"We are just building for the future"
David Brabham of Krohn-Barber Racing
By Margot Orenchuk
Photos courtesy Jim DeFord/Margot Orenchuk and Craig Elliott
VANCOUVER, Canada (October 3, 2004) -- David Brabham has been around racing since before he was born, and has been in races since he was sixteen. He has raced in everything from karts to Formula One, and has been a part of the American Le Mans since the beginning. He began with the ALMS in the Panoz LMP-01, and then in the beautiful red Ferrari 550 Maranello of Prodrive Racing. And in 2004, with teammate Peter Kox, he was tapped to race the brand new Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT of Krohn-Barber Racing. As all new marques inevitably do, this one has had some serious teething pains. And like the ill-fated Panoz LMP-07 on which he and Jan Magnussen expended half a year of their careers, the Lamborghini has needed extensive development work. But never let it be said that a Brabham turns away from a challenge! RFM’s Margot Orenchuk had a chance to talk to David recently about the rise of the Lamborghini – and unfortunately, of its demise.

Margot Orenchuk: When did you get the call to come and join Krohn/Barbour? Did you know at Sebring? (Where David was driving for ACEMCO Saleen)

David Brabham: I was racing for ACEMCO at Sebring, when I heard about the programme. And them someone gave me Dick’s number and said, Dick would like for you to give him a call. So that is when it all basically started.

MO: Is it a world of difference than driving your Ferrari?

DB: Yes, I mean when I joined the Prodrive Ferrari team, that was a car that had already been developed for 3 years. Obviously the team was well established, and they knew the car very well, so it was very easy to fit in. it was easy to be competitive quickly. This is a completely different situation. This is a brand new team, brand new car, not really raced and developed properly. It is very different. It’s a lot harder coming in halfway through the season again; we are trying to develop a car and a team going from one race to another, it’s impossible to make real progress.

MO: Is this something you have done, been used as a development driver before?

DB: Yes, it’s not the first time I’ve been in this situation. Although probably the first time half way through the year developing a car and having a car going from on race to another. Normally with a new programme you start at the beginning of a year; it might be a scramble for the first race but you are in there. This programme was only announced on the first race, and we only got the cars the cars the week of Mid-Ohio.

MO: Have you ever raced on Pirellis before?

DB: The Bathurst 24 hours in the Ferrari 360 were on Pirelli’s.

MO: And how are you finding them?

DB: When I drove the Ferrari for the first time I found the car and the tire fine, it was a well-sorted car. The tire seemed to be pretty good. At the moment, it’s pretty difficult to make any real comments about any part of this programme because it’s not matured enough. And I’ve been around racing for a long time now and at the end of the day, when companies are involved in a programme; they need to focus on the most competitive package. We are not able to give anyone justice at the moment. With any part of the programme because we are so new. This isn’t a negative; it’s just a fact. And everyone is working hard in the sense of trying to give us the best car they can every race with the information we are giving them, but we aren’t giving them the information they truly need because we aren’t sure about the car.

MO: How are you finding driving with your new teammate? Do your driving philosophies mesh?

DB: Peter?

MO: I can't imagine, I mean he must be the most diametrically opposed team mate to Jan that I can imagine.

DB: He certainly is. But Peter and I have struck up a very good relationship very quickly. We actually really enjoy each other’s company. He’s a lot calmer than Jan. We are enjoying the relationship, definitely. I wasn’t sure at first, because you never know, I’ve know Peter since Formula 3 days, he drove against me when I won the Championship in 1989. And we worked together at McLaren Formula 1 as well.

MO: As a racer, a racecar driver. What motivation is there at you level to get in there at your level, when the Corvettes seem so, unstoppable?

DB: Well, at the moment, they are so well developed now. They are at their peak at the moment. We are under no false illusions that we were going to be battling for positions against Corvette. I mean, we knew that wasn’t going to be the case. For me, you have to have a completely different mind-set to the whole deal. And it is difficult to keep that whole top motivation when you don’t have a competitive situation. So the whole level of the team is going up and up and up! So we have to change the mindset of our team. We know everything we are doing is for the short term, not the long term. We are just building for the future. It’s not something we have to put ourselves under pressure as far as performance, because that is not a reality as far as out on the racetrack at the moment.

MO: Is your mind then, not as a racer?

DB: No, your mind is as a racer, you are still out there trying to race and do everything. But there is something that gives you an extra edge that you don’t get in these situations. And that is just a natural thing that happens. It’s very hard to get that mindset the same when everything around you is not there, when you are trying to get a full size roar in your head. And you can feel the energy of your team as well, you know. That whole thing spirals up, like Ferrari last year when we were fighting with the Corvettes and we were getting stronger, and we won the last 4 races. And when I joined the team we didn’t have that spirit. But then we started to make the car that little bit better; and all of a sudden, you felt the change of energy in the team, and off we went.

MO: I remember watching an interview with Jan in 2003 at Petit, and he said “well I know we can’t win a Championship, but we can win the manufacturers, so I went for it”

DB: And that is what we were brought in for; we were only brought in for to help them win the manufacturers Championship.

MO: The Lamborghini was holding up so very well during Petit this year. But a frustrating end to your day, I'm sure. Looking back now on the year that was, would you ever hesitate to sign on for a development car again?

DB: We all knew that the year was going to be a development year, well at least I did. Looking at the car when I first saw it, I knew what was in store when we did the first laps in the car. A part of racing which I enjoy is developing a car, so I would always like to be part of that.

MO: Is there a benefit for you as a driver to race over here in the ALMS? And did you enjoy your time coming over here?

DB: I have been in the ALMS since the beginning and I have seen it grow and grow. It is great to be part of that growth working with the teams I have been with, and the people behind the series.

Unfortunately for the ALMS, Krohn-Barbour Racing has announced the end of their association with Lamborghini, and they will not be racing at the final race in Laguna Seca. However, the team is being kept together, and we have hopes of having David Brabham back behind the wheel of something a little better broken in when we all meet up again at the 12 Hours of Sebring in March!