Q&A: Murray Walker.

Orange yesterday [Friday] announced the launch of the Murray Walker Race Review. This service will be available following each of the 17 Grands Prix race weekends and will launch after the first race in Australia on Sunday 3 March 2002.

Murray, one of the world's most recognised and respected voices of Formula One, will record a unique review of each race, capturing the essence of high octane motor sport.

To accompany the news Orange held a press conference and here is what Murray had to say:

Q:
Why did the offer to work with Orange appeal to you? You must get a lot of offers?

Murray Walker:
I've obviously retired from full-time commentating but I do get a lot of offers. What attracted to me to this particular job is that I get to do exactly what I like. I talk to people about a subject I am passionate about! I want to keep in touch with Formula One and I genuinely think that Orange is an outstandingly good sponsor as they have demonstrated with their years of association with OrangeArrows.

Orange is on the sharp end of technology, I don't know what they'll do to make it work but they deliver fantastic products. They've constantly worked to add something new and special for the fans. It seems perfect that a commentator like me should team up with a communications provider like Orange to continue my dialogue with the fans.

Q:
Have you done anything like it before?

MW:
No. I've done various things on the internet but it is a new field of endeavour for me - Murray goes high tech. I think it is a bright idea and I like anything that brings Formula One to the fans. My challenge will be to keep to only 2 minutes in my race review!! This has never been done before I am so pleased to still be doing a job in Formula One!

Q:
What exactly will you be doing?

MW:
After every Grand Prix race I will be recording my personal view of the race. People will be able to dial in to Orange (not only Orange customers) from anywhere in the world to hear my race review. What is different about this service is that it is me doing it, and I will be expressing my opinion - good and bad about the race. People will be hoping to hear my take on what happened in the race - not just the results but the inside track. It will be 2 minutes of my thoughts - summarised, and I will have free reign to say what I believe is interesting to the fans. I hope it will be searingly incisive and something fans will want to hear!

Q:
Are you doing all the races this year?

MW:
I'll be watching every race (sometimes in my pyjamas!) but I won't be at them all. I will definitely be at Silverstone and Indianapolis. As for the rest we'll have to wait and see. But I will keep in touch with my contacts at the circuit, so I know what is happening as I need to have the inside track to reflect a good informative report for this service.

Q:
Has that feeling that you've stepped down a gear hit you yet?

MW:
Not yet, but that's maybe because the season hasn't started. I am obviously going to miss it enormously. It has been such a fundamental part of my life since 1978 when I started doing every single race (with a couple of exceptions). I am lucky enough to have been a member of the F1 Swipe Club - those people who have passes to every round of the championship. We all get on and know each other and it has been a large part of my life for a long time. Let's see how I feel when the season kicks of again...

Q:
What have you been doing over the winter?

MW:
I've been writing my autobiography and after-dinner speeches and doing promotional appearances. I was also on a cruise in the Caribbean but spent the whole of it sitting in the cabin writing my autobiography. We were away 23 days and I was so busy I left the liner once!

Q:
So you're not retiring really?

MW:
No. I am just changing my job specification. I am going to be having an enormously busy year. I've got a three month promotional tour in Australia, New Zealand, Britain and America starting in early September and going on to mid December non-stop. During the season I will be doing my Orange job, some work for ITV, a major video and fair amount of writing. I will be extremely busy just doing different things.

Q:
What are the chances of seeing you on TV commentating again?

MW:
You never say never do you. I may do the odd guest appearance and I'll be at some races, like Silverstone but I will not be doing full-time commentating, that's for sure.

Q:
Why did you decide to turn down BSkyB?

MW:
The offer from BSkyB was very flattering. But I am not stopping because I want to but because I feel I ought to. At my age I am going to deteriorate at some point in the future and wanted to stop while I am still ahead and not when I am on the down slope - and seen as being on the downslope. So I made a considered decision to stop before I really had to. I could have gone on for a few years longer if I had really wanted to. It didn't seem to make much sense telling ITV I was going to stop and then taking up with another organisation I don't know, never worked with, and don't know how popular or unpopular it will be. That is honestly the real reason. I had also committed to do some work for ITV during the season and I wasn't about to renege on a promise I had made to them. I also felt I owed them some loyalty. But I dare say I could have made a lot of money by joining BSkyB.

Q:
Was it a difficult decision to make?

MW:
It was a difficult decision to make because I don't really want to stop. I want to go on but I am making myself stop. There is a temptation to go on when someone flatters you with a job offer, particularly when that someone is Bernie Ecclestone. I smiled when he told me he wanted me to come out of retirement - before I had even retired!

Q:
What is your take on David Coulthard's championship chances?

MW:
David can do it but whether he will or not is something different altogether. Michael Schumacher is still the favourite I think and has more than a strong chance - of doing three in a row, particularly if the new Ferrari is as good as it appears to be. On the other hand it may not be as good as it looks and a lot of things could happen; he could break his leg for example. You know what I always say "Anything can happen in Formula One and it usually does..". You've only got to have something unexpected happen that slows Schumacher up or inhibits him and David has his chance. If he is then consistent he can be champion. The McLaren looks good enough and if the engine is good enough too he is most certainly Schumacher's biggest rival. I'd love to see him do it.

Q:
As things stand you would put your money on Schumacher then?

MW:
Absolutely. If you are asking who would I like to see win - it's David Coulthard. He is one of nature's gentleman, he works hard and he's a good driver. But if you ask who I think will win it's Schumacher. I am an a vowed Schumacher fan but not to the exclusion of reason.

Q:
What about the chances of Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya?

MW:
Montoya and Raikkonen were both very good last season but Raikkonen is still inexperienced and I do not believe you can go from nothing to world champion in one season in Formula One these days. He has the right attitude, he is determined. That also applies to a lesser extent to Montoya because he has a season of experience on the frontline with Williams and has learned how to win championships in America. But for both the car/engine combination is a greater unknown quantity than it is for Ferrari.

Q:
What about OrangeArrows chances this season?

MW:
They have three good reasons why this season should be good for them, Heinz-Harald Frenzen is a proven quality driver, with the exception of Damon Hill he is the only OrangeArrows driver to have won a podium position. He is hungry to prove his worth, and has the ability. The second good thing is the Ford Cosworth engine, effectively the same as the Jaguar team's - but I think OrangeArrows will give Jaguar a run for their money. The third reason is that I don't think the team has ever been in better shape, really all working and pulling together behind Tom Walkinshaw, who's a determined and experienced Team Principal.

Q:
So we will still be seeing you on television as well as hearing you on the Orange race review?

MW:
That's right. If you want to know what I think of all the races, you simply have to call Orange for the Murray Walker Race Review. I think 2002 is going to be a fantastic season - far more competitive and a much closer run. I can't wait for the first one to start!

To hear the Murray Walker race review Orange customers simply dial 177 from their Orange handset, all other network users can access the service by dialling + 44 (0)973 100 177 from any phone (mobile or fixed line) and following the prompts.