Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Brabham returns to motorsport with Le Mans programme

(Brabham)
(Brabham)

Sports car maker Brabham Automotive has announced its intention to race at the iconic Le Mans 24 Hours with its own production-based car.

David Brabham, a son of three-time Formula One World Championship winner Sir Jack Brabham, said that the firm will be targeting the 2021-2022 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) for the race debut of a new car developed from the chassis of its BT62 track day special.

A detail that has surprised many is its plan to compete in the GTE category of WEC. In order to be a part of the class, Brabham Automotive will have to produce road cars. Per the rulebook, the firm would have to manufacture 25 road-going versions of its racer before being allowed to compete in GTE.

In an interview on Radio Show Limited’s Midweek Motorsport programme, David Brabham confirmed that his eponymous firm would be looking for “small manufacturer exemption” on these production goalposts from Le Mans’ rule-makers, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO). In that case, Brabham may use Ford’s GT as precedent, as the American brand began racing its current supercar in 2016 – before it went into production – thanks to a waiver from the ACO.

Brabham – who took victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2009 – was careful to avoid officially announcing the exact identity of the GTE car and its road-going counterpart in the interview. However, a ‘new car’ was mentioned several times, as well as a racing programme for the BT62 as part of the manufacturer’s preparation.

He said: “We have to earn the right to compete at Le Mans. We have to grow and we have to develop. We have to bring in expertise; we’ve already got expertise in the group, but we have to grow that.

“It’s a step-by-step process. The first step will be to start racing the BT62 in select championships, and start building the team. And then – in the background – developing the new car to go to Le Mans.”

Brabham went on to say that the new project would be “an evolution of the current architecture”, and that the design cues seen in the BT62 will be “taken into the future models”. In addition, Brabham Automotive commercial director Dan Marks said: “We will develop [the BT62] to make its mark in motor racing, along with new vehicles.”