The Early Years

Born on the 17th of September 1960, Damon was involved in the world of motorsport right from the start as his father, Graham, was a successful racer who in his time won two World Champions, the Indy 500 and Le Mans 24 hours. Despite rubbing shoulders with the likes of Jim Clark and Stirling Moss in his childhood and going to Grands Prix, Damon wasn't impressed. To him it was normal, and "boring adult stuff".
Unlike most Formula 1 drivers who start their careers very early with karts, Damon's was later on a motor bike. At the age of 11 he tried a 50cc Honda monkey bike in the paddock at the Silverstone circuit. He was immediately hooked. Damon pestered his father to get him one, and shortly after seeing an advertisement in a motor cycle magazine he got his wish. His real enthusiasm for speed however started when he was allowed to try out his Dad's 350cc Bultaco off-road bike.

It wasn't until 1981 (6 years after the death of his father) that Damon started racing bikes seriously. At the age of 21 he was earning money as a motorcycle despatch rider during the week in order to fund his racing. It was a hectic schedule, leaving him barely enough time (or energy!) to race his Kawasaki.
In 1984 with funds low Damon chose to concentrate on the Brands Hatch track, and his efforts paid off. Scoring over 40 wins he became "Champion of Brands" on a Yamaha before turning his attention to Formula Ford 1600. He managed a first place and finished fifth in the end-of-term Formula Ford Festival. After only half a season of single-seater racing he was voted "Best Newcomer", and this along with his results helped him find the backing to do a full season in 1985.

Racing against other future Formula 1 drivers Mark Blundell, Johnny Herbert and Bertrand Gachot, Damon won 6 races, finishing third in the Esso FF1600 and fifth in the Townsend Thoresen Championships. He also got third place in the Formula Ford festival.

The "normal" path is to progress from FF1600 to FF2000 and then Formula 3, but Damon decided to bypass the 2000 series and go straight onto F3. It was a risk which didn't pay off. After overcoming initial sponsorship problems Damon finished ninth in the 1986 British Formula 3 Championship. 1987 saw him win two races and finish fifth, and then in 1988 he won the British GP support race and went on to finish third in the Championship.

After being stuck in Formula 3 for three years Damon desperately wanted to move up to Formula 3000. Having married long-time girlfriend Georgie, things were looking bleak for 1989 and he didn't have anywhere near the £70,000 needed to fund a drive in the European Formula 3000 Championship.
Instead he accepted a few paid-drives in the British Formula 3000 series, Le Mans, and the British Touring Cars Championship. His break came when the Japanese Footwork team offered him a paid drive in the International F3000 series.
The catch was that the car was next to useless. However Damon managed to qualify it for every race. It was his qualifying effort at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium that made people sit up and wonder what he could do in a competitive car, and in 1990 he moved to the Middlebridge team.

In 1990 Damon led over 50 per cent of the races, starting most of them from the front row (including three consecutive pole positions). Sadly, mechanical retirements meant Damon's best result was 2nd at Brands Hatch. Clearly his joint-13th position in the Championship did not reflect his driving ability.