Interviews

Planetlemans talks To Brian Redman

© www.autosportsltd.com- Michael Keyser

How many drivers today would like to be able to drive just a few laps on a Porsche 917? And a Ford GT40? What about a Ferrari 312? Brian Redman has had the privilege to drive (and win!) with all of them among other racing cars in his long career. As a matter of fact he still drives today at historical events. We go back in time with one of my favorite drivers of all time to ask just a few questions…

© www.autosportsltd.com- Michael Keyser

PLM- Brian, how did you get into endurance?

BR- It all started in 1965 when I was driving for Red Rose Motors in Chester, UK. The car was a lightweight Jaguar E-Type (actually it was an ex-Graham Hill car) and one of our rivals was Peter Sutcliffe. He subsequently bought a Ford GT40 with which we raced at Spa in 1966. We ran a good race with no problems so I got another privateer drive for Monza with another GT40.

PLM- Monza had the banking at the time…

BR- And it was raining! Actually I spun and missed the chicane completely so we ended up being disqualified. My co-driver was Richard Bond whom for the occasion was being called Riccardo Bondino (laughs)

PLM- What about the year after?

BR- In 1967 I went back to Spa with Sutcliffe and I saw we were going to hit some heavy rain. Coming into Stavelot I was unable to see, at that time Stavelot was a combination of corners but in those conditions and seeing two bright yellow lights approaching on my rear-view mirror I tried to stay as much as possible on the right side of the track. The Ecurie Francorchamps Ferrari of Willy Mairesse overtook me and next thing I knew I saw a huge yellow flash in front of me. I avoided this huge accident and we managed to finish the race in the points which was a very good result for us.

PLM- You always had very good luck with accidents, you actually survived three very big ones.

BR- Indeed, the first one was at Les Combes at Spa. The suspension on my Cooper-BRM gave up and during the crash my arm got out of the car. Actually it got trapped between the car and the barrier so I did not only have an exposed fracture but the bone was crushed as well. I was taken to Liege to be operated and the surgeon had been an aide to Winston Churchill during World War II. I was told I might lose my arm but I started laughing. When I was asked how come I answered "I am laughing because I am still here", I was lucky to be alive.

PLM- And you went back to racing pretty soon after.

BR- By the end of the year I did 3 races in South Africa, including the Kyalami 9 Hours. But my arm still hurt a bit so I went to see Dr. Roux in Johannesburg, I was told he was the Dr. Barnard for bones! He took about 20 X-rays and he said: I have 2 bad news, your fracture is still not healed and I’m going on vacation tomorrow. I had just been hired to race for Porsche and I could not miss that opportunity so I asked him to operate me right away. He cleaned my bone, glued it and I did not need a plaster. 6 weeks later I was racing at Daytona.

PLM- Impressive…

BR- I was driving with one hand and all Porsches had to retire eventually. We were out of the race by 11PM. 2 weeks later we ran at Sebring and I was fully recovered by then.

© Brian Redman

PLM- Brian, you drove with two very diverse drivers: Jo Siffert and Jacky Ickx. How did you manage to have a good fit with them?

BR- I am very easy going, never liked arguments. I was at Porsche and had been driving with Elford. A new season was about to start and Rico Steinmann asked me: Do you want to be number 1 driver in a car or number 2 to Siffert? I knew driving with Siffert I would win more races so I went for it. Jacky was very different from Jo. Jo always had something going on, a new deal, a new girl. Jacky was very thoughtful, I remember his protest walk at the Le Mans start. I was actually with him last week and we had a very good chat. He was always flat out, a fantastic driver.

PLM- You drove all the best cars of your time: GT40, 917 , the Ferrari 312…

BR- I was very lucky to race in that era. But it was also dangerous, I don’t see any reason why I was not killed. Actually I retired and went to South Africa. I hated it, we had a tough time with all tensions at the time and the discrimination. So I went back to Europe and to racing. I did F5000 on a McLaren M18, a tough year. And then I got a call from John Wyer to drive in the Targa Florio instead of Derek Bell who was driving with Siffert.

PLM- And there was your second accident.

BR- Wyer had asked me to start the race which was very unusual. He said he did not want Siffert and Rodriguez to go at each other in the first part of the race. The handling was poor and after about 20 miles I crashed in one of the few corners I knew well…the fuel tank exploded and I was engulfed in fire. Luckily we had been practising quick driver changes so I could get out of the car real quick. I could not see anything and this was an isolated place so I was really in trouble. It took 45 minutes for an helicopter to come and take me to hospital but no communication happened so nobody knew where I was until late at night. At about 10 PM Richard Attwood and Pedro Rodriguez found me and took me back to the hotel where the German doctor Porsche had brought finally could inject me a pain killer.

PLM- And what happened next?

BR- They flew a jet from Geneva that took me to a hospital in Manchester where I had a surgeon which had also been a World War II veteran! He did a great job and even today you cannot see any trace of the burns. 6 months later I was already winning a F5000 race again. I bought a trailer to travel and rest a bit and when I got to the south of France the guy parked next to me was British and he told me a driver had been killed, it was Pedro Rodriguez…

PLM- It must have been awkward the feeling of losing so many friends so often.

BR- I was lucky to have 3 accidents, many of my friends just had 1.

PLM- How was your experience at Ferrari?

BR- I’ve been one of the few drivers that rejected a drive there, even if I drove for them later on. It was 1968 and I was going to test their F2 car. I remember seeing Signor Ferrari from a distance, everybody was showing me where he was. During lunch we were with a big group and he showed up, he was very tall and strong, he shook my hand very heavily, came close and he said the only 2 words I ever heard from him : "nice boy"
PLM- How come you rejected the drive?

BR- I was racing their F2 car and then I got off in qualifying and said "This is as quick as I can go". "You are only 10^th !!"they screamed, "get out and drive quicker!!" . I pushed, drove like a maniac and managed 4^th within a 1/10 of a second of the top time. After that they said "you do Formula Due now and by the end of the year you move to Formula Uno". But I said no because I thought if I drove for Ferrari with this mentality I would have been dead by the end of the year.

PLM- Tell me about the 917 and the famous Zeltweg testing session.

BR- It was miserable to drive at the beginning. We know now it had no downforce. In 1969 Siffert and I went for the 908 even if Jo had been marginally quicker with the 917. During the Zeltweg test Wyer’s engineer John Horsman changed the tail and found the right balance, I was 3 seconds quicker which was a lot. I actually think Porsche engineers knew the solution but did not dare to apply it because of Ferdinand Piech and his philosophy back then of straight speed and no drag. But they were also too busy producing and racing 3 models simultaneously: the 908, 917 and 908/3. it was a huge effort and a huge operation back then at Porsche.

PLM- Which brings me to Rennsport, a great event with all Porsches from all time down at Daytona.

BR- It started in 1998, Porsche was the featured marque at Monterey and I suggested to organize a race at Watkins Glen with the old Porsches. It went great, then Porsche started getting involved and supporting the event and for some years we are organizing it at Daytona.

PLM- Will it be such a massive event like 2 years ago?

BR- We have already 20 917s and many other cars. In terms of already confirmed drivers: Tony Adamowicz, Richard Attwood, Derek Bell, Vic Elford, Peter Falk, George Follmer, Hurley Haywood, David Hobbs, Reinhald Joest, Willy Kauhsen, Gerard Larrousse, Rudi Lins, Jackie Oliver, David Piper, Udo Schutz, Jochen Mass and others that we’re still working on.

PLM- Amazing, last question: Do you follow any racing these days?

BR- Not closely, I tape Formula 1 and watch it recorded. This year we had a Road Tour event in Maine and we went down to Montreal for the Grand Prix . We had a good time but it was an odd feeling to be in the crowd (laughs)

PLM- Drivers today are also not so all-round as you guys were…

BR- We had to drive every weekend! With Wyer I was making 750$ a race except for Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring where we were paid 1000$. I had to earn a living!

Brian remembers every moment of his career vividly, we go on talking about his third and final accident, the serious injuries and how the ambulance got a flat tyre while taking him to the medical center. A life of risk blessed by good luck 3 times and a lucky moment for us who were able to share this conversation with a legend like Brian Redman.

gabriel@planetlemans.com