael Schumacher leading Damon Hill by four tenths of a second or so, because it's moving...[cut to Hill under Schu's rear wing] AND THAT'S NOT FOUR TENTHS OF A SECOND! That's Michael Schumacher!"
Anthony Long
"The Italian GP at Monaco..."
"I'm applying intelligence and observation to the situation..."
"Schumacher's appeal for ignoring the chequered flag is next Tuesday."
...the enthusiastic enthusiasts... (Italy 1994)
"Martin's got a bald spot - he won't be pleased..." (Germany, 1994, as Brundle retires, and climbs out of the car. Murray stops talking about the broken McLaren as soon as he sees Martin's head)
"...and Andretti is going very slowly - he must have an electrical problem of some sort... "(Andretti is touring on three wheels, having hit something solid) [PF: this reminds me of several Ferrari retirements which were described as "electrical problems". Mechanics would give the lie to this saying things like "yes, it was an electrical problem. A conrod went through the block and knocked the distributor off!"]
Dave Oldcorn
...but Here is Now and There is Damon Hill [PF adds: nice bit of Iambic Pentameter there]
Steven Wheeler
"So now you're looking at the battle between Frentzen and Herbert for 7th place. Heinz Harald Frentzen in the Sauber Mercedes behind Johnny Herbert, behind him Johnny Herbert in his first race in the Ligier Renault..."
Evan Metcalf
`Ukyo Katayama is undoubtedly the best formula 1 driver that grand prix racing has ever produced' [then again, there's probably people on the net who believe this�.]
...and the Peugeot cup of misery is filled past overflowing...
Chris Simpson
Murray: "And there are flames coming from the back of Prost's car as he enters the swimming pool."
James: "Well, that should put them out then."
John McIlroy
Rallycross at Lydden Hill. "And Keith Ripp comes round Chesson's Drift, avoids the Hatter's bank..." [upon which little yellow Mini commences its ascent] "... BUT HE DOES NOT!!!!!" [Mini now 30 feet in air, lands heavily and performs six rolls before stopping] "...and BANG, BANG, OVER, OVER goes the Mini..." A quality moment.
Ted Henderson
"Alesi is in second place and Hill is in second place..."
"As you can see, visually, with your eyes..."
Andrew Wood
"Andrea de Cesaris...the man who has won more Grands Prix than anyone else without actually winning one of them."
Steven Jeffery
"And here comes Berger, out of Tabac and into the swimming pool." -- Gerhard wasn't emulating Alberto Ascari [and Paul Hawkins], however, and carried on past the swimming pool!
Anthony Holloway
'Oh that's the Forti, and, it looks like, err, its Roberto Moreno's car , the err Brazilian .. I was going to say the elderly Brazilian , he's only 36 but he's actually the oldest driver in the race at the present moment, though he's just retired from it!'
'Hill, Hill ... Hill is in, he's beneath me now.. .and he's got slicks! its slicks! he got a new set of slicks! this is strange' (as it was raining!)
Erik Michael
"....Schumacher crosses the line to start another lap, and there's nothing there!"
Helen Gerald
'Right underneath me, Michael Schumacher!'
'Jonathan, you're the ace forecaster...' (really?)
'I hate to be a Jeremiah, but I have to tell you that the clouds are lowering...'
'The plot thickens, because the Williams team are out now.'
Tony Jardine; 'The Benetton man doesn't know what day it is!' (Who does?)
(as the coverage flips back and forth, missing the interesting bits) 'It's not my job to produce the programme, so I'll say nothing!' (Good point, Murray, definite 'could do better' for the French producer)
Mike Bees
and (during one of the practice sessions "... this is the part of the circuit where the Williams tends to be, not tends to be is slower than the Benetton historically, today."
Jon Jennings
"And an enormous gap now building before Mika Hakkinen goes through in third place. When I say enormous, it's one and a half seconds."
"The Benetton handling superbly as ever. Williams have worked very very hard on this car at the beginning of the season."
"That's not four tenths of a second. Look at it. It's Michael Schumacher."
(talking about bumps and puddles in the circuit, which Jonathan Palmer used to test on when McLaren had Honda engines.....) ".....and there's few [drivers] that know them more and even less better than you Jonathan....."
And we have had 5 races so far this year, Brazil, Argentina, Imola, Schumacher and Monaco!
And Damon Hill is coming into the pit lane, yes it's Damon Hill coming into the Williams pit, and Damon Hill in the pit, no it's Michael Schumacher!
Monaco:-
"And there's a dry line appearing in the tunnel" (pause while he realises what he's just said) "Obvious really as it has a roof"
[PF: that's one of only two Walker GP commentaries I've missed, one when I was in the USA (I see what they mean about Daly and Varsha!) and Monaco '96, and by God I wished there was some dry there, I got thoroughly soaked!]
Belgium:-
"And the Williams pit are getting ready for Hill, the tyre coolers are coming off"
Belgium '96:
"...and now, just in case there is any CONFUSION (operative term here) this is the race order on lap 19: David Coulthard leads and has yet to stop; Hakkinen leads and has yet to stop..."
"The McLaren is being pushed by the Mercedes"
[PF: Given '95 and early '96 McLaren performances, who knows!]
"A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play" [he once worked in advertising]
"Bolster's gone off!" [his first words on the BBC in 1949] [PF: John Bolster was later technical editor of Autosport and himself known as a BBC commentator in later years, usually working with Raymond Baxter]
"Nigel Mansell - the man of the race - the man of the day - the man from the Isle of Man"
"An Achilles heel for the McLaren team this year, and it's literally the heel because it's the gearbox"
"And now the boot is on the other Schumacher" [PF: One I suppose we'll see lots of next year
]
"The atmosphere is so tense you could cut it with a cricket stump"
"Alain Prost is in a commanding second place" [PF: Worthy of Nigel Roebuck at his most Prostophilic!]
"Now the Frenchman Jacques Lafitte is as close to Surer as Surer is to Lafitte"
"I don't make mistakes. I make prophecies which immediately turn out to be wrong" [Murray on his style of commentary]
"I am inclined to go over the top and I know it. I am communicating an electric situation"
"I like to think I come over as a slightly over-the-top enthusiast. It is a very exciting sport after all"
[after Derek Warwick spun at Monaco ending up facing the wrong way...] "Now he must not go the wrong way round the circuit, and unless he can spin himself stationary through 360 degrees I fail to see how he can avoid doing so."
[possibly Murray's most ecstatic moment when Mansell passed Senna to win in Hungary after starting well down the grid] "He's going for it! OH MY GOODNESS...HE'S THROOOOOOUGH!!!"
"We're now on the 73rd lap and the next one will be the 74th." [Monaco 1992]
"James has just nipped out to have a look at the far side of the circuit" [Actually James Hunt would leave the commentary box to smoke a joint!]
"If they have any shillelaghs in Suzuka, they'll be playing them
tonight." [after Eddie Irvine's 6th place in his first grand prix] [PF: I think Eddie and Ayrton Senna were using shillelaghs correctly somewhere else at about that time]
"He's watching us from hospital with his injured knee"
"In his quiter moments he sounds like his trousers are on fire" [Clive James on Murray Walker]
"Mansell is slowing it down, taking it easy. Oh no he isn't! It's a lap record."
"It's not quite a curve, it's a straight actually." [PF: I assume this is actually referring to the Tamburello at Imola]
"And Senna wins the 1999 Monaco Grand Prix" [from the 1990 Monaco GP] [PF: Alas�]
[hysterical as ever] "And that's Alboreto OFF!" [long pause - somber voice] "Now Michele Alboreto did not in fact qualify for the race, so how we managed to see him go off I don't know. We'll let you know." [Even longer pause, now laughing] "Now I'm
not a technician, but it appears a shot of Michele Alboreto going off in qualifying has crept into this live transmission, thank you Mr. Producer, anyway that was qualifying, this is the race..."
[Alesi, then in a Tyrrell, was passed by Senna at Detroit, or was he...] "And Senna's going through on the inside, or is he, YES!, but now Alesi has the inside, side by side, Alesi! Wow! Great Stuff!" [PF: It was, too - one of the finest battles for years!]
Hungarian GP
"This race will actually develop into a Grand prix"
'..and Damon Hill is following Damon Hill'
'Jean Alesi is 4th and 5th'
'Schumacher has made his final stop three times!'
'And he has been lapped 9th, 10th, 11th' This was in reference to Jacques Villeneuve, who was leading at the time, and there were only 11 cars running anyway!
'Nigel Mansell had a problem with the wheel-nut on his Williams, then he went on to win brilliantly for Ferrari!'
And finally, one from the Nurburgring. Jacques Villeneuve is just making the last turn on the last lap. 'I'm going to stick my neck out here and say that Jacques Villeneuve is going to keep the Ferrari of Michael Schumacher behind him and win his first GP....'
"And the car upside down is a Toyota" [PF: At the time, Toyota were using the slogan "The car in front is a Toyota"; in this race, both works Toyotas took each other out�]
Hungarian GP
"It has all come alive in Hungary. There is the proof! Williams! Benetton! Ferrari! The Benetton is Berger and the Ferrari is Damon Hill!"
"And Damon Hill is going under the drier part of the Monaco circuit, that's of course because it's got a roof"
"And that just shows you how important the car is in Formula One racing"
"I know it's an old cliche, but you can cut the atmosphere with a cricket stump"
"And Olivier Panis justifiably wins such a well deserved Grand Prix" (in which Hill, Schumacker, Alessi, Berger and Villeneuve all came off and only 4 out of 20 drivers finished) [PF: I beg to differ. I was there, Panis drove mightily all weekend, and was extremely quick in the wet. Admittedly, the guy who most deserved to win was Frentzen, but�]
"People ask me who's going to be the next Hill, the next Schumacher, and I keep saying to watch out for Mika Salo" (Salo crashes a few laps later)
(Schumacher is coming out the pit lane ahead of Villeneuve) "And Schumacher overtakes Villeneuve. Oh, no he doesn't! Oh, yes he does!"
"Stop! Stop! Look! Look! It's a Williams, and I'm guessing that's Jacques Villeneuve, I can't tell you for sure because I can't see from here. And so Villeneuve retires .... it's Hill! Damon Hill is out of the Monza Grand Prix!"
and of course the all time classic
"They're now on lap 68, which means there's one, two, three, four, five laps to go before the end of the Hungarian Grand Prix" (hey, kids, learn to count with Murray.....)
My personal favourite is from a British GP, describing a pit stop. "And he's done that in a whisker under 10 seconds, call it 9.7 in round figures".
"And the brilliant Williams duo of Graham Hill and Gilles Villeneuve are turning this into a magnificent race"
"Into lap 53, the penultimate last lap but one"
"Nigel Mansell is the last person in the race apart from the five in front of him."
(Suzuka, 1996, talking about when he was hit by a wheel) "It hit me, and I felt it."
Nelson Piquet pulled into the pits for a a tyre change in his Brabham, and Murray says: "I'll stop my startwatch"
"And Damon Hill is six.....1!2!3!4!5!6! seconds ahead!", "Schumacher started 22nd- he's gone past 21!20!19!18!17!",
"And Hill congratulates Schumacher. They're not bosom buddies, but they're not far off!" (Hill was actually critising Schumacher for heavy-handed driving tactics after the 1995 Belgian GP).
"There goes Panis in the Prost. For years we knew them as Ligiers, because that is what they were called."
And I usually say that if anything is going to go wrong with the car, it has done by now, but I'm not going to say that about Jacques Villeneuve.... Oh, I already have. (Brazil 1997)
'And Michael Schumacher is in the pits!' (he was out by then,although he was probably in the garage or somthing.)
"Rally points scoring is 20 for the fastest, 18 for the second fastest, right down to 6 points for the slowest fastest."
Murray: There's a car coming into the pits now, they're so unreliable with all those electronics on board.
James: Actually, Murray, one of his wheels has just fallen off!
1986 Australian Grand Prix: And OFF SPINS PIQUET - Wowee!
And LOOK AT THAT ... out ... that ... and colossal ... it.. that's Mansell ... that is NIGEL MANSELL (Nigel Mansell's infamous tyre blowout)
Spin, spin, spin - round, round, round he goes (Senna completing a 900 (!) degree spin at the approach to the Hairpin onto Pit Straight)
The backwards-facing camera from Martin Brundle's car saw the McLaren bearing down on it like Jaws... (Senna running into the back of Brundle's Brabham)
This referring to Rubens Barichello's pit stop time: "I didn't see the time, largely because there wasn't one."
"The two Britons running in second and third, Irvine and Fisichel...Herb...er...oh..."
"And remember that Jacques Villeneuve is a SICK man." Referring to Jacques' illness during the race.
'and thats one of the mechanics using a feeler guage to measure the depth of tread in the slick'.
"and this is ralf schumacher the youngest driver in f1 at only 21 yearS old, and of course he is the son of twice world champion Michael!" (PF: Any rumours that Gina Maria Schumacher already has an F3000 drive are entirely false, of course!)
Monza 96. Remember those stupid tyre stacks on the kerbs which got scattered around the track on the first lap? Camera cuts to single tyre in the middle of the track. Murray:" And look at that tyre! Someone had better go and get that quickly. (As if on cue, marshall runs out and grabs it) WELL DONE LAD!!!!!"
Qualifying Imola 97 "Heinz-Harald Frentzen. The man with all the luck, and it's all bad." (admittedly this only happened last weekend so chances are it wouldn't appear in the web site, but still a good one, don't you think?)
Murray: Eddie Irvine is in the pit lane.
Camera flashes to an empty Ferrari pit with mechanics milling about. Martin: "I think he ... ahh ... didn't come in."
A little later when it was obvious (to Murray) that Eddie didn't come in. "We all make mistakes, and I certainly made a whopper there."
Near the end. "He (Jackie Stewart) will not produce a winner, but if he can produce second, it will be the next best thing."
"...and if you look back 4 seconds...no, 31 seconds...!" (Murray Walker invents Time Travel, Imola, 27th. April 1997)
"And Panis is almost literally laughing his head of in that car."
(This occurred when Eddie Irvine was give a 10 second penalty for blocking in the Spanish GP)
Murray : FERRARI OUT !!! (of the race) Thats Eddie Irvine ! !
Martin : That's Eddie Irvine taking his 10 second penalty there.
(this occured just AFTER Coulthard had attempted to pass M. Schumacher and failed)
Murray : And Coulthard is now on the inside, AND HE'S GOING THROUGH!!! (add appropriate excitement)
Martin : That's a replay, Murray.
Murray : .... while I tell you the retirements are Barrichello, Mika Salo, NAKANO, Damon Hill and SHINJI NAKANO. (He somehow excluded R. Schumacher and Katayama who had also retired at this stage.) #
"If I was Michael Schumacher.... which of course I am not..."
"And the track temperature has in fact risen in degrees!"
"Well he's world champion, and we only get one of those a year."
"And the first three cars are all Escorts, which isn't surprising as this is an all Escort race"
"I should imagine that the conditions in the cockpit are unimaginable!"
"And will Jacques Villeneuve be racing with Williams next year? Well, we will only know that in the future."
The camera was with Hakkinen for awhile and Murray was talking about him. Then it switched to Coulthard who of course was leading. Then Murray starts talking about "the flying Finn in front from Scotland"...
"We're watching Ralf Schumacher... son, of course of double world champion Michael Schumacher..... er, the brother of Michael Schumacher...."
"And I can now tell you that Eddie Irvine is in the pit lane! " (Actually, Irvine drove straight past the entrance to the pit lane and into his next lap...)
1996 British Grand Prix: "And there go the Red Arrows, they'll be back home in Lincolnshire in just four minutes " Five minutes later the Arrows fly over my house and into RAF Brize Norton - 40 miles south of Silverstone!
"And that piece of water on the right is not the St. Lawrence Seaway,\ it is the olympic rowing strip which I have walked down."
"Barrichello, when asked yesterday how he thought he would go tomorrow, which is now today..."
"A battle is developing between them...I say developing because it's not yet on."
"Hello...hello...three wheels, three wheels on my wagon... but.... OH!!!!..... it's Nakano..." (Murray speaking as if it's a perfectly natural sight to see Shinji Nakano driving along with only 3 wheels)
On Martin's apparent offer to drive for some team:
Martin: "Eeally Murray, I couldn't bear to lose you. I'd miss you too much!"
Murray: "Flattery will get you everywhere!"
After Vil's horror pit stop: "If looks could kill then everyone in the Williams pit would drop dead!\ Because Patrick Head has a face like thunder!"
"Well, that's not bad team work, that's not bad drill, that's not bad organisation, it's just BAD LUCK!! And that is something you don't expect to happen!"
On the order: "Ferrari leads, McLaren second, McLaren second, Jordan third and Benneton\ Fifth and sixth." (Hey, I thought he could count laps!)
On Ferrari pit stops: "And the Ferrari team are getting ready to bring in Schumacher or is it Irvine? Well, it could be either. I suspect that its going to be Irvine because he clearly cannot do anything about Ralf Schumacher in front of him. He might as well come in and change his tyres and wheels and hope that in effect he will have a quicker pit stop than Schumacher has when he comes in and pass him in the pits to gain a place and move up in the points. But we will see." Martin: "Look! Its Schumacher coming in!"
M. Iliff
"Schumacher wouldn't have let him past voluntarily. Of course he did it voluntarily, but he had to do it"
"And here is Gabriele Tarquini in 3rd place who has already driven for 31 Formula One Grand Prix teams.... Ahum.... i don't know if we've have that many but i'm sure that if we did so Gabriele didn't drive for all of them!!!"
"....and Berger finishes his flying lap to begin a quick one..."
"I can't believe what's happening visually, in front of my eyes".
Murray: How do they do that, Martin? How does a man talk calmly and\ especially to his team boss, when Damon in the situation he's in?
Martin: Well, you press a little button on the steering wheel and start\ talking, Murray. There's a little speaker in the front of your crash\ helmet..."
Murray - "First man out is Marques in the Arrows. Of course he's going out early to generate some media interest"
Martin - "I'm sure he would generate some interest if he went out in the Arrows because Marques drives for Minardi"
"Well, now, Villeneuve is now twelve seconds ahead of Villeneuve"
"The European drivers have adapted to this circuit extremely\ quickly, especially Paul Radisich who's a New Zealander"
(MW was discussing Nigel Mansell's way of keeping calm in the car -- reciting nursery rhymes over the radio...):
"The thought of, um... er Nigel, twinkle twinkle little star, makes the mind boggle."
During a BTCC race at Silverstone a few years ago, Louise Aitken-Walker and James Weaver were dicing for a midfield place, when Wheaver, in the BMW, unfortunatly miss timed his overtaking manouver on the exit of Woodcote corner taking the both of them out of the race. An extremely upset Aitken-Walker stomped over to Weaver's BMW and told him in no uncertain terms exactly what she though of his passing skills. To which Murray commented, "Hell hath no fury like a Woman being rammed!".
"I've no idea what Eddie Irvine's orders are, but he's following them superlatively well."
After Irvine had shot off the front of the pack: "And here comes Irvine, way ahead of the rest, now crossing the road... start line, even..."
A rather frequent (but nonetheless funny every time I hear it) Walkerism came when Murray was doing one of his classic "Team Tactic Analysis" things... "If I was Michael Schumacher - and I'm not..."
When Hill held up Schumacher..." 'Out of my way, Damon!' says Schumie 'Come on... Out of my way...' Finally, the current World Champion lets the World Champion through."
And, back when Irvine did his 'scalded cat' thing at the start: "Andandandandandand! And look at Irvine!!!!!"
"I don't know my Madrids from my Jerez" (to which Brundle was heard to chuckle 'shall I cancel my hotel in Madrid then?')
"David Coulthard's engine sounds more like a Zeppelin than a Mercedes"
"Stewart have two cars in the top five - Magnusson 5th and Barichello 6th" -- Nurburgring '97
"Frentzen is taking, er..., reducing that gap between himself and Frentzen."
"And Derek Warwick is driving an absolutely pluperfect race"
and Nakano is being lapped, will he pull over ... he does .. Shinji, you are a Japanese Gentleman! (nice one Murray .. HE CAN REALLY HEAR YOU!)
Murray: Ferrari won't be developing their car anymore this season,
Brundle: How do you know that?
Murray: I was there when I said it
"The two McLaren drivers are so hot they look like 2 fried lobsters in silver suits"
"That's history. I say history because it happened in the past"
"David Coulthard in his nun's outfit"
"Rene Arnoux is coming into the pits ... lets stop the startwatch"
"IF... is a very long word in Formula 1..."
"..in fact IF is F1 spelt backwards!"
"It's lap 26 of 58, which unless I'm very much mistaken is half way"
"BMW who are entriely new to F1... since they left it so long ago."
"Two McLarens on the first row of the grid, two Ferarri's on the first row of the grid..."
Melbourne 2000 - Murray on M Schumacher's fight for championship glory with Ferrari: "...and it's something he's been trying to achieve since he left Benetton in 1958!"
St�phane L�ger
"Blown it for Ferrari!!!......Blown it for Irvine!!!.......I don't know what happened, but there was a major malmisorganization problem there!!!"
Monaco GP 1982
"Patrese's going again. He's just gone past us but with no hope of catching Pironi, who goes into the tunnel for the last time ... IS THAT PIRONI STOPPING? IT IIIIIS! MY GOODNESS - THE THIRD LEADER IN TWO LAPS!"
Commentating on Malcolm Wilson driving a Mk II Escort through a rally stage
"And for real, spectacular driving - watch this!" [Wilson rolls the car approximately 5 seconds later]
"..and Micheal Schumacher is leading Micheal Schumacher"
Marcus Hastings
Imola 1994: (circulating behind pace car) "And this is the scene from Ayrton Senna's mirror... sorry, from his camera!"
Barcelona 1993: "And Prost is going for it! With Senna- with both of them! James Hunt: "That's a replay of the start."
Adelaide 1992: (Shouting with excitement) "...And Berger challenges for the lead! AND TAKES IT! WOWEE! No he doesn't! Patrese takes it back. Now that its a classic example of overcooking things!"
Silverstone 1988: "Nigel Mansell has come up from 7th to 6th to 4th to 5th and now to 3rd, and this is lap 23!"
Monaco 1981: (Water is pouring onto the track in the tunnel) "...and that could be, to put it very mildly indeed, suicidally dangerous"
"And here comes Mika Hakkinen, double world champion twice over..."
During an on-board shot in a BTCC car, the driver points at the car in front and gives him a two fingered salute to which Murray says "You're first and I'm second to you!"
Again, during and on-board shot of a BTCC race, the driver gives the car in front a one fingered salute, and Murray covers for the younger viewers with "I'm going for first!"
When Mansell was disqualfied from Portuguese GP "Its Senna, its Senna," Pause, "its either Mansell or Senna."
When Mansell was driving for Williams and used to lead by over 30 seconds " Mansell has made himself a comfortably cushion, well, its actually more like a lounge suite."
When Pedro Diniz Sauber caught fire " Fire! Fire!, Diniz in the oven"
When Schumacher left garage to start qualifying run - "Heeeaaarrrs Michael"
BTCC at Silverstone where John Cleland is stuck behind a smoking car, John sticks his fingers up at the car behind and Murray replies
"Yes, John you're still second"
"Keke three happy years with Williams including a world championship"
Keke Rosberg puts 4 fingers up
"Keke four very happy years with Williams including a world championship"
Detroit 1982, Murray is describing John Watson's surge up the field, A race he went on to win - "He's going through the field like a hot knife through butter"
BTCC at Donington, Derek Warwick's Alfa hits a BBC camera - "He's broken our camera lens that'll be six grand please Derek"
Rallycross and boxer Barry McGiugan rolls his Vauxhall Nova at the first turn - "I bet he wished he'd stayed in the ring"
Snetterton 1993, a big pile-up at the start of the BTCC race show an on-board view of Jeff Allam's involvment in the crash - "Allam's in trouble, Matt Neal has hit him, they'll be some panel bashing tonight I can tell you"
A quote on Formula 1 99 for the PlayStation - "If you haven't got you're heart in your mouth, then you jolly well should have"
Monaco 1988, where Murray is saying that been a crash in this race - "There hasn't been a real crash in this race....BUT THERE IS ONE, BANG!, oh my goodness that's Phillipe Alliot" (Not to my suprise that it was that clumsy Frenchman)
And James Hunt was a bit surly on him too, Jerez 1990 when Mansell just lapped him in his Ligier and he tries to fight back but (unsuprisingly) crashes - "And Mansell was a bit worried about that ridiculous piece of driving by Alliot"
Rallycross "I think that's it, I don't think Gollop has a chance of.....YES HE IS!!!, YES HE IS!!!, I was just about to say that Will Gollop hadn't got a hope of passing Martin Schanche when he did it in front of my eyes"
Monaco 1993 "Now is Damon Hill going to go through, because this looks like a slow pit stop, HILL IS LEADING, Damon Hill goes through and Ayrton Senna is still in the pit lane"
A few minutes later - "And Ayrton Senna IS still in the lead, I'm sorry it was Alain Prost that went through"
The same race and Jean Alesi and Riccardo Patrese are battling for a position - "Are they gonna through, or are they going to touch wheels, they've done that, Patrese has held his place, and that means that...Oh Sorry!! Alesi has held his place"
Brazil 1989, and as Nigel Mansell crosses the finish line, Murray seems to be pre-occupied about the idiot crossing the track (So it wasn't only Hockenheim 2000) - "What a fool running across the track, a raving lunatic"
"And that's the big disadvantage of getting you're line wrong"
"And the other four non-qualifiers are the two Ligier's of Stefan Johansson and Rene Arnoux, Julian Bailey's Tyrrell, and I couldn't remember the fourth one"
Mexico 1990, Mansell's famous overtaking manouvere on Gerhard Berger unsuprisingly led Murray into his usual excitement "AND MANSELL GOING ROUND THE OUTSIDE, INCREDIBLE!!!!"
Canada 1997 And Jacques Villeneuve spins out of his home race, causing Derek Warwick to correct Murray - M.W "And Heinz-Harald Frentzen Spins out at Montreal"
D.W "It's Villeneuve, Murray"
M.W "IT'S VILLENEUVE, JACQUES VILLENEUVE IS OUT OF THE RACE"
Brands Hatch BTCC in 1995, John Cleland's crash "Cleland loses it in a big way, into the tyres and off, OH JARB!!"
Croft 1997 "And this is James Thompson in the Honda and this is a spin in this is the armco and this is not what's supposed to happen"
"You might not think that's cricket, and it's not, it's motor racing"
Monaco 1981 after Gilles Villeneuve crosses the line "One of the most exciting Grand Prix's in a sucsession of exciting Grand Prix's"
"Freedom of Budapest for Bernie Ecclestone. Theres a laugh. He could buy the place and still have enough left for Berlin."
John Gibson
Look up there!! That's the sky!!!'
David Crick
A good example of the famous Murray Walker kiss of death (from Brazil 2000):
Murray : "McLaren - if they can keep going of course - are going to close up on Ferarri in the Constructors Championship, a bit, becuase....."
Martin : "Problem!"
Murray : "Into the pitlane comes the race leader Mika Hakkinen." (to retire).
From the British Grand Prix 2000:
Jim R.: "[It's over to] the big Easter Bunny of Formula 1, Murray Walker."
Murray: "I don't know about the big Easter Bunny, Jim. I used to go to the Bunny Club in Park Lane quite a lot, but my wife's watching the programme so enough of that!"
"Jenson Button is in the top ten, in eleventh position."
Spain 2000:
"Aaaand look at this..."
"The man who is going against the grain, literally, in terms of tyre choice is Michael Schumacher."
"...and Barrichello goes through - wow! Fantastic, fantastic! Barrichello takes both of them, Michael goes down to 5th place and Ralf Schumacher goes to 4th!" (some real racing gets Murray going on full throttle)
"I remember in Imola, I went up to three Union Jack-wrapped chaps after Nigel Mansell had won a race, and said 'That wasn't bad, was it?', and they said 'Que?' - they were all Italians!"
"So while we wait for them to come on to the podium, and I'll interrupt myself when they do..."
Nurburgring 2000:
Murray: "It would be wonderful for David Coulthard, for McLaren and for Britain if he could get Pole Position, because he has yet to get one this year, and I have seldom been anything like as much impressed as I was by his dignity and fortitude in the face of enormous adversity at the British Grand Prix meeting two weeks ago."
Martin: "I was in Spain a few weeks ago, Murray. I think we were both there."
Murray: "Just making sure you were awake there, Martin. Glad you were."
"So let's assume that Michael Schumacher wins this race, whoa!" (Schuey slides on a white line just as Murray talks about him)
Monaco 2000:
"And in front of David Coulthard, the scarlet McLaren of four-times Monaco Grand Prix winner, Michael Schumacher."
James: "Situations like this, Murray, sometimes give rise to the funniest little things. There's one portable toilet at the end of the pit-lane. Michael Schumacher decided immediately upon rejoining the grid he wanted to go to it. And shortly afterwards Mika Hakkinen and Ralf Schumacher arrived and had to stand in an orderly queue while Michael spent a penny, and they all came back out again."
Murray: "So the Germans got to the loo first of all."
Canada 2000:
Ron Dennis may have got the CBE - and he richly deserves it - but having successfully overcome the combined efforts of two very determined security men to prevent me getting into the commentary box, I think I deserve one too!" [You'll just have to make do with your OBE then Murray!]
"Coulthard is the only man who is holding a candle to Michael Schumacher, and that candle is under the Ferrari's rear wing, because Coulthard is now within half a second of Schumacher's Ferrari."
Germany 2000:
"There's three Germans here at Hockenheim in the race tomorrow, if they all qualify. Four Germans - the Schumacher brothers, and Frenzten and Heidfeld." (Murray does Python)
"When you walk round the Hockenheimring, it's quite a spooky feeling, because you've just got these enormous, dark, satanic pine trees all around you, and it's as quiet as a mouse."
"This is, very literally, the calm before the storm."
"I have to say it again - in Formula 1 anything can happen, and it usually does. And everything has happened in this quite amazing motor race."
"Frentzen attack! attack! attack!"
"If you believe in Ferrari get down and pray, because Rubens Barrichello is on his last lap on what is looking like his first victory."
Hungary 2000:
"Totally unpredictable, what is going to happen in this race. All that you can say at the present moment is that the two fastest men this year in Hungary are up at the front on the grid."
"Two lights on, three lights on, four lights on, five laps on..."
"McLaren and Ferrari have won six races each this year. Mika Hakkinen has won three, David Coulthard has won three, Michael Schumacher has won five and Rubens Barrichello has won five."
Belgium 2000: Murray is interviewing Jenson Button in the Williams hospitality area. From where he is sitting and with the angle of the camera, part of the signage is obscured so now reads "MW.WilliamsF1Team". (Murray finally lives his dream!)
"Replay through the Bus Stop of Jarno Trulli. And those kerbs with their saw teeth - s-a-w - really do give the car and the driver a shaking."
Murray: "...5th is Jenson Button, terrific stuff.." Martin: "Third, now!" Murray: "AAAND LOOK AT THAT! THIS YOUNG MAN IS INCREDIBLE!"
Murray: "Button into the right hander and out of it, and the gap between him and Mika Hakkinen IS A MERE THREE TENTHS OF A SECOND. IF HE KEEPS THIS UP HE'S GOING TO GO UP TO THE SECOND PLACE ON THE GRID, BECAUSE JARNO TRULLI'S TIME WAS 7-TENTHS OF A SECOND SLOWER THAN THAT OF MIKA HAKKINEN. LOOKING SMOOTH, LOOKING CLEAN, LOOKING TOTALLY IN CONTROL OF THINGS. INTO THE BUS STOP, OUT OF THE BUS STOP, OVER THE LINE WILL GO JENSON BUTTON AND HE IS IN
. . . . . . . . . . . ."
Martin: "Stays third."
(Murray sounds totally crest-fallen, or maybe just out of breath!)
"Yes! Jean Alesi has just gone round in 2 minutes and 2 seconds, so that's three seconds faster in the Prost than Alesi in the McLaren."
Italy 2000:
"Mazzacane competed in Touring Cars and the obligatory kart racing and in Formula 3 for a couple of years before he went to the inevitable Formula 3000. Although it's not so inevitable these days - Jenson Button has avoided it and so has Luciano Burti."
"But Jarno Trulli is not having a nightmare as he comes down to the Barrichello for what will be the last time..." (unfortunately for Murray, the Italians have not yet named a chicane after the Brazilian!)
"Ferrari are having a bit of a renaissance here in Italy."
USA 2000:
"The amazing thing to me is that this 2.6 mile Grand Prix circuit is all inside the Super Speedway at Indianapolis, which is actually a slightly shorter lap length than the Grand Prix circuit. Seems strange, but it's the twisty bits that do it."
"Three very interesting personalities from our point of view - David Coulthard from Twynholm, up in Scotland; Jenson Button from Bicester; Jarno Trulli, the Italian - and James Allen, the Englishman, has some news for us."
"I feel a bit like a starving man in Harrods food hall, and it's great."
"Two World Championship leaders on the front row. Mika Hakkinen, 80 points. Alongside him, Michael Schumacher, 78 points. Mika Hakkinen on the second row of the grid..."
"This is Ayrton Senna in reverse."
Martin: "And look - Mika Hakkinen waving his arm. And maybe he doesn't realise - I mean it's the first time ever he's racing that Minardi for position."
Murray: "And Mazzacane is in third place, he's in a podium position! He's not going to give up - he should do of course! Now where are the blue flags?"
Martin: "No, there are no blue flags, Murray. He's in third. He should not have a blue flag. He is racing for position." (Murray seems as confused about it as Hakkinen!)
"Mika Hakkinen WAS two points ahead of Michael Schumacher. If - capital I, capital F - IF Michael Schumacher wins this race, he will be eight points ahead of Mika Hakkinen."
"Have you ever seen so many people at a Formula 1 Grand Prix before? The answer's no, because there haven't been as many!"
Murray: "[This could] be [BAR's] first ever finish in a race with both their cars in the points."
Martin: "I hate to tell you, [but] Villeneuve and Zonta finished fourth and sixth in the very first race of the year, to give them a BAR-two-cars-in-the-top-six."
"Well, we've seen Ferrari sell a magnificent, enormous dummy - big enough to put in an elephant's mouth, never mind a baby's - to Jordan and Frentzen."
Japan 2000:
Jim R.: "We're a bit worried about these earthquakes. Did the earth move for you over there?"
Murray: "Not only the earth Jim, but the commentary box as well! It was the most incredible experience."
"So, up to the hairpin, which is the slowest corner on the course, of course - with the possible exception of the chicane."
"He's picked up the gauntlet. He saw it lying on the ground in front of the Ferrari, and Michael Schumacher is going for his 8th Pole Position of the year."
"Looking good for his 8th win of the year, which would make him World Champion for the third time. But let us not count any Ferrari chickens before they are hatched."
Malaysia 2000:
"Mika Hakkinen told an absolutely side-splittingly funny story [at Johnny Herbert's farewell party], about an experience he'd had with Johnny Herbert, but since this is a family show I'm not going to repeat it."
[Apparently, the Finn came back one day to their room, to find Herbert naked in the bath, playing with a rubber duck. 'It took me months to recover from the shock', joked Mika. -- David]
Murray: "David looking very chipper." (as he fiddles with his ear plugs)
Martin: "Yeah, it's always worrying if they drop inside your ear when you put those ear plugs in, you know. You have to fish them back out again, Murray."
(Murray pauses then starts laughing)
Martin: "I am joking! There's a void in there, most racing drivers have a void just the other side of the ears, and the ear plugs can actually fall all the way in sometimes."
Murray: "Sid Watkins, one of the world's top neurosurgeons, who looks after all the medical things for the FIA, said he recently had to do a brain-scan on a driver's head, and found nothing inside it, which didn't surprise him."
Martin: "Hakkinen frightened his way past Villeneuve, and you don't do that too easily to Jacques Villeneuve. A great move there from Hakkinen."
Murray: "Wake up on the left, there! This is a terrific race going on."
(A McLaren mechanic is lying down on the garage floor)
"and the rain came down and washed the circuit dry"
........and Schumacher has just completed lap 77 out of 73.
"...and HERE COMES DAMON HILL IN THE WILLIAMS!!!!.....this car is absolutely unique!....except for the one behind it....which is exactly the same..."
"Coulthard leads the Europe GP, and now all he needs to do is avoid trouble, OH THATS COULTHARD OUT!!!"
Murray: "Thats a Benetton upside down" Martin: "It's a Sauber"
" The Jordans lead on lap 40 and errr.. If you haven't got your heart in your mouth then you jolly well should have!"
"Damon Hill leads as Ayrton Senna sits in the pit lane!"
Moments later.. "ayrton Senna leads, it was the lapped car of Alain Prost that went through."
from Malaysia:
Murray
on hakkinen jumping the start.)"The advantage of jumping the start is that you can get away a lot quicker."
Martin; "I don't get what you're saying."
"And Michael is lapping about two seconds a lap slower than his brother Michael." (when M Schumacher was about to lap R Schumacher).
Murray:"And another one off, these gravell traps arnt slowing anybody down"
Martin:"That because there aren't any there Murray !"
Its the blackest day for grand prix racing since I started covering the sport
Germany 2000: Well, where's Mr. Half-wit now...
(referring to the former Mercedes employee on the track)
Suzuka 2000
"B.A.R are 4th in the constructors championship, this is an excellent performance considering their debut year in 1991!"
Belgium 1995 an after-race interview with Damon Hill
M.W "I have to tell you after the race when you were talking to Michael [Schumacher] I said that it proves that you are good friends with him, was it not that sort of conversation?"
D.H " Well not suprisingly Murray, you were wrong!"
"Martin Schanche's car is absouloutely unique except for the one behind which is identical"
"Renault team-mate's Alain Menu and Will Hoy are 1st and 2nd with James Thompson's Renault in 3rd"
M.W "Here comes the Minardi of Marc Gene!"
M.B "That's Badoer Murray!"
"You can't see Alesi's Ferrari because it isn't there!"
BTCC at Thruxton 1993 "Julian Bailey's Toyota is 1st, Cleland 2nd, Winkelhock 3rd, Cleland 4th and Bailey 5th, Hang on! it's Cleland leading with Bailey in 2nd, Radisich 3rd, and Bailey 4th, these lap times are seriously confusing me!, right I can now confirm that Winkelhock leads with Cleland 2nd, Bailey 3rd, Radisich in 4th and Soper 5th, Sorry Radisich is in 3rd and Bailey's 4th!" "Hard luck for Mansell, there he is, Mansell leaves the pits as I talk to you (the scene cuts to Mansell's Lotus), and that is Mansell.....well I can't understand..but he must have been going into the pits!" BTCC Brands Hatch 1994 Jeff Allam spins off as photographers loom! "And that's Allam of, OK to take a picture mate!"
BTCC at Donington 1996
"Biela leads with the two Volvo's of Rydell, Burt and Menu are 2nd, 3rd and 5th!"
Hockenheim 1988
Senna 1st, Prost 2nd and Berger 3rd that makes up the top four!"
Everett d'Entremont and Louise Weavers
Melbourne 2001
"if that's not not an engine failure,then i'm a chinaman"
BTCC at Snetterton 1997 : "Menu leads Plato second and Rydell is third with his Volvo team-mate James Thompson's Honda in fourth!"
"Senna is 3rd with Mansell 2nd and Piquet 3rd!"
Rallycross : "Martin Schanche is leading here but Schanche attacks a back-marker for the lead!"
"Here at Brands Hatch Will Gollop has a clear lead over Will Gollop"
BTCC 1992 : "With Tim Harvey in the lead by a clear margin it looks all but over but look at Will Hoy in second he is flying and Harvey's lead might be challanged here, all of you out there watch Hoy!" (Hoy crashes out as soon as Murray finishes!"
Rick Woolley Found the following to be a particularly good Walkerism during 2001 San Marino Grand Prix. Murray was trying to decide the strategy of the field, and made the following observation, almost as a one sentence statement.
"Are they on a one stopper? Are they on a two stopper? When I say 'they', who do I mean? Well, I don't know! It could be, any way!!"
What would we do without him??!!
Responding to Martin's quick notice of a Schumacher puncture -- Clearly visible due to a flapping left front:
"Well, Spotted Murray! Now, could you actually see that, or do you just instinctively know it to be true?" (Perhaps Murray suspects crystal balls will replace the monitors in the booth?)
"This will be Williams' first win since the last time a Williams won."
Murray: "And Barichello has a good chance to pass Trulli here..." Martin:"Actually, those waved yellow flags will prevent that in this section"
After Montoya expresses his frustration over yet another retirement: "Montoya, chipper and upbeat as usual..."
And finally,
"It looks very good for Williams, unless things change, and everything always changes in Formula One."
Imola 2001
"I�m in my usual state up here in the commentary box: high tension, heart beating like a trip hammer, whatever that is."
"So Ralf is the man in the lead and Ralf is Schumacher."
"Are they on a one-stopper? Are they on a two? And when I say they, who do I mean? Well, I don�t know. It could be anybody."
(after Frentzen spins in Monaco qualifying) "And look at his hands there. It's amazing what can happen if you press the wrong button; you can wind up getting a drink instead of maximum throttle."
Australia 2001
"If I was Paul Stoddart, I'd be nipping out with the Box Browning right now to take a photo of the timing screens, because Alonso is in third position, ahead of his team-mate Tarso Marques."
"Jean Alesi is reborn. Last year he was driving a car that he couldn't have done well in even if it had had two engines in it, nevermind one."
Murray: "Now we go on to another 16 races, the next one is at Brazil, Sao Paulo, in two weeks time."
Martin: "I'm going to Malaysia, first, Murray."
"And David Coulthard does stay ahead of Coulthard."
"It will have been another victory for the Ferrari quartet - Michael Shumacher, Jean Todt, Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne, and, to make it five, Paulo Martinelli."
Malaysia 2001
"Lots of action still to come - carry on James!"
Murray: "That's Ralf Schumacher, you can see the cooling elements from his balaclava helmet sticking out over his forehead." (he keeps talking then realises...) "They're not the cooling elements - " (laughing) "that's his hair!"
Martin: "I can't think of a one-liner to come back in there, Murray!"
Murray: "Neither can I, except 'What am I saying?!'"
"This is a powerboat race, it's not a Formula 1 car race."
"Here's a sobering thought - despite his 46 wins, Michael Schumacher is still 100 points behind the biggest points winning driver of all time, Alain Prost." (yes, but there are still a maximum of 150 points left up for grabs this year alone...)
Imola 2001
Murray: "And you can see that [Irvine]'s really having to fight the McLaren as he comes round."
Martin: "I think Irvine definitely wishes it was a McLaren!"
"As ever, I say the man you have to beat first of all in a team is your team-mate."
"The difference between the Benetton and Minardi budgets; well there must be a word bigger than 'enormous', and that is it."
Monaco 2001
"It seemed a bit odd to be getting an award for enjoying yourself for the whole of your life!"
"Seven one-hundredths of a second off the pace - it is nothing. But nothing can be a great deal in Formula 1."
"LOOK AT THAT! THREEEE TENTHS OF A SECOND FASTER THAN MIKA HAKKINEN'S LAP, AND - ooooh dear Mika, David."
James: "Mika Hakkinen sitting in the car with his head rocking gently forwards and backwards."
Murray: "He'll need to get his right foot rocking backwards and forwards extremely vigorously from now on!"
"Sunshine by the truckload, glamorous women by the regiment, Grand Prix racing's most charismatic location - that is Formula 1 Monte Carlo style."
"A black, black race for the grey and black McLaren team."
"There are 7 winners of the monaco grand prix on the starting line today and four of them are Michael Schumacher"
From the Monaco Grand Prix qualifying session in 2001
"And the session will start in 3....8........9........0!"
From Hockenheim 2000
"There's a Ferrari in the wall! That must be Rubens Barrichello......tha..that must be Rubens Barri......or is it Schumacher! It's Schumacher!"
From the Spanish Grand Prix of 2001, Murray is giving us the top six, after Hakkinen retired on the last lap.
Murray Walker: "So Michael Schumacher has won, Montoya is second, and Hakkinen is third."
Martin Brundle: "Yes, remember Mika Hakkinen retired on the last lap though Murray....."
From Hockeinheim 2000
Brundle: 2 McLarens running line-astern, who will come in first?
Walker: Well,...
Brundle: If Coulthard goes around surely he'll catch the safety car
Walker: And,....
Brundle: And Mika is in Murray!
Walker: Yes, and...
Brundle: And look, Coulthard has to go around!
Walker: Well yes, they gave preference to Mika as I expected.
From the Monaco Grand Prix of 2001
"So this being Michael Schumacher's 10th race in his 151st year in F1"
"Now a tenth of a second is a blink of an eye. But when you're in the territory those two (Schumacher and Hakkinen) are in, you have to blink EVEN QUICKER!"
Geoff Hewitt
"A sad ending, albeit a happy one"
Murray: "It's Michael Schumacher fastest - he's already had eight pole positions this year - Hakkinen, Coulthard, Barrichello, Heidfeld, Schumacher, James Allen..."
James: "I haven't had any pole positions this year, but I'm down in the Ferrari garage."
"...Louise Allen..."
"Ralf Schumacher is in eighth position, behind Nick Heidfeld seventh, Rubens Barrichello, Louise Goodman..."
(out of nowhere and completely unrelated) "That young Damon Hill looks more like George Harrison every day, doesn't he?"
"I was just fantasising about being in the back of a camper with Beverley Turner."
Murray Walker: And now we have news from Louise Allen
Louise Goodman: Louise GOODMAN - Cheers Murray
Louise Goodman does her report and hands back with Murray Brundle!
"he is DOWN, DOWN, DOWN in the DUMPS, DUMPS, DUMPS."
And yet again, Damon Hill is modest in defeat.
This circuit is interesting because it has inclines and declines. Not just up, but down as well.
Jacques Villeneuve looks as if he is driving a Williams Renault motorboat. (Spain 96)
When it rains in Malaysia, it doesn't come down by the bucketful, but by the OCEANful. (Sepang 2001)
It looks as though this year there will be seventeen Grands Prix for the World Championship, compared with the traditional seventeen.
Now he must not go the wrong way round the circuit, and unless he can spin himself stationary through 360 degrees I fail to see how he can avoid doing so.
Fantastic!! There are four different cars filling the first four places!!
He can't decide whether to have his visor half open or half closed.
Either the car is stationary or it's on the move.
Even in five years' time, he (Coulthard) will still be four years younger than Damon Hill.
In 12th and 13th the two Jaguars of Eddie Irvine.
And Edson Arantes di Nascimento, commonly known to us as Pele hands the award to Damon Hill, commonly known to us as... Damon Hill!!!!
And Michael Schumacher is actually in a very good position. He is in last place.
There is nothing wrong with the car except that it is on fire.
"And Michael Schumacher is 37 seconds ahead, so he can refuel the car, change all four wheels, take off his helmet, have a smoke and a cup of tea, and rejoin in first."
Ian Dalby ' eight minutes past the hour here in belgium....and presumably eight minutes past the hour every where in the world'
"Reception"
Ralf Schumacher Michael has moved up to the position that..that...that...the other one isn't
Murray used to comentate on the British powerboat grand prix in the 1970's in Bristol Docks and two memorable quotes from there were:
"It's stopped raining now and the course is about to start drying out"
"The water here at Bristol is very rough so Renato Molinari and Tom Percival (the two top drivers) are running their long wheelbase boats this weekend".
"And this section is twenty-three seconds long absolutely full whack - but not for Bernoldi this lap, because he comes into the pit-lane!"
"And it's Bingo! Geronimo! for Ralf Schumacher!"
Martin: "Hakkinen is about to put it on Pole Position - the Old Man, the guy who's taking a sabbatical!"
Murray: "'So you can stick that in your exhaust pipe,' he says to Michael Schumacher."
Martin: "This is Montoya in Turn 3, and really had to turn into that slide as you would on the road in your road car."
Murray: "I don't get too many slides like that in my road car, Martin!"
Martin: "Well you're a very sensible chap, Murray!"
Murray: "Hullo! What's the significance of that [bag], Martin? What's he got?"
Martin: "Must be the cash, is it?"
Murray: (laughs) "I don't think so - I don't think Bernie would let that get out of his sight!"
Murray (To Damon Hill)): When did you realise that you had a puncture, Damon?
Damon Hill: When my tyre went down, Murray!
"With half the race gone, there is half the race still to go"
"Do my eyes deceive me, or is Senna's Lotus sounding rough ?"
"Anything happens in Grand Prix racing and it usually does"
"читать дальшеAlboreto has dropped back up to fifth place"
"As you look at the first four, the significant thing is that Alboreto is 5th"
"I can't imagine what kind of problem Senna has. I imagine it must be some sort of grip problem"
"He is shedding buckets of adrenalin in that car"
"It's raining and the track is wet"
"And there's just a few more corners for Nigel Mansell to go to win the Canadian Grand Prix...and...he's going rather slow....HE'S STOPPING HE'S STOPPING!"
"and this is the third placed car about to lap the second placed car"
"they say clothes maketh the man... the clothes are Niki Lauda's, but the contents are me..." as Murray prepares to take a drive in a F1 car." [He gets a total distance of... oh, 1 foot before he stalls it.] (Apparently, this was the second attempt to film Murray in an F1 McLaren - the first, earlier that day, had gone very well, but for technical reasons couldn't be used!)
[During a F1 race, describing how the leader can see the driver following him] "... Mansell can see him in his earphone..."
"So Bernie [Ecclestone], in the seventeen years since you bought McLaren, which of your many achievements do you think was the most memorable ?" Bernie Answers, "Well I don't remember buying McLaren." [Bernie Ecclestone used to own the Brabham team].
Murrary: "What's that? There's a BODY on the track!!!" James: "Um, I think that that is a piece of BODY-WORK, from someone's car."
Murray: There's a fiery glow coming from the back of the Ferrari James: No Murray, that's his rear safety light
As an introductory piece for a rallysprint race, Murray was put in the Navigator's seat alongside Tony Pond in a Chevette HSR (270 BHP, rwd, and TWITCHY), added an in-car camera, and wired Murray for sound. The result can be deduced by extrapolating his usual excitement and enthusiasm, and adding a large pinch of raw terror! "And there's a 600 foot drop on my left..AND we're doing 120 mph... AND we're approaching a hairpin...OH MY GOD we're going to die..."
[after a post race interview with Mansell after the Austrian GP 1987] Murray : "How did you get that nasty bumb on your head Nigel?" [Nigel leans forward to show the camera as Murray pokes it with his finger !] Nigel: "OWCH!!"
Murray: And look at the flames coming from the back of Berger's McLaren
James: Actually, Murray, they're not flames, it's the safety light.
Murray, commentating on rallycross from Lydden, describes how a BMW driver has cut holes in his windscreen so that his visibility is improved in all the muck... as he is doing so, the car crashes heavily into an earth bank...
From the Spanish GP 1995: "and Eddie Jordan is in fifth place"... (actually Eddie Irvine in one of his compatriot Eddie Jordan's cars).
"...and he's lost both right front tyres" (which may have been accurate back in the days of the Tyrrell P34, but it was from 1995!)
"...Cruel luck for Alesi, second on the grid. That's the first time he had started from the front row in a Grand Prix, having done so in Canada earlier this year..."
James: "And now what's wrong with Prost's car?"
Murray: "It's not Prost's car it's that joker in the striped shirt!"
"Ah! Now here's Senna in the pits (for the black flag). No point in saying I wish I could lip read: I can't even see his lips! There's Ron Dennis bending over at the right. This is A-! Out gets Senna! For whatever reason and I just hope we can get a message about this. I hope we can get a message. Ayrton Senna with, with rage and impotent fury etched in every line of his body, reluctantly drags himself out of the McLaren." (In reality Senna calmly stepped out of the car and walked away.)
"Well let's, uh, lugsh, luxurrriate in a little hypothesis and try to work out what, if anything, is wrong with Alain Prost." (Prost was being caught by Berger late in the race.) "Has he got tire problems? Very unlikely. Is Prost having fuel trouble? Well, who knows? I think it's a bit unlikely. Is Prost having gearbox trouble? I can't tell you. And since P, uh, Prost is unlikely to come on the radio and let me know you'll have to guess along with me."
"ANNDD! We have a, uh, I - (laughing) - I, uh, I'm S- (still laughing). I have to eat humble pie again, for all the people out there. Uh, we have a lap scorrring problem and, uh, I have to rather lamely tell you that, uh, it's still Gerhard Berger in 2nd place. It's Berger in 3rd position. In four- in- in-. Um, Boutsen in 3rd position..."
"That's 55 laps completed by both Prost and Berger and and and and and the expeeerrrienced Alain Prost is really responding."
"And there's the man in the green flag!"
"The Jordan factory is at the factory gates"
Mike Griffiths
"...and there's no damage to the car.....except to the car itself."
"The beak of Ayrton Senna's chicken is pulling ahead"
Helen Gerald
'and I interrupt myself to bring you this....'
and the catchphrase 'Unless I'm very much mistaken....I AM very much mistaken!'
Colin Reed
"This is an interesting circuit because it has inclines, and not just up, but down as well."
"Only a few more laps to go and then the action will begin, unless this is the action, which it is."
"This has been a great season for Nelson Piquet, as he is now known, and always has been"
"And the first five places are filled by five different cars."
Kevin Lee's
"...the lead is now 6.9 seconds. In fact it's just under 7 seconds"
"Tambay's hopes , which were nil before, are absolutely zero now."
"You can't see a digital clock because there isn't one."
Stu Soltysiak
"...and Blundell is doing very well in sixth position...in fact he's lapping 2.5 seconds faster than Blundell who is in fifth position" [PF: Given the trouble Murray had with Brundle and Blundell perhaps it's fortunate that Mark's racing in the USA now. How on earth will he cope with Schumacher and Schumacher?]
"We're watching the Finnish Driver who is third, but he won't for very much llllong...oh yeah, he might be actually"
"And an enormous gap building before Mika Hakkinen goes through in third position...when I say enormous it's 1.5 seconds"
"Schumacher is still the fastest man on the track, not only by virtue of the fact that he leads the Australian Grand Prix, but he also holds the fastest lap"
"Eddie Irvine with smoke pouring up from the eng...I suspect something's locked up and he's out of the race"
JP: "And Alesi spins there...spins out of the race, surely... "Yes!...NO! Alesi manages to keep the engine, does not stall, but of course he will have lost the place I think. No! he's kept the place"
"Yes, the beauty of this race is that it is totally unpredictable"
"Michael Schumacher leading Damon Hill by four tenths of a second or so, because it's moving...[cut to Hill under Schu's rear wing] AND THAT'S NOT FOUR TENTHS OF A SECOND! That's Michael Schumacher!"
Anthony Long
"The Italian GP at Monaco..."
"I'm applying intelligence and observation to the situation..."
"Schumacher's appeal for ignoring the chequered flag is next Tuesday."
...the enthusiastic enthusiasts... (Italy 1994)
"Martin's got a bald spot - he won't be pleased..." (Germany, 1994, as Brundle retires, and climbs out of the car. Murray stops talking about the broken McLaren as soon as he sees Martin's head)
"...and Andretti is going very slowly - he must have an electrical problem of some sort... "(Andretti is touring on three wheels, having hit something solid) [PF: this reminds me of several Ferrari retirements which were described as "electrical problems". Mechanics would give the lie to this saying things like "yes, it was an electrical problem. A conrod went through the block and knocked the distributor off!"]
Dave Oldcorn
...but Here is Now and There is Damon Hill [PF adds: nice bit of Iambic Pentameter there]
Steven Wheeler
"So now you're looking at the battle between Frentzen and Herbert for 7th place. Heinz Harald Frentzen in the Sauber Mercedes behind Johnny Herbert, behind him Johnny Herbert in his first race in the Ligier Renault..."
Evan Metcalf
`Ukyo Katayama is undoubtedly the best formula 1 driver that grand prix racing has ever produced' [then again, there's probably people on the net who believe this�.]
...and the Peugeot cup of misery is filled past overflowing...
Chris Simpson
Murray: "And there are flames coming from the back of Prost's car as he enters the swimming pool."
James: "Well, that should put them out then."
John McIlroy
Rallycross at Lydden Hill. "And Keith Ripp comes round Chesson's Drift, avoids the Hatter's bank..." [upon which little yellow Mini commences its ascent] "... BUT HE DOES NOT!!!!!" [Mini now 30 feet in air, lands heavily and performs six rolls before stopping] "...and BANG, BANG, OVER, OVER goes the Mini..." A quality moment.
Ted Henderson
"Alesi is in second place and Hill is in second place..."
"As you can see, visually, with your eyes..."
Andrew Wood
"Andrea de Cesaris...the man who has won more Grands Prix than anyone else without actually winning one of them."
Steven Jeffery
"And here comes Berger, out of Tabac and into the swimming pool." -- Gerhard wasn't emulating Alberto Ascari [and Paul Hawkins], however, and carried on past the swimming pool!
Anthony Holloway
'Oh that's the Forti, and, it looks like, err, its Roberto Moreno's car , the err Brazilian .. I was going to say the elderly Brazilian , he's only 36 but he's actually the oldest driver in the race at the present moment, though he's just retired from it!'
'Hill, Hill ... Hill is in, he's beneath me now.. .and he's got slicks! its slicks! he got a new set of slicks! this is strange' (as it was raining!)
Erik Michael
"....Schumacher crosses the line to start another lap, and there's nothing there!"
Helen Gerald
'Right underneath me, Michael Schumacher!'
'Jonathan, you're the ace forecaster...' (really?)
'I hate to be a Jeremiah, but I have to tell you that the clouds are lowering...'
'The plot thickens, because the Williams team are out now.'
Tony Jardine; 'The Benetton man doesn't know what day it is!' (Who does?)
(as the coverage flips back and forth, missing the interesting bits) 'It's not my job to produce the programme, so I'll say nothing!' (Good point, Murray, definite 'could do better' for the French producer)
Mike Bees
and (during one of the practice sessions "... this is the part of the circuit where the Williams tends to be, not tends to be is slower than the Benetton historically, today."
Jon Jennings
"And an enormous gap now building before Mika Hakkinen goes through in third place. When I say enormous, it's one and a half seconds."
"The Benetton handling superbly as ever. Williams have worked very very hard on this car at the beginning of the season."
"That's not four tenths of a second. Look at it. It's Michael Schumacher."
(talking about bumps and puddles in the circuit, which Jonathan Palmer used to test on when McLaren had Honda engines.....) ".....and there's few [drivers] that know them more and even less better than you Jonathan....."
And we have had 5 races so far this year, Brazil, Argentina, Imola, Schumacher and Monaco!
And Damon Hill is coming into the pit lane, yes it's Damon Hill coming into the Williams pit, and Damon Hill in the pit, no it's Michael Schumacher!
Monaco:-
"And there's a dry line appearing in the tunnel" (pause while he realises what he's just said) "Obvious really as it has a roof"
[PF: that's one of only two Walker GP commentaries I've missed, one when I was in the USA (I see what they mean about Daly and Varsha!) and Monaco '96, and by God I wished there was some dry there, I got thoroughly soaked!]
Belgium:-
"And the Williams pit are getting ready for Hill, the tyre coolers are coming off"
Belgium '96:
"...and now, just in case there is any CONFUSION (operative term here) this is the race order on lap 19: David Coulthard leads and has yet to stop; Hakkinen leads and has yet to stop..."
"The McLaren is being pushed by the Mercedes"
[PF: Given '95 and early '96 McLaren performances, who knows!]
"A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play" [he once worked in advertising]
"Bolster's gone off!" [his first words on the BBC in 1949] [PF: John Bolster was later technical editor of Autosport and himself known as a BBC commentator in later years, usually working with Raymond Baxter]
"Nigel Mansell - the man of the race - the man of the day - the man from the Isle of Man"
"An Achilles heel for the McLaren team this year, and it's literally the heel because it's the gearbox"
"And now the boot is on the other Schumacher" [PF: One I suppose we'll see lots of next year
]"The atmosphere is so tense you could cut it with a cricket stump"
"Alain Prost is in a commanding second place" [PF: Worthy of Nigel Roebuck at his most Prostophilic!]
"Now the Frenchman Jacques Lafitte is as close to Surer as Surer is to Lafitte"
"I don't make mistakes. I make prophecies which immediately turn out to be wrong" [Murray on his style of commentary]
"I am inclined to go over the top and I know it. I am communicating an electric situation"
"I like to think I come over as a slightly over-the-top enthusiast. It is a very exciting sport after all"
[after Derek Warwick spun at Monaco ending up facing the wrong way...] "Now he must not go the wrong way round the circuit, and unless he can spin himself stationary through 360 degrees I fail to see how he can avoid doing so."
[possibly Murray's most ecstatic moment when Mansell passed Senna to win in Hungary after starting well down the grid] "He's going for it! OH MY GOODNESS...HE'S THROOOOOOUGH!!!"
"We're now on the 73rd lap and the next one will be the 74th." [Monaco 1992]
"James has just nipped out to have a look at the far side of the circuit" [Actually James Hunt would leave the commentary box to smoke a joint!]
"If they have any shillelaghs in Suzuka, they'll be playing them
tonight." [after Eddie Irvine's 6th place in his first grand prix] [PF: I think Eddie and Ayrton Senna were using shillelaghs correctly somewhere else at about that time
]"He's watching us from hospital with his injured knee"
"In his quiter moments he sounds like his trousers are on fire" [Clive James on Murray Walker]
"Mansell is slowing it down, taking it easy. Oh no he isn't! It's a lap record."
"It's not quite a curve, it's a straight actually." [PF: I assume this is actually referring to the Tamburello at Imola]
"And Senna wins the 1999 Monaco Grand Prix" [from the 1990 Monaco GP] [PF: Alas�]
[hysterical as ever] "And that's Alboreto OFF!" [long pause - somber voice] "Now Michele Alboreto did not in fact qualify for the race, so how we managed to see him go off I don't know. We'll let you know." [Even longer pause, now laughing] "Now I'm
not a technician, but it appears a shot of Michele Alboreto going off in qualifying has crept into this live transmission, thank you Mr. Producer, anyway that was qualifying, this is the race..."
[Alesi, then in a Tyrrell, was passed by Senna at Detroit, or was he...] "And Senna's going through on the inside, or is he, YES!, but now Alesi has the inside, side by side, Alesi! Wow! Great Stuff!" [PF: It was, too - one of the finest battles for years!]
Hungarian GP
"This race will actually develop into a Grand prix"
'..and Damon Hill is following Damon Hill'
'Jean Alesi is 4th and 5th'
'Schumacher has made his final stop three times!'
'And he has been lapped 9th, 10th, 11th' This was in reference to Jacques Villeneuve, who was leading at the time, and there were only 11 cars running anyway!
'Nigel Mansell had a problem with the wheel-nut on his Williams, then he went on to win brilliantly for Ferrari!'
And finally, one from the Nurburgring. Jacques Villeneuve is just making the last turn on the last lap. 'I'm going to stick my neck out here and say that Jacques Villeneuve is going to keep the Ferrari of Michael Schumacher behind him and win his first GP....'
"And the car upside down is a Toyota" [PF: At the time, Toyota were using the slogan "The car in front is a Toyota"; in this race, both works Toyotas took each other out�]
Hungarian GP
"It has all come alive in Hungary. There is the proof! Williams! Benetton! Ferrari! The Benetton is Berger and the Ferrari is Damon Hill!"
"And Damon Hill is going under the drier part of the Monaco circuit, that's of course because it's got a roof"
"And that just shows you how important the car is in Formula One racing"
"I know it's an old cliche, but you can cut the atmosphere with a cricket stump"
"And Olivier Panis justifiably wins such a well deserved Grand Prix" (in which Hill, Schumacker, Alessi, Berger and Villeneuve all came off and only 4 out of 20 drivers finished) [PF: I beg to differ. I was there, Panis drove mightily all weekend, and was extremely quick in the wet. Admittedly, the guy who most deserved to win was Frentzen, but�]
"People ask me who's going to be the next Hill, the next Schumacher, and I keep saying to watch out for Mika Salo" (Salo crashes a few laps later)
(Schumacher is coming out the pit lane ahead of Villeneuve) "And Schumacher overtakes Villeneuve. Oh, no he doesn't! Oh, yes he does!"
"Stop! Stop! Look! Look! It's a Williams, and I'm guessing that's Jacques Villeneuve, I can't tell you for sure because I can't see from here. And so Villeneuve retires .... it's Hill! Damon Hill is out of the Monza Grand Prix!"
and of course the all time classic
"They're now on lap 68, which means there's one, two, three, four, five laps to go before the end of the Hungarian Grand Prix" (hey, kids, learn to count with Murray.....)
My personal favourite is from a British GP, describing a pit stop. "And he's done that in a whisker under 10 seconds, call it 9.7 in round figures".
"And the brilliant Williams duo of Graham Hill and Gilles Villeneuve are turning this into a magnificent race"
"Into lap 53, the penultimate last lap but one"
"Nigel Mansell is the last person in the race apart from the five in front of him."
(Suzuka, 1996, talking about when he was hit by a wheel) "It hit me, and I felt it."
Nelson Piquet pulled into the pits for a a tyre change in his Brabham, and Murray says: "I'll stop my startwatch"
"And Damon Hill is six.....1!2!3!4!5!6! seconds ahead!", "Schumacher started 22nd- he's gone past 21!20!19!18!17!",
"And Hill congratulates Schumacher. They're not bosom buddies, but they're not far off!" (Hill was actually critising Schumacher for heavy-handed driving tactics after the 1995 Belgian GP).
"There goes Panis in the Prost. For years we knew them as Ligiers, because that is what they were called."
And I usually say that if anything is going to go wrong with the car, it has done by now, but I'm not going to say that about Jacques Villeneuve.... Oh, I already have. (Brazil 1997)
'And Michael Schumacher is in the pits!' (he was out by then,although he was probably in the garage or somthing.)
"Rally points scoring is 20 for the fastest, 18 for the second fastest, right down to 6 points for the slowest fastest."
Murray: There's a car coming into the pits now, they're so unreliable with all those electronics on board.
James: Actually, Murray, one of his wheels has just fallen off!
1986 Australian Grand Prix: And OFF SPINS PIQUET - Wowee!
And LOOK AT THAT ... out ... that ... and colossal ... it.. that's Mansell ... that is NIGEL MANSELL (Nigel Mansell's infamous tyre blowout)
Spin, spin, spin - round, round, round he goes (Senna completing a 900 (!) degree spin at the approach to the Hairpin onto Pit Straight)
The backwards-facing camera from Martin Brundle's car saw the McLaren bearing down on it like Jaws... (Senna running into the back of Brundle's Brabham)
This referring to Rubens Barichello's pit stop time: "I didn't see the time, largely because there wasn't one."
"The two Britons running in second and third, Irvine and Fisichel...Herb...er...oh..."
"And remember that Jacques Villeneuve is a SICK man." Referring to Jacques' illness during the race.
'and thats one of the mechanics using a feeler guage to measure the depth of tread in the slick'.
"and this is ralf schumacher the youngest driver in f1 at only 21 yearS old, and of course he is the son of twice world champion Michael!" (PF: Any rumours that Gina Maria Schumacher already has an F3000 drive are entirely false, of course!)
Monza 96. Remember those stupid tyre stacks on the kerbs which got scattered around the track on the first lap? Camera cuts to single tyre in the middle of the track. Murray:" And look at that tyre! Someone had better go and get that quickly. (As if on cue, marshall runs out and grabs it) WELL DONE LAD!!!!!"
Qualifying Imola 97 "Heinz-Harald Frentzen. The man with all the luck, and it's all bad." (admittedly this only happened last weekend so chances are it wouldn't appear in the web site, but still a good one, don't you think?)
Murray: Eddie Irvine is in the pit lane.
Camera flashes to an empty Ferrari pit with mechanics milling about. Martin: "I think he ... ahh ... didn't come in."
A little later when it was obvious (to Murray) that Eddie didn't come in. "We all make mistakes, and I certainly made a whopper there."
Near the end. "He (Jackie Stewart) will not produce a winner, but if he can produce second, it will be the next best thing."
"...and if you look back 4 seconds...no, 31 seconds...!" (Murray Walker invents Time Travel, Imola, 27th. April 1997)
"And Panis is almost literally laughing his head of in that car."
(This occurred when Eddie Irvine was give a 10 second penalty for blocking in the Spanish GP)
Murray : FERRARI OUT !!! (of the race) Thats Eddie Irvine ! !
Martin : That's Eddie Irvine taking his 10 second penalty there.
(this occured just AFTER Coulthard had attempted to pass M. Schumacher and failed)
Murray : And Coulthard is now on the inside, AND HE'S GOING THROUGH!!! (add appropriate excitement)
Martin : That's a replay, Murray.
Murray : .... while I tell you the retirements are Barrichello, Mika Salo, NAKANO, Damon Hill and SHINJI NAKANO. (He somehow excluded R. Schumacher and Katayama who had also retired at this stage.) #
"If I was Michael Schumacher.... which of course I am not..."
"And the track temperature has in fact risen in degrees!"
"Well he's world champion, and we only get one of those a year."
"And the first three cars are all Escorts, which isn't surprising as this is an all Escort race"
"I should imagine that the conditions in the cockpit are unimaginable!"
"And will Jacques Villeneuve be racing with Williams next year? Well, we will only know that in the future."
The camera was with Hakkinen for awhile and Murray was talking about him. Then it switched to Coulthard who of course was leading. Then Murray starts talking about "the flying Finn in front from Scotland"...
"We're watching Ralf Schumacher... son, of course of double world champion Michael Schumacher..... er, the brother of Michael Schumacher...."
"And I can now tell you that Eddie Irvine is in the pit lane! " (Actually, Irvine drove straight past the entrance to the pit lane and into his next lap...)
1996 British Grand Prix: "And there go the Red Arrows, they'll be back home in Lincolnshire in just four minutes " Five minutes later the Arrows fly over my house and into RAF Brize Norton - 40 miles south of Silverstone!
"And that piece of water on the right is not the St. Lawrence Seaway,\ it is the olympic rowing strip which I have walked down."
"Barrichello, when asked yesterday how he thought he would go tomorrow, which is now today..."
"A battle is developing between them...I say developing because it's not yet on."
"Hello...hello...three wheels, three wheels on my wagon... but.... OH!!!!..... it's Nakano..." (Murray speaking as if it's a perfectly natural sight to see Shinji Nakano driving along with only 3 wheels)
On Martin's apparent offer to drive for some team:
Martin: "Eeally Murray, I couldn't bear to lose you. I'd miss you too much!"
Murray: "Flattery will get you everywhere!"
After Vil's horror pit stop: "If looks could kill then everyone in the Williams pit would drop dead!\ Because Patrick Head has a face like thunder!"
"Well, that's not bad team work, that's not bad drill, that's not bad organisation, it's just BAD LUCK!! And that is something you don't expect to happen!"
On the order: "Ferrari leads, McLaren second, McLaren second, Jordan third and Benneton\ Fifth and sixth." (Hey, I thought he could count laps!)
On Ferrari pit stops: "And the Ferrari team are getting ready to bring in Schumacher or is it Irvine? Well, it could be either. I suspect that its going to be Irvine because he clearly cannot do anything about Ralf Schumacher in front of him. He might as well come in and change his tyres and wheels and hope that in effect he will have a quicker pit stop than Schumacher has when he comes in and pass him in the pits to gain a place and move up in the points. But we will see." Martin: "Look! Its Schumacher coming in!"
M. Iliff
"Schumacher wouldn't have let him past voluntarily. Of course he did it voluntarily, but he had to do it"
"And here is Gabriele Tarquini in 3rd place who has already driven for 31 Formula One Grand Prix teams.... Ahum.... i don't know if we've have that many but i'm sure that if we did so Gabriele didn't drive for all of them!!!"
"....and Berger finishes his flying lap to begin a quick one..."
"I can't believe what's happening visually, in front of my eyes".
Murray: How do they do that, Martin? How does a man talk calmly and\ especially to his team boss, when Damon in the situation he's in?
Martin: Well, you press a little button on the steering wheel and start\ talking, Murray. There's a little speaker in the front of your crash\ helmet..."
Murray - "First man out is Marques in the Arrows. Of course he's going out early to generate some media interest"
Martin - "I'm sure he would generate some interest if he went out in the Arrows because Marques drives for Minardi"
"Well, now, Villeneuve is now twelve seconds ahead of Villeneuve"
"The European drivers have adapted to this circuit extremely\ quickly, especially Paul Radisich who's a New Zealander"
(MW was discussing Nigel Mansell's way of keeping calm in the car -- reciting nursery rhymes over the radio...):
"The thought of, um... er Nigel, twinkle twinkle little star, makes the mind boggle."
During a BTCC race at Silverstone a few years ago, Louise Aitken-Walker and James Weaver were dicing for a midfield place, when Wheaver, in the BMW, unfortunatly miss timed his overtaking manouver on the exit of Woodcote corner taking the both of them out of the race. An extremely upset Aitken-Walker stomped over to Weaver's BMW and told him in no uncertain terms exactly what she though of his passing skills. To which Murray commented, "Hell hath no fury like a Woman being rammed!".
"I've no idea what Eddie Irvine's orders are, but he's following them superlatively well."
After Irvine had shot off the front of the pack: "And here comes Irvine, way ahead of the rest, now crossing the road... start line, even..."
A rather frequent (but nonetheless funny every time I hear it) Walkerism came when Murray was doing one of his classic "Team Tactic Analysis" things... "If I was Michael Schumacher - and I'm not..."
When Hill held up Schumacher..." 'Out of my way, Damon!' says Schumie 'Come on... Out of my way...' Finally, the current World Champion lets the World Champion through."
And, back when Irvine did his 'scalded cat' thing at the start: "Andandandandandand! And look at Irvine!!!!!"
"I don't know my Madrids from my Jerez" (to which Brundle was heard to chuckle 'shall I cancel my hotel in Madrid then?')
"David Coulthard's engine sounds more like a Zeppelin than a Mercedes"
"Stewart have two cars in the top five - Magnusson 5th and Barichello 6th" -- Nurburgring '97
"Frentzen is taking, er..., reducing that gap between himself and Frentzen."
"And Derek Warwick is driving an absolutely pluperfect race"
and Nakano is being lapped, will he pull over ... he does .. Shinji, you are a Japanese Gentleman! (nice one Murray .. HE CAN REALLY HEAR YOU!)
Murray: Ferrari won't be developing their car anymore this season,
Brundle: How do you know that?
Murray: I was there when I said it
"The two McLaren drivers are so hot they look like 2 fried lobsters in silver suits"
"That's history. I say history because it happened in the past"
"David Coulthard in his nun's outfit"
"Rene Arnoux is coming into the pits ... lets stop the startwatch"
"IF... is a very long word in Formula 1..."
"..in fact IF is F1 spelt backwards!"
"It's lap 26 of 58, which unless I'm very much mistaken is half way"
"BMW who are entriely new to F1... since they left it so long ago."
"Two McLarens on the first row of the grid, two Ferarri's on the first row of the grid..."
Melbourne 2000 - Murray on M Schumacher's fight for championship glory with Ferrari: "...and it's something he's been trying to achieve since he left Benetton in 1958!"
St�phane L�ger
"Blown it for Ferrari!!!......Blown it for Irvine!!!.......I don't know what happened, but there was a major malmisorganization problem there!!!"
Monaco GP 1982
"Patrese's going again. He's just gone past us but with no hope of catching Pironi, who goes into the tunnel for the last time ... IS THAT PIRONI STOPPING? IT IIIIIS! MY GOODNESS - THE THIRD LEADER IN TWO LAPS!"
Commentating on Malcolm Wilson driving a Mk II Escort through a rally stage
"And for real, spectacular driving - watch this!" [Wilson rolls the car approximately 5 seconds later]
"..and Micheal Schumacher is leading Micheal Schumacher"
Marcus Hastings
Imola 1994: (circulating behind pace car) "And this is the scene from Ayrton Senna's mirror... sorry, from his camera!"
Barcelona 1993: "And Prost is going for it! With Senna- with both of them! James Hunt: "That's a replay of the start."
Adelaide 1992: (Shouting with excitement) "...And Berger challenges for the lead! AND TAKES IT! WOWEE! No he doesn't! Patrese takes it back. Now that its a classic example of overcooking things!"
Silverstone 1988: "Nigel Mansell has come up from 7th to 6th to 4th to 5th and now to 3rd, and this is lap 23!"
Monaco 1981: (Water is pouring onto the track in the tunnel) "...and that could be, to put it very mildly indeed, suicidally dangerous"
"And here comes Mika Hakkinen, double world champion twice over..."
During an on-board shot in a BTCC car, the driver points at the car in front and gives him a two fingered salute to which Murray says "You're first and I'm second to you!"
Again, during and on-board shot of a BTCC race, the driver gives the car in front a one fingered salute, and Murray covers for the younger viewers with "I'm going for first!"
When Mansell was disqualfied from Portuguese GP "Its Senna, its Senna," Pause, "its either Mansell or Senna."
When Mansell was driving for Williams and used to lead by over 30 seconds " Mansell has made himself a comfortably cushion, well, its actually more like a lounge suite."
When Pedro Diniz Sauber caught fire " Fire! Fire!, Diniz in the oven"
When Schumacher left garage to start qualifying run - "Heeeaaarrrs Michael"
BTCC at Silverstone where John Cleland is stuck behind a smoking car, John sticks his fingers up at the car behind and Murray replies
"Yes, John you're still second"
"Keke three happy years with Williams including a world championship"
Keke Rosberg puts 4 fingers up
"Keke four very happy years with Williams including a world championship"
Detroit 1982, Murray is describing John Watson's surge up the field, A race he went on to win - "He's going through the field like a hot knife through butter"
BTCC at Donington, Derek Warwick's Alfa hits a BBC camera - "He's broken our camera lens that'll be six grand please Derek"
Rallycross and boxer Barry McGiugan rolls his Vauxhall Nova at the first turn - "I bet he wished he'd stayed in the ring"
Snetterton 1993, a big pile-up at the start of the BTCC race show an on-board view of Jeff Allam's involvment in the crash - "Allam's in trouble, Matt Neal has hit him, they'll be some panel bashing tonight I can tell you"
A quote on Formula 1 99 for the PlayStation - "If you haven't got you're heart in your mouth, then you jolly well should have"
Monaco 1988, where Murray is saying that been a crash in this race - "There hasn't been a real crash in this race....BUT THERE IS ONE, BANG!, oh my goodness that's Phillipe Alliot" (Not to my suprise that it was that clumsy Frenchman)
And James Hunt was a bit surly on him too, Jerez 1990 when Mansell just lapped him in his Ligier and he tries to fight back but (unsuprisingly) crashes - "And Mansell was a bit worried about that ridiculous piece of driving by Alliot"
Rallycross "I think that's it, I don't think Gollop has a chance of.....YES HE IS!!!, YES HE IS!!!, I was just about to say that Will Gollop hadn't got a hope of passing Martin Schanche when he did it in front of my eyes"
Monaco 1993 "Now is Damon Hill going to go through, because this looks like a slow pit stop, HILL IS LEADING, Damon Hill goes through and Ayrton Senna is still in the pit lane"
A few minutes later - "And Ayrton Senna IS still in the lead, I'm sorry it was Alain Prost that went through"
The same race and Jean Alesi and Riccardo Patrese are battling for a position - "Are they gonna through, or are they going to touch wheels, they've done that, Patrese has held his place, and that means that...Oh Sorry!! Alesi has held his place"
Brazil 1989, and as Nigel Mansell crosses the finish line, Murray seems to be pre-occupied about the idiot crossing the track (So it wasn't only Hockenheim 2000) - "What a fool running across the track, a raving lunatic"
"And that's the big disadvantage of getting you're line wrong"
"And the other four non-qualifiers are the two Ligier's of Stefan Johansson and Rene Arnoux, Julian Bailey's Tyrrell, and I couldn't remember the fourth one"
Mexico 1990, Mansell's famous overtaking manouvere on Gerhard Berger unsuprisingly led Murray into his usual excitement "AND MANSELL GOING ROUND THE OUTSIDE, INCREDIBLE!!!!"
Canada 1997 And Jacques Villeneuve spins out of his home race, causing Derek Warwick to correct Murray - M.W "And Heinz-Harald Frentzen Spins out at Montreal"
D.W "It's Villeneuve, Murray"
M.W "IT'S VILLENEUVE, JACQUES VILLENEUVE IS OUT OF THE RACE"
Brands Hatch BTCC in 1995, John Cleland's crash "Cleland loses it in a big way, into the tyres and off, OH JARB!!"
Croft 1997 "And this is James Thompson in the Honda and this is a spin in this is the armco and this is not what's supposed to happen"
"You might not think that's cricket, and it's not, it's motor racing"
Monaco 1981 after Gilles Villeneuve crosses the line "One of the most exciting Grand Prix's in a sucsession of exciting Grand Prix's"
"Freedom of Budapest for Bernie Ecclestone. Theres a laugh. He could buy the place and still have enough left for Berlin."
John Gibson
Look up there!! That's the sky!!!'
David Crick
A good example of the famous Murray Walker kiss of death (from Brazil 2000):
Murray : "McLaren - if they can keep going of course - are going to close up on Ferarri in the Constructors Championship, a bit, becuase....."
Martin : "Problem!"
Murray : "Into the pitlane comes the race leader Mika Hakkinen." (to retire).
From the British Grand Prix 2000:
Jim R.: "[It's over to] the big Easter Bunny of Formula 1, Murray Walker."
Murray: "I don't know about the big Easter Bunny, Jim. I used to go to the Bunny Club in Park Lane quite a lot, but my wife's watching the programme so enough of that!"
"Jenson Button is in the top ten, in eleventh position."
Spain 2000:
"Aaaand look at this..."
"The man who is going against the grain, literally, in terms of tyre choice is Michael Schumacher."
"...and Barrichello goes through - wow! Fantastic, fantastic! Barrichello takes both of them, Michael goes down to 5th place and Ralf Schumacher goes to 4th!" (some real racing gets Murray going on full throttle)
"I remember in Imola, I went up to three Union Jack-wrapped chaps after Nigel Mansell had won a race, and said 'That wasn't bad, was it?', and they said 'Que?' - they were all Italians!"
"So while we wait for them to come on to the podium, and I'll interrupt myself when they do..."
Nurburgring 2000:
Murray: "It would be wonderful for David Coulthard, for McLaren and for Britain if he could get Pole Position, because he has yet to get one this year, and I have seldom been anything like as much impressed as I was by his dignity and fortitude in the face of enormous adversity at the British Grand Prix meeting two weeks ago."
Martin: "I was in Spain a few weeks ago, Murray. I think we were both there."
Murray: "Just making sure you were awake there, Martin. Glad you were."
"So let's assume that Michael Schumacher wins this race, whoa!" (Schuey slides on a white line just as Murray talks about him)
Monaco 2000:
"And in front of David Coulthard, the scarlet McLaren of four-times Monaco Grand Prix winner, Michael Schumacher."
James: "Situations like this, Murray, sometimes give rise to the funniest little things. There's one portable toilet at the end of the pit-lane. Michael Schumacher decided immediately upon rejoining the grid he wanted to go to it. And shortly afterwards Mika Hakkinen and Ralf Schumacher arrived and had to stand in an orderly queue while Michael spent a penny, and they all came back out again."
Murray: "So the Germans got to the loo first of all."
Canada 2000:
Ron Dennis may have got the CBE - and he richly deserves it - but having successfully overcome the combined efforts of two very determined security men to prevent me getting into the commentary box, I think I deserve one too!" [You'll just have to make do with your OBE then Murray!]
"Coulthard is the only man who is holding a candle to Michael Schumacher, and that candle is under the Ferrari's rear wing, because Coulthard is now within half a second of Schumacher's Ferrari."
Germany 2000:
"There's three Germans here at Hockenheim in the race tomorrow, if they all qualify. Four Germans - the Schumacher brothers, and Frenzten and Heidfeld." (Murray does Python)
"When you walk round the Hockenheimring, it's quite a spooky feeling, because you've just got these enormous, dark, satanic pine trees all around you, and it's as quiet as a mouse."
"This is, very literally, the calm before the storm."
"I have to say it again - in Formula 1 anything can happen, and it usually does. And everything has happened in this quite amazing motor race."
"Frentzen attack! attack! attack!"
"If you believe in Ferrari get down and pray, because Rubens Barrichello is on his last lap on what is looking like his first victory."
Hungary 2000:
"Totally unpredictable, what is going to happen in this race. All that you can say at the present moment is that the two fastest men this year in Hungary are up at the front on the grid."
"Two lights on, three lights on, four lights on, five laps on..."
"McLaren and Ferrari have won six races each this year. Mika Hakkinen has won three, David Coulthard has won three, Michael Schumacher has won five and Rubens Barrichello has won five."
Belgium 2000: Murray is interviewing Jenson Button in the Williams hospitality area. From where he is sitting and with the angle of the camera, part of the signage is obscured so now reads "MW.WilliamsF1Team". (Murray finally lives his dream!)
"Replay through the Bus Stop of Jarno Trulli. And those kerbs with their saw teeth - s-a-w - really do give the car and the driver a shaking."
Murray: "...5th is Jenson Button, terrific stuff.." Martin: "Third, now!" Murray: "AAAND LOOK AT THAT! THIS YOUNG MAN IS INCREDIBLE!"
Murray: "Button into the right hander and out of it, and the gap between him and Mika Hakkinen IS A MERE THREE TENTHS OF A SECOND. IF HE KEEPS THIS UP HE'S GOING TO GO UP TO THE SECOND PLACE ON THE GRID, BECAUSE JARNO TRULLI'S TIME WAS 7-TENTHS OF A SECOND SLOWER THAN THAT OF MIKA HAKKINEN. LOOKING SMOOTH, LOOKING CLEAN, LOOKING TOTALLY IN CONTROL OF THINGS. INTO THE BUS STOP, OUT OF THE BUS STOP, OVER THE LINE WILL GO JENSON BUTTON AND HE IS IN
. . . . . . . . . . . ."
Martin: "Stays third."
(Murray sounds totally crest-fallen, or maybe just out of breath!)
"Yes! Jean Alesi has just gone round in 2 minutes and 2 seconds, so that's three seconds faster in the Prost than Alesi in the McLaren."
Italy 2000:
"Mazzacane competed in Touring Cars and the obligatory kart racing and in Formula 3 for a couple of years before he went to the inevitable Formula 3000. Although it's not so inevitable these days - Jenson Button has avoided it and so has Luciano Burti."
"But Jarno Trulli is not having a nightmare as he comes down to the Barrichello for what will be the last time..." (unfortunately for Murray, the Italians have not yet named a chicane after the Brazilian!)
"Ferrari are having a bit of a renaissance here in Italy."
USA 2000:
"The amazing thing to me is that this 2.6 mile Grand Prix circuit is all inside the Super Speedway at Indianapolis, which is actually a slightly shorter lap length than the Grand Prix circuit. Seems strange, but it's the twisty bits that do it."
"Three very interesting personalities from our point of view - David Coulthard from Twynholm, up in Scotland; Jenson Button from Bicester; Jarno Trulli, the Italian - and James Allen, the Englishman, has some news for us."
"I feel a bit like a starving man in Harrods food hall, and it's great."
"Two World Championship leaders on the front row. Mika Hakkinen, 80 points. Alongside him, Michael Schumacher, 78 points. Mika Hakkinen on the second row of the grid..."
"This is Ayrton Senna in reverse."
Martin: "And look - Mika Hakkinen waving his arm. And maybe he doesn't realise - I mean it's the first time ever he's racing that Minardi for position."
Murray: "And Mazzacane is in third place, he's in a podium position! He's not going to give up - he should do of course! Now where are the blue flags?"
Martin: "No, there are no blue flags, Murray. He's in third. He should not have a blue flag. He is racing for position." (Murray seems as confused about it as Hakkinen!)
"Mika Hakkinen WAS two points ahead of Michael Schumacher. If - capital I, capital F - IF Michael Schumacher wins this race, he will be eight points ahead of Mika Hakkinen."
"Have you ever seen so many people at a Formula 1 Grand Prix before? The answer's no, because there haven't been as many!"
Murray: "[This could] be [BAR's] first ever finish in a race with both their cars in the points."
Martin: "I hate to tell you, [but] Villeneuve and Zonta finished fourth and sixth in the very first race of the year, to give them a BAR-two-cars-in-the-top-six."
"Well, we've seen Ferrari sell a magnificent, enormous dummy - big enough to put in an elephant's mouth, never mind a baby's - to Jordan and Frentzen."
Japan 2000:
Jim R.: "We're a bit worried about these earthquakes. Did the earth move for you over there?"
Murray: "Not only the earth Jim, but the commentary box as well! It was the most incredible experience."
"So, up to the hairpin, which is the slowest corner on the course, of course - with the possible exception of the chicane."
"He's picked up the gauntlet. He saw it lying on the ground in front of the Ferrari, and Michael Schumacher is going for his 8th Pole Position of the year."
"Looking good for his 8th win of the year, which would make him World Champion for the third time. But let us not count any Ferrari chickens before they are hatched."
Malaysia 2000:
"Mika Hakkinen told an absolutely side-splittingly funny story [at Johnny Herbert's farewell party], about an experience he'd had with Johnny Herbert, but since this is a family show I'm not going to repeat it."
[Apparently, the Finn came back one day to their room, to find Herbert naked in the bath, playing with a rubber duck. 'It took me months to recover from the shock', joked Mika. -- David]
Murray: "David looking very chipper." (as he fiddles with his ear plugs)
Martin: "Yeah, it's always worrying if they drop inside your ear when you put those ear plugs in, you know. You have to fish them back out again, Murray."
(Murray pauses then starts laughing)
Martin: "I am joking! There's a void in there, most racing drivers have a void just the other side of the ears, and the ear plugs can actually fall all the way in sometimes."
Murray: "Sid Watkins, one of the world's top neurosurgeons, who looks after all the medical things for the FIA, said he recently had to do a brain-scan on a driver's head, and found nothing inside it, which didn't surprise him."
Martin: "Hakkinen frightened his way past Villeneuve, and you don't do that too easily to Jacques Villeneuve. A great move there from Hakkinen."
Murray: "Wake up on the left, there! This is a terrific race going on."
(A McLaren mechanic is lying down on the garage floor)
"and the rain came down and washed the circuit dry"
........and Schumacher has just completed lap 77 out of 73.
"...and HERE COMES DAMON HILL IN THE WILLIAMS!!!!.....this car is absolutely unique!....except for the one behind it....which is exactly the same..."
"Coulthard leads the Europe GP, and now all he needs to do is avoid trouble, OH THATS COULTHARD OUT!!!"
Murray: "Thats a Benetton upside down" Martin: "It's a Sauber"
" The Jordans lead on lap 40 and errr.. If you haven't got your heart in your mouth then you jolly well should have!"
"Damon Hill leads as Ayrton Senna sits in the pit lane!"
Moments later.. "ayrton Senna leads, it was the lapped car of Alain Prost that went through."
from Malaysia:
Murray
on hakkinen jumping the start.)"The advantage of jumping the start is that you can get away a lot quicker."Martin; "I don't get what you're saying."
"And Michael is lapping about two seconds a lap slower than his brother Michael." (when M Schumacher was about to lap R Schumacher).
Murray:"And another one off, these gravell traps arnt slowing anybody down"
Martin:"That because there aren't any there Murray !"
Its the blackest day for grand prix racing since I started covering the sport
Germany 2000: Well, where's Mr. Half-wit now...
(referring to the former Mercedes employee on the track)
Suzuka 2000
"B.A.R are 4th in the constructors championship, this is an excellent performance considering their debut year in 1991!"
Belgium 1995 an after-race interview with Damon Hill
M.W "I have to tell you after the race when you were talking to Michael [Schumacher] I said that it proves that you are good friends with him, was it not that sort of conversation?"
D.H " Well not suprisingly Murray, you were wrong!"
"Martin Schanche's car is absouloutely unique except for the one behind which is identical"
"Renault team-mate's Alain Menu and Will Hoy are 1st and 2nd with James Thompson's Renault in 3rd"
M.W "Here comes the Minardi of Marc Gene!"
M.B "That's Badoer Murray!"
"You can't see Alesi's Ferrari because it isn't there!"
BTCC at Thruxton 1993 "Julian Bailey's Toyota is 1st, Cleland 2nd, Winkelhock 3rd, Cleland 4th and Bailey 5th, Hang on! it's Cleland leading with Bailey in 2nd, Radisich 3rd, and Bailey 4th, these lap times are seriously confusing me!, right I can now confirm that Winkelhock leads with Cleland 2nd, Bailey 3rd, Radisich in 4th and Soper 5th, Sorry Radisich is in 3rd and Bailey's 4th!" "Hard luck for Mansell, there he is, Mansell leaves the pits as I talk to you (the scene cuts to Mansell's Lotus), and that is Mansell.....well I can't understand..but he must have been going into the pits!" BTCC Brands Hatch 1994 Jeff Allam spins off as photographers loom! "And that's Allam of, OK to take a picture mate!"
BTCC at Donington 1996
"Biela leads with the two Volvo's of Rydell, Burt and Menu are 2nd, 3rd and 5th!"
Hockenheim 1988
Senna 1st, Prost 2nd and Berger 3rd that makes up the top four!"
Everett d'Entremont and Louise Weavers
Melbourne 2001
"if that's not not an engine failure,then i'm a chinaman"
BTCC at Snetterton 1997 : "Menu leads Plato second and Rydell is third with his Volvo team-mate James Thompson's Honda in fourth!"
"Senna is 3rd with Mansell 2nd and Piquet 3rd!"
Rallycross : "Martin Schanche is leading here but Schanche attacks a back-marker for the lead!"
"Here at Brands Hatch Will Gollop has a clear lead over Will Gollop"
BTCC 1992 : "With Tim Harvey in the lead by a clear margin it looks all but over but look at Will Hoy in second he is flying and Harvey's lead might be challanged here, all of you out there watch Hoy!" (Hoy crashes out as soon as Murray finishes!"
Rick Woolley Found the following to be a particularly good Walkerism during 2001 San Marino Grand Prix. Murray was trying to decide the strategy of the field, and made the following observation, almost as a one sentence statement.
"Are they on a one stopper? Are they on a two stopper? When I say 'they', who do I mean? Well, I don't know! It could be, any way!!"
What would we do without him??!!
Responding to Martin's quick notice of a Schumacher puncture -- Clearly visible due to a flapping left front:
"Well, Spotted Murray! Now, could you actually see that, or do you just instinctively know it to be true?" (Perhaps Murray suspects crystal balls will replace the monitors in the booth?)
"This will be Williams' first win since the last time a Williams won."
Murray: "And Barichello has a good chance to pass Trulli here..." Martin:"Actually, those waved yellow flags will prevent that in this section"
After Montoya expresses his frustration over yet another retirement: "Montoya, chipper and upbeat as usual..."
And finally,
"It looks very good for Williams, unless things change, and everything always changes in Formula One."
Imola 2001
"I�m in my usual state up here in the commentary box: high tension, heart beating like a trip hammer, whatever that is."
"So Ralf is the man in the lead and Ralf is Schumacher."
"Are they on a one-stopper? Are they on a two? And when I say they, who do I mean? Well, I don�t know. It could be anybody."
(after Frentzen spins in Monaco qualifying) "And look at his hands there. It's amazing what can happen if you press the wrong button; you can wind up getting a drink instead of maximum throttle."
Australia 2001
"If I was Paul Stoddart, I'd be nipping out with the Box Browning right now to take a photo of the timing screens, because Alonso is in third position, ahead of his team-mate Tarso Marques."
"Jean Alesi is reborn. Last year he was driving a car that he couldn't have done well in even if it had had two engines in it, nevermind one."
Murray: "Now we go on to another 16 races, the next one is at Brazil, Sao Paulo, in two weeks time."
Martin: "I'm going to Malaysia, first, Murray."
"And David Coulthard does stay ahead of Coulthard."
"It will have been another victory for the Ferrari quartet - Michael Shumacher, Jean Todt, Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne, and, to make it five, Paulo Martinelli."
Malaysia 2001
"Lots of action still to come - carry on James!"
Murray: "That's Ralf Schumacher, you can see the cooling elements from his balaclava helmet sticking out over his forehead." (he keeps talking then realises...) "They're not the cooling elements - " (laughing) "that's his hair!"
Martin: "I can't think of a one-liner to come back in there, Murray!"
Murray: "Neither can I, except 'What am I saying?!'"
"This is a powerboat race, it's not a Formula 1 car race."
"Here's a sobering thought - despite his 46 wins, Michael Schumacher is still 100 points behind the biggest points winning driver of all time, Alain Prost." (yes, but there are still a maximum of 150 points left up for grabs this year alone...)
Imola 2001
Murray: "And you can see that [Irvine]'s really having to fight the McLaren as he comes round."
Martin: "I think Irvine definitely wishes it was a McLaren!"
"As ever, I say the man you have to beat first of all in a team is your team-mate."
"The difference between the Benetton and Minardi budgets; well there must be a word bigger than 'enormous', and that is it."
Monaco 2001
"It seemed a bit odd to be getting an award for enjoying yourself for the whole of your life!"
"Seven one-hundredths of a second off the pace - it is nothing. But nothing can be a great deal in Formula 1."
"LOOK AT THAT! THREEEE TENTHS OF A SECOND FASTER THAN MIKA HAKKINEN'S LAP, AND - ooooh dear Mika, David."
James: "Mika Hakkinen sitting in the car with his head rocking gently forwards and backwards."
Murray: "He'll need to get his right foot rocking backwards and forwards extremely vigorously from now on!"
"Sunshine by the truckload, glamorous women by the regiment, Grand Prix racing's most charismatic location - that is Formula 1 Monte Carlo style."
"A black, black race for the grey and black McLaren team."
"There are 7 winners of the monaco grand prix on the starting line today and four of them are Michael Schumacher"
From the Monaco Grand Prix qualifying session in 2001
"And the session will start in 3....8........9........0!"
From Hockenheim 2000
"There's a Ferrari in the wall! That must be Rubens Barrichello......tha..that must be Rubens Barri......or is it Schumacher! It's Schumacher!"
From the Spanish Grand Prix of 2001, Murray is giving us the top six, after Hakkinen retired on the last lap.
Murray Walker: "So Michael Schumacher has won, Montoya is second, and Hakkinen is third."
Martin Brundle: "Yes, remember Mika Hakkinen retired on the last lap though Murray....."
From Hockeinheim 2000
Brundle: 2 McLarens running line-astern, who will come in first?
Walker: Well,...
Brundle: If Coulthard goes around surely he'll catch the safety car
Walker: And,....
Brundle: And Mika is in Murray!
Walker: Yes, and...
Brundle: And look, Coulthard has to go around!
Walker: Well yes, they gave preference to Mika as I expected.
From the Monaco Grand Prix of 2001
"So this being Michael Schumacher's 10th race in his 151st year in F1"
"Now a tenth of a second is a blink of an eye. But when you're in the territory those two (Schumacher and Hakkinen) are in, you have to blink EVEN QUICKER!"
Geoff Hewitt
"A sad ending, albeit a happy one"
Murray: "It's Michael Schumacher fastest - he's already had eight pole positions this year - Hakkinen, Coulthard, Barrichello, Heidfeld, Schumacher, James Allen..."
James: "I haven't had any pole positions this year, but I'm down in the Ferrari garage."
"...Louise Allen..."
"Ralf Schumacher is in eighth position, behind Nick Heidfeld seventh, Rubens Barrichello, Louise Goodman..."
(out of nowhere and completely unrelated) "That young Damon Hill looks more like George Harrison every day, doesn't he?"
"I was just fantasising about being in the back of a camper with Beverley Turner."
Murray Walker: And now we have news from Louise Allen
Louise Goodman: Louise GOODMAN - Cheers Murray
Louise Goodman does her report and hands back with Murray Brundle!
"he is DOWN, DOWN, DOWN in the DUMPS, DUMPS, DUMPS."
And yet again, Damon Hill is modest in defeat.
This circuit is interesting because it has inclines and declines. Not just up, but down as well.
Jacques Villeneuve looks as if he is driving a Williams Renault motorboat. (Spain 96)
When it rains in Malaysia, it doesn't come down by the bucketful, but by the OCEANful. (Sepang 2001)
It looks as though this year there will be seventeen Grands Prix for the World Championship, compared with the traditional seventeen.
Now he must not go the wrong way round the circuit, and unless he can spin himself stationary through 360 degrees I fail to see how he can avoid doing so.
Fantastic!! There are four different cars filling the first four places!!
He can't decide whether to have his visor half open or half closed.
Either the car is stationary or it's on the move.
Even in five years' time, he (Coulthard) will still be four years younger than Damon Hill.
In 12th and 13th the two Jaguars of Eddie Irvine.
And Edson Arantes di Nascimento, commonly known to us as Pele hands the award to Damon Hill, commonly known to us as... Damon Hill!!!!
And Michael Schumacher is actually in a very good position. He is in last place.
There is nothing wrong with the car except that it is on fire.
"And Michael Schumacher is 37 seconds ahead, so he can refuel the car, change all four wheels, take off his helmet, have a smoke and a cup of tea, and rejoin in first."
Ian Dalby ' eight minutes past the hour here in belgium....and presumably eight minutes past the hour every where in the world'
"Reception"
Ralf Schumacher Michael has moved up to the position that..that...that...the other one isn't
Murray used to comentate on the British powerboat grand prix in the 1970's in Bristol Docks and two memorable quotes from there were:
"It's stopped raining now and the course is about to start drying out"
"The water here at Bristol is very rough so Renato Molinari and Tom Percival (the two top drivers) are running their long wheelbase boats this weekend".
"And this section is twenty-three seconds long absolutely full whack - but not for Bernoldi this lap, because he comes into the pit-lane!"
"And it's Bingo! Geronimo! for Ralf Schumacher!"
Martin: "Hakkinen is about to put it on Pole Position - the Old Man, the guy who's taking a sabbatical!"
Murray: "'So you can stick that in your exhaust pipe,' he says to Michael Schumacher."
Martin: "This is Montoya in Turn 3, and really had to turn into that slide as you would on the road in your road car."
Murray: "I don't get too many slides like that in my road car, Martin!"
Martin: "Well you're a very sensible chap, Murray!"
Murray: "Hullo! What's the significance of that [bag], Martin? What's he got?"
Martin: "Must be the cash, is it?"
Murray: (laughs) "I don't think so - I don't think Bernie would let that get out of his sight!"
Murray (To Damon Hill)): When did you realise that you had a puncture, Damon?
Damon Hill: When my tyre went down, Murray!
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