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Perry McCarthy is a former Formula One driver, bestselling author and the original “Stig” from BBC’s Top Gear. Known for his sharp wit, fearless determination and boundless energy, Perry has inspired audiences around the world with his incredible story of perseverance in the face of adversity. His career in motorsport, from humble beginnings to Formula One and Le Mans, showcases a relentless pursuit of success against the odds, making him one of the most engaging and motivational speakers on the international circuit.
Perry’s journey began in the fiercely competitive world of junior motorsport, where he climbed through the ranks of Formula Ford, Formula 3 and Formula 3000. His natural talent and sheer determination earned him test driver roles with the Williams and Benetton Formula One teams before securing a race seat with Andrea Moda F1 in 1992. Despite the team’s notorious struggles, Perry’s humour and resilience during one of the most challenging periods in F1 history earned him admiration throughout the racing community. He went on to compete in endurance events, including five appearances at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1996 and 2003, where his grit and passion for racing shone through.
Beyond the track, Perry became a household name as the original “Stig” on BBC’s Top Gear, where he starred alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond between 2001 and 2002. His quick wit and fearless driving style helped shape one of television’s most iconic characters. Perry later turned his story into the bestselling autobiography ‘Flat Out, Flat Broke: Formula 1 the Hard Way!’, an unfiltered, humorous and inspiring account of his journey through the highs and lows of motorsport. His media career also includes commentary work for the BBC and guest appearances on popular podcasts such as Fuelling Around.
Now a highly sought-after speaker, Perry has delivered over 1,500 keynote speeches to leading organisations including Coca-Cola, Audi, Lamborghini, BP, Deloitte and HSBC. His presentations blend hilarious anecdotes with powerful life lessons about risk-taking, resilience and optimism. Perry McCarthy proves that even when the odds are stacked against you, humour, grit and determination can drive extraordinary success, on the track and beyond.
Perry McCarthy is regularly booked to engage audiences at events, read their latest feedback below:
“Perry’s talks never fail to impress, amuse and delight the audience … is there no end to this man’s library of tales?”
“ING used Perry extensively during our inaugural year as a Formula One sponsor to help provide insight for both our media guests and key clients. Perry’s natural blend of knowledge, expertise and enthusiasm, coupled with humour and an engaging style, enabled him to put complex subjects across easily and succinctly to a non-expert audience. He was a popular hit with clients and media, whether public speaking to large groups or giving technical explanations on a one-on-one basis. Perry was subsequently adopted by other business areas within the ING group, such as ING Life Insurance Russia and ING Real Estate in Holland, to successfully promote individual events and campaigns.”
“Perry was an excellent recommendation for our digital event. He was hugely entertaining, one of our guests said, “I could listen to Perry all day”, and he also went above and beyond to understand what we do and the purpose of the event. We didn’t expect him to speak about hybrid multi-cloud environments, but he very effectively helped us introduce the topic by talking about the use of data in F1 and engaged our very technical audience.”
“Very entertaining speech by Perry. Great that he used short stories to entertain. It was good to see Perry mingling with the guests afterwards so they had the chance to ask him questions on an informal basis. Much appreciated and would recommend him for future work.”
“Perry was a fantastic speaker, extremely animated and made the event. His speech was very entertaining and basically made everyone laugh – a really great choice! Goodwood, thank you so much for the brilliant drivers’ briefing you did for the Revival. You had everyone in stitches, and as far as Stirling Moss was concerned, it was definitely the highlight of his whole weekend – he talked about nothing else. Your future as an entertainer is definitely assured! Thanks so much for bringing such a light touch to the proceedings, and I very much hope to see you soon.”
The High-Performance Speakers Agency is the UK’s leading bureau for teamwork, leadership, and marginal gains speakers. We hire speakers for corporate conferences and events across the world and cater to both in-person occasions and online webinars. Our roster includes sportspeople, business leaders, adventurers and more, to ensure audiences of all industries receive tailored, impactful advice on optimised performance.
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