BRABHAM WANTS IN FOR SUPERCARS
Third generation racer chasing a place in Australia.
A youngster with a famous name, Sam Brabham, is the latest hopeful with his eye on a spot in Supercars.
The son and grandson of champion Brabhams, David and Sir Jack, has transplanted from Britain to Australia in search of a professional racing career.
He is already racing in GT sports cars and lurked as a special guest in the Triple Eight garage through the Winton weekend in Supercars.
“Ideally, I’d like to get into Super2. That would be the next step for me,” Brabham tells AUTO ACTION. “Ultimately, I want to do this – Supercars.”
He began his motorsport career much later than many young hopefuls and only competed intermittently in Formula Ford and Carrera Cup before moving to Australia in time for the pandemic.
“I moved here in 2019 and now I want to go racing. I was visiting my brother, who was playing cricket,” he says.
“I decided to stay for a while and I loved it.” Le Mans winner David Brabham’s son, like his father and uncle Geoff, was never gifted anything because of the Brabham name and has had to battle for any sort of foothold in motorsport.
“I had to nag my dad for years before he would let me get in a go-kart. I was pretty frustrated at the time, but now I completely understand. Once I went karting I loved it.”
But motorsport was not his original sporting dream.
“I wanted to be a footballer. Soccer. Real football. But I wasn’t any good . . . “
His early racing in Britain was in Formula Ford but, despite showing promise, he never got any traction.
“I was second in the championship in Formula Ford before I ran out of money,” Brabham says.
“I did a half-season in Carrera Cup in 2019. I had multiple top 10s. But I won in my class, which was Pro-Am.”
There was a little Formula 3, and something surprising.
“I also did some development work for Honda on their IndyCar project, driving the simulator for Nick Wirth at Simtek.”
Once he got settled in Australia, Brabham III targeted GT racing while doing some driver training and coaching.
He is now racing a Mercedes-GT in the GT4 category alongside Chris Batzios.
The T8 connection comes through Batzios, as he has a Triple Eight crew running the car in the GT World Challenge.
But Brabham knows there will be no favours and his only way to advance is through success.
“We had two wins and a pole position at Phillip Island. It’s not a big field but we’re doing well,” he says.
But Brabham knows what he really wants.
“I’m trying to find a sponsor who can help me with Supercars. That’s the end game, the target.”
For more of the latest motorsport news pick up the current issue of Auto Action.
