Mark Blundell: From the pitlane to the boardroom

“In motorsport, you can have all the talent in the world but that will only ever get you so far. Having the financial support behind you is equally as important, as motorsport is a business at the end of the day, and you can’t go racing if you don’t have the funding.

“As everything became more and more serious, and we realised that we might actually be able to make something of it, we put a huge amount of time and effort into getting out there and networking with people. Even the most trivial of conversations could lead to something, so it was important to nurture every relationship you had.”

With his father taking the lead and 17-year-old Mark learning both on and off the track, the duo quickly sourced all they needed for a single season in Formula Ford. Mark’s talent then took centre stage to the tune of 25 race wins.

Since that initial breakthrough, Mark has carried that same ethos through every day of his life.

A big part of that approach for Mark is ruling with your head and not your heart.

“You have to take emotion out of the equation. Of course you’re invested in what you’re trying to achieve but to reach that point, you have to be resilient in how you approach the subject.”

Resilience also forms a large part of Mark’s modus operandi. Setbacks are inevitable and things will never go to plan all of the time, and Mark cites dealing with adversity in his racing career as a key influence on the decisive businessman he is today.

“Believe me when I tell you that, in motorsport, you get an awful lot more ‘no’s’ than you do ‘yes's’. As a young man trying to make your way up the ranks, you can’t take it personally. 

“Having a thick skin is hugely important. It’s not going to go your way all of the time but the difference comes in how you take that onboard and what you do afterwards. As I said, being objective will keep you following the right path.”

Taking those lessons of confidence, resilience and perspective, Mark now heads up one of Europe’s leading sports marketing and motorsport management agencies.

“What I do now, looking after the careers of World Champion drivers as well as young drivers at the start of their careers and helping push them to where they want to be, comes from a position of wanting to give back. I never had that level of support and experience in my corner during my career so to be able to smooth out some of the bumps in the road for our clients is very rewarding.

“If I can pass those lessons on to others then that’s a worthwhile way of making a living.”

Mark also harnesses the power of relationships to bring together a network of like minded partners to support, help and spur each other on.

“I’m incredibly proud of the work we do with our partners,” Mark explained. “It all calls back to my personal belief of the strength of relationships. Your best work is achieved when you collaborate and engage with those around you. That was my biggest reason for launching our partner network and we’ve seen that play true over the past seven years.

“The value of relationships has never been clearer than over the past two years. In the face of huge personal and professional challenges, having a network around you that you can all tap into allowed everyone to weather the storm of the pandemic together. It shows the true strength of what’s possible together.

“Our long-term partnership with Arbuthnot Latham is a case in point in how relationships can strengthen the work you do. As a business, we want to work with good people and, through that, let the quality of the work we do together speak for itself. Our relationship with the team at Arbuthnot Latham does exactly that.”