Ken finds true love at beauty spot

He is indeed, and not merely in his capacity as chairman of embattled British American Racing, a post Clarke has held since the team began at the end of 1997. He has been a motor racing devotee for more than 30 years. Long before BAR was around he went to at least four grands prix every season, in the days when Jackie Stewart's Tyrrell dominated the grid.

Clarke, 61, came to BAR via his directorship at British American Tobacco, the parent company and title sponsor of BAR.

Now involved with the financial and management control of the team, he admits he finds the figures involved fairly jaw-dropping.

"Motor racing consumes a very, very large amount of money, unrivalled by any other sport,'' he said.

"It is also a very political place, but then so much sport is fought out with an intensity exceeding that of the more ordinary politics which I am engaged in.''

He discovered motor racing unexpectedly when his son, as a preschool infant, asked to be taken to a race. Clarke obliged in order to humour him, selecting a Silverstone Trophy race won by Graham Hill in a Brabham. Father and son have regularly attended races together since. Clarke has missed "very few'' British grands prix in the last 30 years, and is a regular at Barcelona, Monza and - especially through the BAT connection - now Indianapolis.

Presumably through the same connection, he loyally insists his all-time favourite motor racing memory was seeing Jacques Villeneuve make the podium for the first time with BAR last year in Barcelona. Naturally, he says he believes Villeneuve will stay with the team, although he has the good grace to laugh as he says it.

"Jacques is my favourite driver at the moment,'' he went on. "I'm not just giving you a diplomatic answer. He has a Boy's Own quality. He is an adventurous and aggressive driver, as well as a ferocious competitor. He's in the old daredevil mould. Juan Pablo Montoya has dash and flair, along with classic Latin American competitive drive.

"Greatest ever? I was hugely impressed by Ayrton Senna. He was like a computer. You admired the precision for lap after lap. When Michael Schumacher arrived at Jordan I said to my son I thought this guy was going to be the next great driver. But Niki Lauda is the best I've ever seen. He was such a class act - a brilliant driver but also an intelligent and charming man, not to mention courageous.''

It should be said Clarke is no mere bystander in motor sport. He has raced too, mostly in the annual House of Commons versus House of Lords race at Brands Hatch.

"I'm too old for that now,'' he sighed. "But I did race at Silverstone on grand prix day, more than 10 years ago. That was very exciting. It poured with rain. Alfa were trying to launch some new model car by allowing celebrities to race it around the circuit. In that weekend I wrecked three cars.

"I'm very bad at driving. But I am a member of the British Racing Drivers' Club - not because I was any good at it, but because I tried, so they decided to make me an honorary member.''

The idea of Clarke's rotund form poured into racing overalls is an arresting thought. How did he look?

"Magnificent,'' he announced, and then, invoking the name of the greatest driver of all time, added: "You could take me for Juan Manuel Fangio.''