æz ɐ səksˈɛsfəl bˌiːˌɛmdˈʌbəljˌuː dˈiːlɚ wɪð ɐ tʃˈeɪn ʌv dˈiːlɚʃˌɪps ɪt wʌz nˈætʃɚɹəl ðæt hiː ʃˌʊd ɡɹˈævᵻtˌeɪt təwˈɔːɹdz ðɛɹ pɹˈɑːdʌkts, haʊˈɛvɚ hiː stˈɑːɹɾᵻd hɪz bˌiːtˌiːsˌiːsˈiː kɚɹˈɪɹ dɹˈaɪvɪŋ fɔːɹ tˈɑːm wˈɔːkɪnʃˌɔːz tˌiːdˌʌbəljˌuːˈɑːɹ tˈiːm, wˌɪtʃ wʌz ɹˈʌnɪŋ ðə ɹˈoʊvɚɹ ˌɛsdˈiː wˈʌn vˈaɪɾəs.
As a successful BMW dealer with a chain of dealerships it was natural that he should gravitate towards their products, however he started his BTCC career driving for Tom Walkinshaw's TWR team, which was running the Rover SD1 Vitesse.