Working the wheel: Silverstone.

Martin Brundle is a rare breed, one of those people able to make an almost seamless transition from being more than competent behind the wheel of a race car to being equally at home behind a microphone in the commentary booth.

Combining driving and communication skills, Brundle has now published a book giving race fans a driver's eye view of life on the grand prix circuit, and to the great venues that make up the globe-trotting calendar. Crash.Net has been granted exclusive access to extracts from Working the Wheel, beginning here with Brundle's take on Silverstone - a circuit close to his heart and in the news for all the wrong reasons of late.

"One way or another, first as a spectator, then as a driver and a board member of the British Racing Drivers' Club, I have spent thousands of hours at Silverstone. You can tell how much the place means to me by the fact that this almost excessive familiarity has not blunted the circuit's appeal for me in the slightest. There is a very special feeling each time I arrive at the place, which is affectionately known as 'The Home of British Motor Racing'.

"One of my favourite images of Silverstone has nothing to do with the excitement of a race day or spraying champagne on the rostrum. Quite the reverse, in fact. My vision of a perfect day as a racing driver would be breakfasting at home in Norfolk and then flying my Jet Ranger helicopter for the 29-minute flight - visibility and weather permitting - to Silverstone for a mid-week test.

"It would be a crisp morning with the sun beginning to warm the flat expanses of what had been an airfield during the Second World War. There would be a team briefing, then I would settle into an F1 car and wait for the barrier at the end of the pit-lane to be removed on the stroke of 10am. Engage first gear and accelerate onto the track, into the curves at Maggotts and Becketts, before powering through the left-hander at Chapel to face what remains, for me, one of the great sights of motor racing.

"I'm not talking about a fast, sweeping corner, nor a breath-taking piece of scenery. I'm referring to Hangar Straight, a wide stretch of tarmac that says everything about the character of Silverstone. There is something so inviting, so enticing about Hangar Straight, which dips slightly and then rises gently towards the vast expanse of Stowe Corner, a fast right that seem to dare you to have a go."

Extract taken from Working the Wheel by Martin Brundle, courtesy of Ebury Press (copyright: Martin Brundle and Maurice Hamilton 2004).

Working the Wheel is available in all good book stores now, priced ?18.99. It will also be available in the Crash.net online shop book section from Friday 22 October