SIXTEEN years after his brother, Geoffrey, won the 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car classic for Peugeot, the youngest of Sir Jack Brabham's three racing sons, David, believes he has his best chance of finally emulating his sibling's success in the world's best-known sports car classic - also in a car entered by the French manufacturer.
David Brabham isn't quite sure how many attempts he has had at winning Le Mans - "I'm losing count … maybe 16 or 17" - with a nearly-but-no-gold-chocolate result of second outright with Bentley in 2003.
A win at Le Mans next weekend, when he'll drive one of the four favoured Peugeot 908 HDi turbo diesel prototypes, would put a neat symmetry to the acknowledged sibling rivalry with Geoffrey. "At end of day, I'm proud of what we've achieved as a family, but it's always great to get one over your brothers," David said. "There has always been keen rivalry between Geoff, [middle brother] Gary and me, and it has never mattered what the challenge has been … we have always had to beat each other, mainly to get the bragging rights.
"Geoff has had the Le Mans bragging rights since he won for Peugeot in '93 and this year, hopefully, it's my turn."
Unlike the now-retired Geoffrey, David enjoys the tough but satisfying grind of long-distance racing. He says the marathon event also suits drivers who can deliver speed, reliability and experience: "At Le Mans there is life for us old dogs!
"Look at people who win this race; rarely do rookies turn up and win. The appeal of Le Mans for me is way more than just one thing.
"The atmosphere, the people involved, the incredible intensity of the racing. It's very different from, say, the atmosphere in formula one. There's a lot more passing going on in our race, and we have to adapt to night and day conditions. Judging how to safely pass slower cars from other classes is never easy when you're travelling at, maybe, 340kmh in the darkness.
"Le Mans is now a 24-hour sprint. There is no cruising to save machinery. You have to push all the way. It's a great challenge for engineers, pit crew and drivers to get it right."
At least Brabham will not have to cope with the searing cockpit environment of the past.
He tells the tale of roasting 74 degrees C cabin temperatures registered in the Aston Martin DB9 he drove in 2005. "Everyone was destroyed in the race and we all suffered for weeks afterwards."
The race organisers have since introduced mandatory air-conditioning for the closed cockpit cars, and temperatures may not exceed 32C.
Standing between David and that victory next weekend are his Peugeot confreres and the might of Audi, the dominator of Le Mans in recent times.
But David believes the timing of his move to Peugeot is perfect. "The car, the team and the drivers have to be perfect for this race," he said. "I honestly think I have my best ever shot at it."
He's been something of an enduro specialist, having won the 24 Hours of Spa in a Nissan GT-R back in 1991. Since then there have been a win (with brother Geoff) in the Bathurst super touring race in 1997, and countless class wins at Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring. But never outright victory at Le Mans.
Routinely voted the most popular driver in sports car racing by the media, Brabham reckons he is blessed with a rich career that he still loves unequivocally.
"Very much so. I see myself as fortunate. I'm 43 this year, and I've still got the passion and desire."
Click
No comments:
Post a Comment