Brabham Automotive confirms Le Mans entry

Brabham Automotive has announced plans that it will compete in international sports car racing, with a factory-back entry confirmed for the 2021/2022 World Endurance Championship season where it will compete against Porsche's 911 RSR in the GTE category and race at Le Mans.

It's not been confirmed yet if Brabham plans to enter its $2 million Brabham BT62, that was recently announced would be offered with kits to convert it into a road car, will be entered in the world's most famous endurance race, but work is already believed to have begun in developing the racer.

The desire for Brabham to go sports car racing is no secret but, until now, it was not known when one of the most famous names in motorsport would return to racing.

As part of the deal, Brabham founder -- David Brabham -- who himself is a multiple Le Mans winner, has confirmed the factory entry will be part of a 5-year long commitment to sports car racing.

Curiously, the Australian supercar-maker, that builds its cars in a manufacturing facility north of Adelaide, claims the race car will be created in co-operation with its wealthy customers.

As part of the BT62 Driver Development Program owners will be allowed to swap their supercar for a go at the real race car with an invite to compete in the Pro-Am events that are part of the WEC race calendar.

Conveniently, the endurance racer's gestation will be overseen by David Brabham who has reportedly appointed himself lead test driver for the race car program.

Currently Brabham is not releasing any details on the race car but has confirmed it will be based on the BT62 chassis that had already been built with FIA safety rules in mind.

It's thought once development has been finished, Brabham will homologate the race car and offer another supercar sibling to the BT62 that, in turn, could become road legal.

“Returning the Brabham name to Le Mans is something I have been working on for years, so it’s fantastic to make this announcement today”, said David Brabham. “Brabham Automotive only launched its first car, the BT62, in May 2018, so we have a long road to travel to earn the right to return to compete at Le Mans.”

“We look forward to developing the BT62 and future products while building a world-class competitive race team around the leading engineering and manufacturing talent we have in the business”, he added.