David Leslie, who died in a plane crash on 30 March, 2008, aged 54, was a racing driver best known for competing in the British Touring Car Championship during the peak of its competitiveness and popularity.

During the 1990s he raced for Vauxhall, Mazda, Honda and Nissan. It was for the latter he achieved his highest championship finish, ending the 1999 season as runner-up to his team-mate Laurent Aïello.

Before joining the Touring Car circuit, Mr Leslie had driven in various open wheel and sportscar disciplines. After leaving the BTCC in 2003 he drove in endurance races and also became a television commentator.

David Leslie was born in Anann on the Scottish border on 9 November, 1953. He won the Scottish Karting Championship five times, the first time at 16, before joining Formula Ford, winning that championship in 1978.

During the 1980s he spent three seasons in British Formula 3 where he went up against the likes of Nigel Mansell and Derek Warwick, and then took part in the World Sportscar Championship with Ecurie Ecosse – in 1986 he was part of the team that won the C2 class championship and won the Brands Hatch race with Ray Mallock.

In 1990, he moved to the BTCC to represent the team in their Vauxhall Cavalier. He won his first race in 1993 at Thruxton. He spent a single season with Mazda the following year before joining Honda. Despite continual problems with the car, he was at his most competitive to date, finishing 10th and then fourth in the championship.

Team politics prompted a move to the slower Nissan team in 1997. He drove with newcomer Anthony Reid for two seasons before the team signed former French champion and Le Mans winner Laurent Aïello. The Nissan Primera was unbeatable that year, with Aïello and Leslie romping home to take first and second by a clear margin.

Despite the team’s success and the tie-in advertising campaign, Nissan pulled out of the BTCC the following year in the midst of drastic rule changes. Mr Leslie took part in several rounds of the BTCC with independent teams in 2000 and raced in America in 2001.

He returned to Touring Cars in 2002 with the new Proton team, finishing in an impressive seventh place and reaching the podium on one occasion, but the following year he slipped to 11th.

He retired from Touring Cars at the end of 2003 season having won a total of nine races, but continued to take part in events such as the Britcar endurance series, winning at Silverstone just a few days before his death. He also commentated on the World Touring Car Championship for Eurosport.

He died when the private jet he was taking to a testing session in France crashed in Farnborough, Kent shortly after take-off. The plane hit two houses and though no residents were injured, five people on board the plane were killed: former driver and Apex Motorsport boss Richard Lloyd , Apex employee Christopher Allarton and pilots Mike Roberts and Michael Chapman.

Bernard Buss, of the Scottish Motor Racing Club, paid tribute to Mr Leslie, saying: “David was very, very kind and a very good friend as far as I was concerned. He will be greatly missed by all the people involved in motor racing in Scotland. He was just one of the greatest lads and he helped so many of the young drivers today, such as David Coulthard. He helped them a lot in their formative years.”

Three-time Formula One World Champion Sir Jackie Stewart said: “It is a great loss to Scottish motorsport. David was a highly skilled and talented racing driver who was also an excellent engineer and technical expert within the sport.”