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Written by: John Dagys 04/04/2009
St. Petersburg, FL
Page 1
Over the eleven year history of the American Le Mans Series, only a handful of drivers can claim fame to have competed in the Series since its inception. With 95 starts, Johnny O’Connell is the all-time leader in that category, but it’s the man in second place that could be argued as one of the most successful.
David Brabham’s win column doesn’t match that of O’Connell’s, or even winningest driver Olivier Beretta, but the humble Australian is the king of versatility. Brabham holds the honor of being the only driver to have claimed pole positions and race wins in all four categories - something unprecedented in the world of sports car racing.
Without a doubt, David Brabham is one of the most respected drivers in the American Le Mans Series paddock. (LAT) » More PhotosFrom his ALMS beginnings with Panoz to his spectacular drives in the GT ranks, and now to his rekindled success back in prototypes with Acura, Brabham has enjoyed it all.
The youngest son of three-time Formula One World Champion, Sir Jack Brabham, David followed in his father’s footsteps to the pinnacle of open-wheel racing. But after two attempts in F1, he was swayed back to sports cars by Don Panoz, who had entered the arena in 1997 with a radical new car concept for prototype racing.
“I remember when I was reading an Autosport, it must have been in 1996,” Brabham recalled. “I saw this picture of a Panoz with a front engine and thought, ‘My God, who in the hell would drive that thing?’ I ended up driving six years for them!”
It was the start of a very successful relationship between Panoz Motor Sports and Brabham, which saw him win the 1998 Professional Sports Car Racing Championship (precursor to the ALMS) in the Panoz GTR-1, nicknamed the “Batmobile.”
A new era dawned the following year with the launch of the ALMS, along with the debut of Panoz’s LMP-1 Roadster-S. Brabham and co-driver Eric Bernard claimed two wins, including an epic triumph at the Petit
Le Mans. The front-engined beast dueled with the Schnitzer Motorsport BMW V12 LMRs all race long, until Jorg Muller beached the leading BMW with only two minutes remaining.
“We were tiny compared to people like Audi and BMW, so for us to win Petit Le Mans was a big thing,” Brabham said. “We were very lucky because Jorg spun while in the lead. I remember going back and forth with him the whole race. As it came out, the strategy worked better for them. You drive so hard, but sometimes you need a little luck. Unfortunately for Jorg, because I could only have imagined what it felt like inside his helmet, but for us it was a nice victory and a nice surprise.”
The high from Panoz’s first win in a major endurance race turned into despair at the season-finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, when the LMP championship slipped away from Brabham after Bernard collided with another car, forcing the car out with overheating issues.
David Brabham and Jan Magnussen's win in the wet at the Nurburgring ranks as one of Brabham's most memorable moments in the Series. (LAT) » More PhotosBut Brabham remained faithful to the Panoz organization, despite the heartbreaking end to the 1999 season. One of the major turning points came the following year, when he was paired with speedy Dane, Jan Magnussen. The duo’s partnership blossomed over a four-year span, with countless memorable moments.
One of those was their first win together, in a rain-soaked race at the Nurburgring in 2000. The American squad crushed the the Audi and BMW factory teams on their home territory, scoring an upset win. Then there was the triumph over the Audis in Portland in 2001, as well as a unforgettable race at Washington DC in 2002.
“That was a titanic battle,” Brabham said of the win at RFK Stadium. “We got our strategy absolutely right on tires at a restart and we got Jan back in the car with a brand-new set of tires for the last stop. It made a huge difference and he jumped to the lead. That was it, [Audi] couldn’t respond.”
St. Petersburg, FL
Page 1
Over the eleven year history of the American Le Mans Series, only a handful of drivers can claim fame to have competed in the Series since its inception. With 95 starts, Johnny O’Connell is the all-time leader in that category, but it’s the man in second place that could be argued as one of the most successful.
David Brabham’s win column doesn’t match that of O’Connell’s, or even winningest driver Olivier Beretta, but the humble Australian is the king of versatility. Brabham holds the honor of being the only driver to have claimed pole positions and race wins in all four categories - something unprecedented in the world of sports car racing.
Without a doubt, David Brabham is one of the most respected drivers in the American Le Mans Series paddock. (LAT) » More PhotosFrom his ALMS beginnings with Panoz to his spectacular drives in the GT ranks, and now to his rekindled success back in prototypes with Acura, Brabham has enjoyed it all.
The youngest son of three-time Formula One World Champion, Sir Jack Brabham, David followed in his father’s footsteps to the pinnacle of open-wheel racing. But after two attempts in F1, he was swayed back to sports cars by Don Panoz, who had entered the arena in 1997 with a radical new car concept for prototype racing.
“I remember when I was reading an Autosport, it must have been in 1996,” Brabham recalled. “I saw this picture of a Panoz with a front engine and thought, ‘My God, who in the hell would drive that thing?’ I ended up driving six years for them!”
It was the start of a very successful relationship between Panoz Motor Sports and Brabham, which saw him win the 1998 Professional Sports Car Racing Championship (precursor to the ALMS) in the Panoz GTR-1, nicknamed the “Batmobile.”
A new era dawned the following year with the launch of the ALMS, along with the debut of Panoz’s LMP-1 Roadster-S. Brabham and co-driver Eric Bernard claimed two wins, including an epic triumph at the Petit
Le Mans. The front-engined beast dueled with the Schnitzer Motorsport BMW V12 LMRs all race long, until Jorg Muller beached the leading BMW with only two minutes remaining.
“We were tiny compared to people like Audi and BMW, so for us to win Petit Le Mans was a big thing,” Brabham said. “We were very lucky because Jorg spun while in the lead. I remember going back and forth with him the whole race. As it came out, the strategy worked better for them. You drive so hard, but sometimes you need a little luck. Unfortunately for Jorg, because I could only have imagined what it felt like inside his helmet, but for us it was a nice victory and a nice surprise.”
The high from Panoz’s first win in a major endurance race turned into despair at the season-finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, when the LMP championship slipped away from Brabham after Bernard collided with another car, forcing the car out with overheating issues.
David Brabham and Jan Magnussen's win in the wet at the Nurburgring ranks as one of Brabham's most memorable moments in the Series. (LAT) » More PhotosBut Brabham remained faithful to the Panoz organization, despite the heartbreaking end to the 1999 season. One of the major turning points came the following year, when he was paired with speedy Dane, Jan Magnussen. The duo’s partnership blossomed over a four-year span, with countless memorable moments.
One of those was their first win together, in a rain-soaked race at the Nurburgring in 2000. The American squad crushed the the Audi and BMW factory teams on their home territory, scoring an upset win. Then there was the triumph over the Audis in Portland in 2001, as well as a unforgettable race at Washington DC in 2002.
“That was a titanic battle,” Brabham said of the win at RFK Stadium. “We got our strategy absolutely right on tires at a restart and we got Jan back in the car with a brand-new set of tires for the last stop. It made a huge difference and he jumped to the lead. That was it, [Audi] couldn’t respond.”
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