FACTBOX - Motor racing-Formula One driver Mark Webber

Sun Jul 12, 2009 8:18pm BST
 
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(Reuters) - Factbox on Australian Red Bull driver Mark Webber, who took his first Formula One victory at the German Grand Prix on Sunday:

* Born in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, August 27, 1976 where his father was a motorcycle dealer.

* First made headlines at the 1999 Le Mans 24 Hours sportscar race when he had two high-speed accidents in his Mercedes, the car flipping spectacularly in the air during pre-race practice.

* In his early years, he was able to keep racing thanks to financial support from Australian rugby player David Campese.

* Webber was a test driver for Arrows and Benetton and made his Formula One debut with Minardi at the 2002 Australian Grand Prix and finished a stunning fifth, the team's first points in three years. That remained his best result until 2005.

* The Australian moved to Jaguar, Red Bull's predecessors, in 2003 and stayed there for two seasons before joining Williams. His best result there was a third place at the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix.

* Webber joined Red Bull in 2007 and took his first pole position at the Nuerburgring on Saturday. He followed it up with his first win in 130 starts, setting a record for the most races between a driver's debut and first victory.

* In November 2008 he broke his right leg in a road accident while riding a mountain bike in Tasmania. He still has a pin in the limb.

* Webber is the first Australian to win in Formula One since Alan Jones in 1981.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Alison Wildey)

 

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