Murray Walker and James Hunt shared the BBC's F1 commentary box for 13 years. In this one off interview, Murray Walker gives us his take on James, the McLaren world champion and renowned Formula One hell raiser!
VincentTG he's now 94, and looks no different today than when you first commented, all those years ago, when he was just a spring chicken aged 90. Seriously dude, I'm 47, and I look older than he does.. Ouch!
Michael Langley well, an early Happy Birthday Murray Walker! I desperately hope his health doesn't fail, because it would be a wonderful thing to see Mary Walker making it to 100. To think this man was still commentating on almost the entire F1 season into the 21st century. It's just amazing. His great friend, Martin Brundle, would be in tears if Murray made it to 100.
And didn’t enjoy a single one I’d say...never shared his notes....got to like each other in the end so in other words they couldn’t stand each other.....or rather Murray couldn’t stand hunt
@@thecarpetman7687 Murray spent days leading up to the grand prix making detailed notes, talking to drivers and engineers. Why should he share his hard work with a guy that shows up 5 minutes before the race starts, no matter how good of a guy James was?
I assume you're talking about James? I was never a fan of his while he was driving, but when news of his untimely death came through over the radio, I had to stop the car at the side of the road. His honesty was plain, Murray was all PR.
First Murray Walker, then Sabine Schmitz, the queen of the Nurburgring. As a longtime racing fan, that's a double blow that will take me years to accept. It's still too much to take in. RIP Murray and Sabine.
"one light, two lights, three lights, four lights, five laps- pause! And its go go go!" or “There is nothing wrong with his car, except that it is on fire!”. We'll always love his "Murrayisms"
How I miss Murray Walker 😢 because i watched formula 1 when i was a child, he was part of my childhood and he sometimes made me jump when he spontaneously said something like - "and someone has just spun at the first corner, its Hill, Damon Hill has spun off at the first corner of the xxx grand prix, this is amazing" RIP Murray, you truly were the heart and soul of the F1 commentary box ❤❤❤❤
Murray Walker is around 90 years old during this interview and he sounds exactly like the the young Murray Walker I've only heard in so many of those early broadcast recordings. To be so spry at that age, what a blessing... RIP
I did technical support for Murray in Montreal a couple of times. What you saw on TV, was exactly what you got in person. No pretense, honest, wonderfull man
The candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long. James was a legend indeed. He genuinely lived each moment of his life as if it was his last (and in 70s F1 it was likely during racing), you have to admire him for that mindset. Murray was a legend in his own right, but I admire free spirits more.
James Hunt was dead when he recorded this interview. He could have said negative comments and there would be nobody to stop him, but no, Murray was kind honest and accurate. God bless him.
Murray Walker. I genuinely hope James is waiting for you at the pearly gates, along with so many others. Thank you for so many wonderful years of listening to your voice added to the action. I really wish that this time it really is a mistake and we still wake up with the voice of Murray Walker. RIP to a true gentleman, fanatic, and a legend. Murray Walker.
Its a pity Murray missed out on mentioning something about James' racing career and the kind of racer he was. It would have been a great insight considering he knew him so well.
«The lead car is absolutely unique, except for the one behind it which is identical.» «This is an interesting circuit, because it has inclines. And not just up, but down as well.»
I can't be the only one who thinks that this is not-so-euphemistic for "I pretty much hated his guts, but eventually I learned to tolerate him, and after he died I stopped hating his guts so much because bad memories fade with time!"
Do not think of Murray as disparaging James Hunt or sharing gossip when he describes their working relationship. Murray Walker was a journalist first and foremost, and it was his job to tell the whole story. With a complex man like Hunt, an obsequious remembrance would have been both dishonest and unprofessional. The F1 world was well aware of James's antics, and his immense charm earned him pretty much a free pass. But Murray Walker was not a giver of free passes, and he recounted a couple of episodes that backed up his assertion that Hunt could be "horrid" to work with. If only the interview had been given the half-hour it deserved, I'm sure Murray could have come up with an endearing James Hunt story to match every racy one. (No pun intended.)
