David Brabham

David Brabham

David Brabham in 2007
Born	5 September 1965 (1965-09-05) (age 46)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Australian
Active years	1990, 1994
Teams	Brabham, Simtek
Races	30 (24 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	1990 San Marino Grand Prix
Last race	1994 Australian Grand Prix

24 Hours of Le Mans career
Participating years	1993, 1996 -
Teams	Tom Walkinshaw Racing, Gulf Racing/GTC Racing, David Price Racing, Panoz Motorsports, Team Bentley, Zytek Engineering, Aston Martin Racing, Russian Age Racing, Peugeot Sport Total, Highcroft Racing
Best finish	1st (2009)
Class wins	3 (2007, 2008, 2009)

David Brabham (born 5 September 1965) is an Australian racing driver and one of the most successful and experienced specialists in sports car racing. He has won three international Sports Car series and is one of four Australians to have won the Le Mans 24 Hour sports car race, winning the event in 2009. Brabham is the reigning American Le Mans Series champion and also won the title in 2009. He also competed in Formula One, racing for the Brabham and Simtek teams in 1990 and 1994 respectively. David is the youngest son of three-time Formula One world champion Sir Jack Brabham.

Early life

Brabham, who was born in Wimbledon, London, spent his childhood in Australia. Despite his father's motor racing fame he took little interest in motor racing until after he left school. As a child he played the more accessible sport of soccer up until the age of twelve and then took up Australian rules football when the family moved to Sydney. Growing up, Sir Jack did not force David into racing, and it was only after discovering go-karts at 17, that he became enthusiastic enough to purchase a second-hand go-kart with his next-door neighbour and begin racing.

Motor racing career

Early career

Brabham's professional racing career began in Australia in 1983, racing karts for two years, after which he moved into the Ford Laser "one make" series for 1985. In 1986 he switched to Formula Ford 1600 and subsequently to Australian Formula 2, winning the 1987 Australian Drivers' Championship in that category. He also competed in the New Zealand Formula Atlantic series, the American Formula Atlantic series and in the South American Formula 3 Championship during the 1987 season.^[1] A move from Australia to Europe under sponsorship from Camel in 1989 saw him joining the Bowman team and winning the British Formula Three Championship.

Formula One career

Brabham's break into Formula One with the Brabham team met with little success. In 14 races he only managed to qualify the uncompetitive Judd-engined car six times. This led to him being replaced at the end of the season. Brabham joined the Tom Walkinshaw Racing Jaguar team in 1991 and also in that year won the Spa 24 Hours for Nissan. Brabham won the 24 Hours of Daytona for Jaguar in 1992.

David Brabham driving for Simtek in 1994

Brabham returned to Formula One in 1994 with the under-funded Simtek team who suffered the blow of the death of Roland Ratzenberger whilst in qualifying for the San Marino Grand Prix. Traditionally the other team driver would withdraw in such a situation, but seeing the demoralisation around him, Brabham decided to race on, only to crash out after a suspension failure of his own. In Ratzenberger's memory the team made a collective decision to see out the season.

Touring Cars

Brabham quit Formula One at the end of that year to begin touring car racing. 1995 in a BTCC BMW was not a success, but subsequent successes included winning the 1996 JGTC GT500 championship in McLaren F1 GTR (so far the only non-Japanese team car to win this), and the Bathurst 1000 in its Supertouring era in 1997 with brother Geoff.

He won the Professional Sports Car Championship in the United States with the Panoz racing team in 1998, and the 1999 Petit Le Mans race also with Panoz.

Le Mans racing

Since 1999 he has been a regular in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), having raced for teams such as Panoz and Prodrive Ferrari 550 Maranello; he currently races an Acura ARX-02 for Highcroft Racing. He won the Sebring 12-hour race in 2005. In Australia, he has contested the Bathurst 24 Hour race and continued to make occasional appearances in the Bathurst 1000.

Brabham has won a total of 23 ALMS events across all 4 classes in the series. He is a two-time champion in the series, winning the LMP1 title in 2009 and LMP title in 2010.

In 2003 Brabham finished 2nd at the 2003 24 Hours of Le Mans driving for Bentley. In 2005 he started the first of 4 consecutive Le Mans starts racing Aston Martin DBR9's. He finished 9th overall and 3rd in the GT1 Class for Aston Martin Racing. At the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans, Brabham scored a 4th in the GT1 category (9th overall) driving for Russian Age Racing. Brabham won the GT1 class of the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans and again in the 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans driving a for Aston Martin Racing. Driving for Peugeot, he won the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans outright with co-drivers Alexander Wurz and Marc Gene.

Family

Brabham's two older brothers Geoff and Gary also pursued motor racing careers. His wife Lisa (sister of Mike Thackwell) also raced and his nephew Matthew Brabham now races in junior Formulae.

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Position	Car	Team
1985	Goodyear Car Owners Club Laser Series[2]	6th	Ford KB Laser
1986	Motorcraft Formula Ford "Driver to Europe" Series[3]	5th	Van Diemen RF85 Ford
1987	Australian Drivers' Championship	1st	Ralt RT30 Volkswagen	Australian Motor Racing
1987	Australian Formula 2 Championship	12th	Ralt RT30 Volkswagen	Australian Motor Racing Pty Ltd
1988	British Formula 3 Championship Class B	3rd	Ralt RT31 Volkswagen	Jack Brabham Racing
1989	British Formula 3 Championship	1st	Ralt RT31 Volkswagen	Jack Brabham Racing
1989	Macau Grand Prix	1st	Ralt RT33 Volkswagen
1991	World Sportscar Championship	18th	Jaguar XJR-14	Silk Cut Jaguar
1992	World Sportscar Championship	10th	Toyota TS010	Toyota Team TOM's
1995	British Touring Car Championship	13th	BMW 318i	Schnitzer Motorsport
1996	All-Japan GT Championship	1st	McLaren F1 GTR BMW	Team Lark
1997	FIA GT Championship	23rd	Panoz Esperante GTR-1 Ford	David Price Racing
1998	FIA GT Championship	11th	Panoz Esperante GTR-1 Ford	DAMS
1999	American Le Mans Series	2nd	Panoz Esperante GTR-1 Ford Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S Ford	Panoz Motor Sports
2000	American Le Mans Series	7th	Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S Ford	Panoz Motor Sports
2001	American Le Mans Series	7th	Panoz LMP07 Élan Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S Élan	Panoz Motor Sports
2002	American Le Mans Series	6th	Panoz LMP01 Evo Élan	Panoz Motor Sports
2003	American Le Mans Series (GTS Class)	3rd	Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello	Prodrive
2004	American Le Mans Series (GTS Class)	7th	Saleen S7-R Ford Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT	ACEMCO Motorsports Krohn-Barbour Racing
2005	American Le Mans Series (GT1 Class)	11th	Aston Martin DBR9	Aston Martin Racing
2005	V8Supercar Championship Series	36th	Ford BA Falcon	Ford Performance Racing
2006	American Le Mans Series (GT2 Class)	5th	Panoz Esperante GT-LM	Multimatic Motorsports
2007	American Le Mans Series (P2 Class)	9th	Acura ARX-01a	Highcroft Racing
2008	American Le Mans Series (P2 Class)	3rd	Acura ARX-01B	Highcroft Racing
2009	24 Hours of Le Mans	1st	Peugeot 908 HDi FAP	Team Peugeot Total
2009	American Le Mans Series (P1 Class)	1st	Acura ARX-02a	Highcroft Racing
2010	American Le Mans Series (LMP Class)	1st	HPD ARX-01C	Highcroft Racing

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	WDC	Points
1990	Motor Racing Developments	Brabham BT59	Judd V8	USA	BRA	SMR DNQ	MON Ret	CAN DNQ	MEX Ret	FRA 15	GBR DNQ	GER Ret	HUN DNQ	BEL Ret	ITA DNQ	POR Ret	ESP DNQ	JPN Ret	AUS Ret	NC	0
1994	MTV Simtek Ford	Simtek S941	Ford V8	BRA 12	PAC Ret	SMR Ret	MON Ret	ESP 10	CAN 14	FRA Ret	GBR 15	GER Ret	HUN 11	BEL Ret	ITA Ret	POR Ret	EUR Ret	JPN 12	AUS Ret	NC	0

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	DC	Points
1991	Roni Motorsport	VAL 7	PAU 7	JER 11	MUG 9	PER	HOC	BRH	SPA	BUG	NOG	NC	0

Complete GT1 World Championship results

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Pos	Points
2011	Sumo Power GT	Nissan	ABU QR 8	ABU CR 9	ZOL QR 11	ZOL CR Ret	ALG QR 3	ALG CR 3	SAC QR 8	SAC CR 5	SIL QR Ret	SIL CR Ret	NAV QR 4	NAV CR 3	PRI QR 9	PRI CR 4	ORD QR 3	ORD CR 7	BEI QR 11	BEI CR 8	SAN QR 7	SAN CR Ret	10th	75

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Class	No	Tyres	Car	Team	Co-Drivers	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1992	C1	7	G	Toyota TS010 Toyota RV10 3.5L V10	Toyota Team Tom's	Geoff Lees Ukyo Katayama	192	DNF	DNF
1993	GT	50	D	Jaguar XJ220 Jaguar JV6 3.5L Turbo V6	TWR Jaguar Racing	John Nielsen David Coulthard	306	DSQ	DSQ
1996	GT1	34	M	McLaren F1 GTR BMW S70 6.1L V12	Gulf Racing GTC Racing	Pierre-Henri Raphanel Lindsay Owen-Jones	335	5th	4th
1997	GT1	55	G	Panoz Esperante GTR-1 Ford (Roush) 6.0L V8	David Price Racing	Perry McCarthy Doc Bundy	145	DNF	DNF
1998	GT1	45	M	Panoz Esperante GTR-1 Ford (Roush) 6.0L V8	Panoz Motorsports	Andy Wallace Jamie Davies	335	7th	7th
1999	LMP	12	M	Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S Ford (Élan) 6.0L V8	Panoz Motorsports	Éric Bernard Butch Leitzinger	336	7th	6th
2000	LMP900	11	M	Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S Élan 6L8 6.0L V8	Panoz Motorsports	Jan Magnussen Mario Andretti	315	15th	8th
2001	LMP900	12	M	Panoz LMP07 Élan (Zytek) 4.0L V8	Panoz Motorsports	Jan Magnussen Franck Lagorce	85	DNF	DNF
2002	LMP900	11	M	Panoz LMP01 Evo Élan 6L8 6.0L V8	Panoz Motor Sports	Jan Magnussen Bryan Herta	90	DNF	DNF
2003	LMGTP	8	M	Bentley Speed 8 Bentley 4.0L Turbo V8	Team Bentley	Mark Blundell Johnny Herbert	375	2nd	2nd
2004	LMP1	22	M	Zytek 04S Zytek ZG348 3.4L V8	Zytek Engineering, Ltd.	Andy Wallace Hayanari Shimoda	167	DNF	DNF
2005	GT1	59	M	Aston Martin DBR9 Aston Martin 6.0L V12	Aston Martin Racing	Stéphane Sarrazin Darren Turner	333	9th	3rd
2006	GT1	62	M	Aston Martin DBR9 Aston Martin 6.0L V12	Russian Age Racing Team Modena	Antonio García Nelson Piquet, Jr.	343	9th	4th
2007	GT1	009	M	Aston Martin DBR9 Aston Martin 6.0L V12	Aston Martin Racing	Darren Turner Rickard Rydell	343	5th	1st
2008	GT1	009	M	Aston Martin DBR9 Aston Martin 6.0L V12	Aston Martin Racing	Antonio García Darren Turner	344	13th	1st
2009	LMP1	9	M	Peugeot 908 HDi FAP Peugeot HDi 5.5L Turbo V12 (Diesel)	Peugeot Sport Total	Marc Gené Alexander Wurz	382	1st	1st
2010	LMP2	26	M	HPD ARX-01C HPD AL7R 3.4L V8	Highcroft Racing	Marino Franchitti Marco Werner	296	25th	9th

References

1. ^ David Brabham Driver Biography Retrieved from fiagt.com on 19 August 2008
2. ^ Australian Motor Racing Year, 1986/87, page 55
3. ^ Australian 'Driver to Europe' Series Retrieved from Formula Ford Australia 20 August 2008

External links

• David Brabham's official website
• Interactive David Brabham Statistics - compare David with other F1 drivers

Sporting positions
Preceded by Graham Watson	Winner of the Australian Drivers' Championship 1987	Succeeded by Rohan Onslow
Preceded by JJ Lehto	British Formula Three Champion 1989	Succeeded by Mika Häkkinen
Preceded by Enrico Bertaggia	Macau Grand Prix Winner 1989	Succeeded by Michael Schumacher
Preceded by Masahiko Kageyama	All-Japan Grand Touring Car Champion 1996 with: John Nielsen	Succeeded by Pedro de la Rosa Michael Krumm Masami Kageyama
Preceded by Craig Lowndes Greg Murphy	Winner of the Bathurst 1000 1997 (with Geoff Brabham)	Succeeded by Rickard Rydell Jim Richards
Preceded by Allan McNish Rinaldo Capello Tom Kristensen	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2009 with: Marc Gené Alexander Wurz	Succeeded by Timo Bernhard Romain Dumas Mike Rockenfeller
Preceded by Lucas Luhr Marco Werner	American Le Mans Series champion 2009 with Scott Sharp	Succeeded by David Brabham Simon Pagenaud
Preceded by David Brabham Scott Sharp	American Le Mans Series champion 2010 with Simon Pagenaud	Succeeded by Guy Smith Chris Dyson

Persondata
Name	Brabham, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	5 September 1965
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death