David Brabham
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| David Brabham | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| David Brabham in 2007. | |
Nationality  Australian |
|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Active years | 1990, 1994 |
| Teams | Brabham, Simtek |
| Races | 30 (24 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podium finishes | 0 |
| Career points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First race | 1990 San Marino Grand Prix |
| Last race | 1994 Australian Grand Prix |
David Brabham (born 5 September 1965 in Wimbledon, London) is an Australian former Formula One driver who raced for the Brabham and Simtek teams. He is now one of the most successful and experienced specialists in sports car racing. He is the youngest son of Sir Jack Brabham, the famous Australian Formula One champion. He spent his childhood in Australia, although 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 didn't 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.
David's professional racing career began in Australian in 1983 racing karts for two years, after which he moved into touring car racing for one year. In 1986 he switched to Formula Ford 1600 and subsequently moved on to Formula Atlantic in 1987. 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.
David'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. David joined the Tom Walkinshaw Racing Jaguar team in 1991 and also in that year won the Spa 24 Hours for Nissan. David won the 24 Hours of Daytona for Jaguar in 1992.
David 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. David 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 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. Since 1999 he has been a regular in the American Le Mans Series, having raced for teams such as Panoz and Prodrive (Ferrari 550 Maranello; he currently races an Acura ARX-01B for Highcroft Racing. He won the Sebring 12-hour race in 2005. Back in Australia, he has contested the Bathurst 24-hour race several times since its inception in 2002.
At the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans, David scored a 4th in the GT1 category (9th overall) driving an Aston Martin DBR9 for Russian Age Racing. The following year, David won the GT1 class driving a DBR9 for Aston Martin Racing.
David's two older brothers Geoff and Gary also pursued motor racing careers.
[edit] 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 |
- | 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 |
- | 0 |
[edit] External links
- David Brabham's official website
- Interactive David Brabham Statistics - compare David with other F1 drivers
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| 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 Craig Lowndes Greg Murphy |
Winner of the Bathurst 1000 1997 (with Geoff Brabham) |
Succeeded by Rickard Rydell Jim Richards |
| Preceded by Graham Watson |
Winner of the Australian Drivers' Championship 1987 |
Succeeded by Rohan Onslow |
