MOTORSPORT: Young Brabham for Indianapolis 500

Matthew Brabham, the 21-year-old grandson of the legendary Sir Jack Brabham, is to tackle the 100th running of the world’s biggest open-wheeler motor race, the Indianapolis 500 — with the backing of an Australian company expanding in the United States.

Plans announced today are the culmination of the young Brabham’s four years of racing in America. They involve him driving next May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway — known throughout motor racing as The Brickyard — in a car prepared by KV Racing Technology and financed by Australian hose company Pirtek.

KV Racing, jointly owned by expatriate Australian tycoon Kevin Kalkhoven and former Indy racer Jimmy Vasser, won the Indianapolis 500 two years ago with veteran Brazilian driver Tony Kanaan.

The deal for Brabham to drive for KV has been stitched together by Gold Coast-based motorsport entrepreneur and former journalist Brett 'Crusher' Murray. The entry will be under the name 'Pirtek Team Murray'.

Sir Jack Brabham, Australia's triple Formula 1 world champion who died last year, aged 88, revolutionised the Indianapolis 500 by being the first driver to race there in a rear-engined car in 1961. He drove there three more times in the next decade, while his eldest son, Geoff (Matthew's father), contested the Indy 500 10 times, with a best finish of fourth in 1983.

Matthew Brabham won the USF2000 and Pro Mazda Championships in his first two years in America before stepping up to Indy Lights last year, narrowly missing out on winning the main support race at The Brickyard's May carnival. The best finish in the classic by an Australian was second by Will Power this year, within 10 metres of victorious Penske teammate Juan Pablo Montoya. Power collected more than A$1 million for that effort, but it would have been A$2.1 million more had he won.

However, his open-wheeler career in the US with the Andretti family team has foundered for lack of sponsorship. Instead, he has driven a couple of races in the new Formula E global electric open-wheeler series, as well as trying American stock car racing and stadium super trucks, one of which he is racing at this weekend's Sydney 500.

Earlier this week he tested one of Audi's DTM (German touring car championship) cars in Spain.

Brabham was born in the US, grew up on the Gold Coast, and is now based in Indianapolis. He hopes to carve out a full-time career in the IndyCar championship and, while admitting that making his debut in the Indianapolis 500 and driving a road-course race at The Brickyard earlier next May is short of that, he said the venture with KV, Pirtek and Murray was 'a dream come true'.

"My mum and dad are over the moon with the position we are in and I am sure my grandfather is looking down on us with a smile and can't wait for May 29 (Indy 500 race day) to roll around," Brabham said.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us, but it is nice to get this plan in place this far out. KV Racing Technology has a first-class program".

Kalkhoven said Brabham was "a terrific young man, who has a great racing pedigree, but who is also very talented and who has a single-minded desire to be successful in the sport".

Murray said it had long been his ambition to have a car in the Indy 500 and that doing it in the 100th running of the classic with a Brabham was the perfect way.

"I made a promise to Sir Jack before he passed away that I would do what I could to help Matt's career," Murray said.

Glenn Duncan, of the Sydney family that owns Pirtek, said: "There is no doubt that the 100th running of the Indy 500 is going to be one of the biggest days ever in world sports and we are excited to be along for the ride."

The race was first held in 1911 but was not run some years during the two world wars.

Only two families have had three generations of starters in the Indy 500: the Andrettis and the Vukovichs. Mario Andretti won the race in 1969, while the first Bill Vukovich won it in 1953 and 1954.