Mechanical lead at the Bristol workshop
Marcus joined FC Azerbaijan in 2017 after spending 11 years working on high-performance machinery. He does not care for modern plastic engine covers or digital dashboards. He prefers the mechanical honesty of the 80s and 90s. At our Bristol site, he leads every major engine teardown. He has personally overseen the rebuild of 14 Ferrari F40 engines and 9 Lamborghini Diablo gearboxes over the last few years.
His process relies heavily on original factory blueprints. Marcus believes that if a car was designed a certain way in 1988, it should stay that way. He uses workshop-grade tools to measure tolerances down to the micron. He is often found cross-referencing old technical manuals to ensure every shim and gasket matches the original spec. It is slow, methodical work that cannot be rushed.
Marcus also manages our global parts network. He spends his early mornings contacting retired engineers in Italy or small machine shops in Japan to find 'new old stock' components. If a part is truly gone from the world, he coordinates with our fabrication team to create a period-correct replacement. We don't use generic modern parts here. Everything is built to last and keep the car's value intact.
(Heads-up: Marcus is usually elbow-deep in a V12 by 8:15 AM, so he rarely checks his inbox until the workshop closes at 5:30 PM.)
He is honest about what a restoration takes. He will tell you upfront if a project is going to take 6 months instead of 3. Marcus won't sign off on a car until the idle is perfectly steady and the oil pressure sits exactly where the manual says it should. He treats every engine like it is going back onto the starting grid at Le Mans, even if it is just heading to a private collection in the Cotswolds.
Professional background
Before joining us, Marcus spent 8 years at a specialist racing firm in the Midlands. He handled everything from gearbox swaps to full chassis alignments for vintage touring cars. This background in competition-grade mechanics means he looks for flaws that most road-car mechanics would miss. He knows exactly how heat and vibration affect old magnesium castings and aluminium blocks.
He moved to Bristol to help us set up the Queens Square facility. Marcus designed the layout of the engine room himself to ensure we had the right flow for complex rebuilds. He is the person our clients call when they have a technical question that no one else can answer. He doesn't offer fluff or guesses, just facts backed by blueprints.