1975 Brazilian GP: PACE Brabham won from sixth on the grid
Reborn after dormant period, British Privateer could take on a similarly regenerated Peugeot at Le Mans 2022
Although often referred to as 'Interlagos', the official name of the Brazilian GP is the José Carlos Paz Circuit - a tribute to the local driver who scored his only Grand Prix victory in 1975. The pace could have reached much more in F1, but for the intervention of fate: he died in a minor accident in March 1977.
Pace spent the most prolific phase of his F1 career with Brabham, whose designer Gordon Murray is considered a Brazilian potential future champion (and admits he changed his travel itinerary in 1970 so he could go and watch the pace compete in F3 at Thruxton ).
A major force in Grand Prix racing from the 1960s to the mid-1980s, Brabham quickly faded after former owner Bernie Ecclestone sold and switched to Murray (originally McLaren). Damon Hill was the last to start his Grand Prix for Brabham, finishing 11th - four laps in debt at the Hungaroring in 1992.
The brand lay dormant for years until David Brabham - the youngest of founder Sir Jack's sons - won a lengthy legal battle to establish his family's right to use his own name in an automotive context. The first fruit of this activity, the BT62 hypercar was unveiled last year and made its low-key debut at the Brands Hatch winter clubbie on November 9th.
Powered by just over half of its claimed 750bhp, the car was accepted into the "invitation" class Britcar Dunlop Endurance Championship, overall David - 3 British F1989 champion and, later, briefly Grand Prix driver - and Powell. The pair comfortably qualified for pole position and won the first of the weekend's two races, but electrical problems doomed them to retirement in a second.
It was a small but important step, which was a long way. Purpose? Le Mans 24 hours in 2022.
Homecoming
If the revived marque fulfills its Le Mans ambitions, it will run into Peugeot - for which David Brabham won the 24 Hour Classic in 2009. The French firm discussed developments for a few more years after this success, but withdrew from endurance racing ahead of the 2012 campaign just as the new world endurance championship kicks off, citing the need to divert resources elsewhere as it tried to reverse the trend of road-selling cars.
He has always maintained that he would consider returning Le Mans if it could be financially and technically justified – and that moment has arrived with the new hypercar formula from the 2020-21 season. Peugeot hopes to be ready by 2022.
Aston Martin and Toyota have already announced plans to take on Lamborghini, they say, evaluating the idea. After a couple of seasons in which Toyota has been racing largely away from itself in the northwest of France, a mature low-zest appears on the horizon.