Happy 21st Brabs, here's your trophy
Out of the blue David Brabham finally gets a trophy he should have collected 21 years agoDavid Brabham's victorious 1989 British F3 season finally complete
It's taking a long, long time for David Brabham to get anything like due recognition as a fantastic race driver.
But, finally, in his mid-40s, it's coming. Indeed, it was only this month that Brabham finally was presented with the British Formula Three Championship Trophy he won in 1989.
Twenty one years late!
That '89 season also was the one in which Brabham beat Michael Schumacher at the Macau F3 Grand Prix. Schumacher went on to win seven Formula One world titles, and is now making a comeback in search of more.
The Macau field that year also included Mika Hakkinen, who was to become a dual F1 world champion, and Eddie Irvine, who came close to depriving Hakkinen of one of his titles.
David Brabham will be forever known as the youngest son of Australia's triple world champ, Sir Jack Brabham. But he's been a very accomplished racer himself for the best part of a quarter of a century.
Recent highlights have been winning the Le Mans sports car classic in France with Peugeot last year, as well as the American Le Mans Series in an Acura -- a Honda brand.
One of his great rivals in sports cars is Allan McNish, who vied with him for that British F3 title more than two decades ago.
On Brabham's extensive CV too is a victory in a Bathurst 1000 -- not for V8 Supercars or Group A touring cars, but 2-litre tourers in 1997, with his eldest brother Geoff.
David had two stints in F1 -- both short and, due to circumstances beyond his control (uncompetitive Brabham and Simtek cars), fruitless.
Like last year, 1989 was a hallmark season in Brabham's career. But a rash of technical protests left his British F3 series victory in doubt.
For months Brabham's points from a support race at the British Grand Prix were excluded.
The next year Britain's Motor Sport Association court of appeal let all results stand, belatedly confirming Brabham's title.
But, because of the delay in determining the arguments, he never received the trophy -- until the recent Autosport International show in Birmingham, UK.
"I was on stage talking about the Racing4Charity karting event (in which Brabham is heavily involved) when they asked me to stay on stage after our segment was finished," Brabham said.
"I had no idea what was going on and then my (American Le Mans Series) team boss Duncan Dayton (of Patron Highcroft Racing) and Dale Wells from the British Automobile Racing Club were there to present me with a trophy for winning the F3 championship all those years ago.
"It was certainly a nice surprise.
"That F3 championship really kick-started my career as the following season I made my F1 debut.
"It will be nice now to finally have the trophy on the shelf to celebrate that year."
Image: Patron Highcroft Racing - phrmedia.com
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