I am delighted with the fact that my latest guest is Tom Gaymor. Tom is one of the best known commentators in racing at the moment, and is also one of my favourite people I've interviewed so far.
Tom is perhaps best known as Sky Sports' voice of the NTT IndyCar Series but his CV is a long one.
Before commentary, Tom was himself a racing driver, racing single seaters and working his way up the lower formula ladder before a back problem curtailed his progress.
However, since the early 2010's, Tom has been making a name for himself as a commentator and is now a recognised and respected name in motorsport.
Onto the interview!
Job title: Commentator/Presenter
How long have you been doing this?: Since about 2010-12.
1. I want to start my chatting about your racing career; What are your best memories of that time? What kind of level did you race at? So I raced in France, in Formula Renault, and I've got really good memories of it. Winning from pole at Pau, a lap record at Magny-Cours - on the old layout, so that record will stand forever haha!
I raced F4 for Haywood after the likes of Jenson Button and that was really cool. I was also in Formula Fords and was set for Formula Renault V6.
📸 Tom in Formula Ford action.
Sadly, before V6's I had my diagnosis for my back and I had to start thinking about Plan B.
2. Who was/is your racing hero? Ayrton Senna. I'm from that era so I think he just became the natural choice. On a peer level, I always looked up to Adam Carroll.
📸 "Natural choice" Senna was Tom's hero, a man who epitomised what it meant to be a racing driver.
📸 Tom raced against Adam Carroll in lower reaches of racing, Adam went on to race in A1GP, British GT, Formula E and more.
3. Your racing career came to an abrupt end; could you explain a little about what happened? So my diagnosis was of a non-union bone in my back, which affected basically everything I did. Even lifting the kettle will use some part of your back and it's very painful. It essentially made it unsafe for me to get back in the car, and I had surgery very quickly which had a really long rehab, around 16 months. I had to learn to walk again and go through a lot of anxiety and mystery over what was going to happen next.
4. After that, you obviously wanted to stay in motorsport to some degree; at what point did you land on commentary as the way forward for you? Being brutally honest, I struggled to get over it initially. Being around racing and knowing I couldn't do it was very hard. I didn't plan to go back at all, but I love the sport and once I was in a better place about being around it a friend who worked for Eurosport put me in touch with them. My first gig was on Formula Masters as a pundit! I'm forever grateful to everyone who got my my opportunities.
📸 Tom with his commentary set up.
5. Everyone I’ve spoken with about you speak very highly of you for your helpfulness and how easy you are to approach, as well as for how good you are at your job; do you see yourself as someone for up and coming commentators to look up to? I never see myself as someone like that. I'm passionate about helping people, kindness costs nothing and it's always important to give back. I really enjoyed working with Chris(McCarthy), we had similar backgrounds and I saw a lot of myself in him, it's a very rewarding feeling.
📸 Tom enjoyed working with Chris McCarthy, who like, Tom had a racing history before commentating.
6. What do you enjoy most about commentary? The organised chaos and the adrenaline rush. It's not the same as being in the car obviously but when you get the countdown in year ear to going live it's a similar feeling! I also love just being informative.
7. You’ve covered a lot of racing; What’s the best racing moment you’ve had the pleasure to commentate on? Indy 500. It's iconic. I've been fortunate to have so many opportunities - Le Mans, Monaco and more - but the 500 is the spectacle. I think it being so far away makes it that bit more special too.
📸 The Indy 500.
8. You’ve become well known as the voice of IndyCar in the UK: were you already interested in IndyCar before you started doing that or did you have a lot to learn? I was always interested. Before I was 'finished finished' racing one of my last chances was to try race in America. One of my first ever TV gigs was as pundit for the old IndyCar team on Sky, so it was really special to me to get that role.
9. Sticking with IndyCar, you’ve commented on a lot of drivers and a lot of great moments: which moment stands out the most? Good question. It felt especially special commentating on Alexander Rossi's Indy 500 win because A) he's a friend and B) he slept on my sofa before he first went out there to test. So for him to win in what would have been his 8th race I think think and it be the 500, was a good moment.
📸Tom's friend and one time 'sofasurfer' Alexander Rossi celebrates winning the Indy 500 as a rookie.
10. Indy 500 is the standout event across the world for the IndyCar series; what makes it so good? It's America. The occasion, the ceremony, the show, the pomp! The milk! The tradition!
📸 Marcus Ericsson celebrates his Indy 500 win in traditional fashion, with milk!
11. Colton Herta made headlines recently when he was denied a Super Licence for F1. The point required weren’t met and he was denied the opportunity; do you think is IndyCar seen as a feeder series by some? I don't think so. I think it's more the FIA don't want to create a precedent where people can just go to IndyCar as a back door to get an F1 seat. Herta is a multi race winner and is perfectly capable of performing in F1, but rules are rules.
📸 Colton Herta was denied an F1 chance earlier this year.
12. Romain Grosjean, Takuma Sato, Max Chilton, Marcus Ericsson, and Alexander Rossi are all examples of drivers who were seen as ‘not good enough’ for F1 at one stage or another but have shown their skills in IndyCar; what can you say to dispel the myth that IndyCar is a kind of ‘retirement home’ for F1 drivers? It's a challenge. There's no other series where you race in three different disciplines in the fact we have ovals, streets and road circuits. There's different compounds for different tracks, there's different setups. It's a one make championship with two engine suppliers, and it all makes it very hard. Maybe harder than F1. In F1 you don't have to beat everyone because the cars vary so much from team to team. In IndyCar, anyone can win. They're all in the fight.
📸 Marcus Ericsson is an example of a driver who never made big waves in F1 but has excelled in IndyCar.
13. You commentated alongside Chris McCarthy at this years F2 round which had controversial moment leading to the halo being praised once again; do you think it’s better than the aeroscreen IndyCar has adopted or is there an even balance between the two? I don't think either is better and they both do what they say on the tin. They're both fantastic. I was on the fence with the halo given how they kind of made the car look like a flip flop but you look at the instances in which a drivers life has been potentially saved and you can get past it easily. It's an important part of the car now.
📸 There's no denying now how important the halo is and will continue to be.
14. I’d like to talk a little about social media: obviously Sebastian Vettel surprised everyone when he started on Instagram this year, you’ve actually managed to keep your private life private despite having your own accounts; how hard is it to do that when you do the job you do? Reasonably hard. I try to keep it separate, Twitter is my primary account, but it's more use as a news platform. I use both my Twitter and Instagram for work and for quick information. I probably wouldn't have either if I didn't do this as my job. As for posting my personal stuff; who's worried about what I'm doing?
📸 Having shied away from social media his whole career, Sebastian Vettel joined Instagram this year.
15. What helps you unwind from the busy racing schedule and season? Being outdoors. I love being outside and I love water, that's probably where I'm happiest. On a day off I'll be at the beach, on a river or at sea. I recently started paddle boarding too, I really enjoy that. Meeting new people is really good too.
📸 Happiest on water..
16. What’s your favourite track to commentate a race on? I like Road America and old school circuits that haven't been ruined by runoff areas. My favourite to drive was Pau.
📸 Scott Dixon being chased at Road America.
📸 Pau is a popular circuit, a mix of Monaco, Baku and the Nurburgring in some parts.
17. What’s the proudest moment of your career so far? Commentating on the Olympics! When I first started I didn't know 'd be any good so it was really a special moment when I got to do that.
📸 Tom skills aren't just put to use commentating on racing.
18. What do you still want to achieve? Good question. I find I don't really want for anything. I've had some unbelievable experiences and I just want to cherish what I have and hope I can keep doing it.
19. In the current lower levels of single seater racing, who would you say are the top 3 ‘ones to watch? That's an interesting one. Isack Hadjar. I liked him a lot last year, he's a lot like Herta in that he's got this unbelievable speed. Ollie Bearman is quite good, it'll be interesting to see how he does in F2. I'm intrigued to see how Piastri does next year too. Not a question I had prepared but what about the IndyCar side of things? Marcus Armstrong and Jake Dennis recently tested there, I'd like to see if that comes to anything, they're both very fast.
📸 Hadjar is tipped by many including Tom to go onto great things.
📸 Marcus Armstrong meanwhile, intrigues Tom after his recent IndyCar test.
20. As a racing fan, I’ve collected a few items like mini helmets, scale cars and other little things; as a fan yourself, is there anything you collect? No, but I wish he'd like a history of suits and stuff, but no! I have a framed picture(thanks to my wife, she's good all that stuff) of one suit form when I raced but nothing more. I was always really jealous of the helmet swaps; I visited Mike Conway's house and he's got cabinets with ones he's got with people like Fernando Alonso. That would be cool to have!
📸 Tom is good friends with Le Mans winner Mike Conway; who apparently has a helmet collection to be proud of!
Thanks so much to Tom for our chat, there are so many things I'd still like to ask him so hopefully I'll get the chance again! He's one of the nicest people I've spoke with!
Stay tuned to his social media channels to see what he's up to, and what he's working on!
📸 Image credit(s): Tom Gaymor, Formula Motorsport Limited, Road America, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, NTT IndyCar Series, Chris McCarthy, Mike Conway, Euroformula Open Championship, McLaren Racing, Sebastian Vettel.
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