Soap
star Tony Hirst is now ready to fulfil his childhood dream and become
a fully-fledged racing driver. Known to millions of Coronation
Street
viewers as fireman Paul Kershaw, Hirst has just passed his official
ARDS racing driver test and is now gearing up to make his track debut
in a special Celebrity Challenge race at this summer’s Silverstone
Classic powered by the AA (20-22 July).
“I
know this might sound silly but this is really quite a significant
moment in my life,” admitted the 45-year-old actor who has also
appeared in a host of other television programmes including Hollyoaks
and Holby
City.
He added: “I know I’m a grown up responsible parent and all that,
but this is something I’ve always wanted to do. I don’t know why
I haven’t done it sooner.”
“I’ve
always been a complete petrol head,” he continued. “I was brought
to Silverstone as a baby by my mum and dad. Then, as a teenager, I
hid and slept under a Portaloo just to watch Nigel Mansell win the
British Grand Prix.”
Though
clearly a Mansell fan, Hirst actually has even stronger ties to
another of Britain’s former F1 World Champions. “My parents are
both huge motor racing fans, so the sport was a big part of my life
when I was growing up,” he explained. “My dad was a Jim Clark fan
but my mum always followed Graham Hill. He had his son Damon at the
same time as I was born, so I’m actually named after him – Damon
is my second name! When he won the World Championship it was
obviously a fantastic moment for British motor sport but I actually
felt in some weird perverse kind of way that I was sharing a bit of
his glory.”
Despite
naming her son after a world champ, Hirst’s mum would rather see
Tony propping up the bar in the Rover’s Return than revving it up
on the race track. “My mum is now petrified about me racing,”
commented the man known to millions as ‘Fireman Paul’. “She’ll
probably come along to the event but I don’t think she’s actually
going to be able to watch me out on track. She’s too worried that
I’m going to put it in the wall.”
Having
now passed his racing driver test and secured his MSA competition
licence, Hirst is hoping to put his mother’s understandable
concerns to rest. “You realise when you’re getting the
instruction that it’s actually very safe out there,” he said. “To
get that level of advice all tailored for you and for your driving
style is such a fantastic opportunity. I’m actually a lot more
worried about getting back on the M6 now than I was when I was
tearing round the track.”
The
Corrie star will line up on the starting grid alongside a host of
personalities
from showbiz, sport, TV and music all racing around the famous
Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in lightweight, competition prepared
Morgan sportscars capable of topping 130mph. Those taking part
include award-winning
chef Heston Blumenthal, Hollywood actor Sir Patrick Stewart,
lifestyle guru Jo Wood, ‘Comedy Dave’ Vitty from Radio 1, Sky
Sports presenter Vicky Gomersall, legendary rocker Brian Johnson from
AC/DC, Strictly
Come Dancing’s Brendan
Cole plus fellow soap stars Kelvin Fletcher from Emmerdale
and
Nicola Stapleton from EastEnders.
Having
waited so long to go racing, the experience now can’t come too soon
for Hirst. “I can’t tell you how exhilarated and excited I am,”
he enthused. “I’m buzzing like a silly little kid right now! I
can’t wait to get out there and get racing.”
The
Celebrity Challenge takes place on Saturday 21 July and will raise
funds for the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, the Bobby Moore Fund
for Cancer Research UK and the RPJ Crohn’s Foundation.
Adult
tickets for 2012’s Silverstone Classic powered by the AA (20-22
July) cost from as little as £35 (plus booking fee) and special two-
and three-day weekend tickets are also available with savings of up
to 20 per cent if purchased in advance. Full
details are available via the event’s official
www.silverstoneclassic.com
website.
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