Indeed, the former Formula 1 star has an impressive record in sportscars, with innumerable trophies to his name, class glory at Le Mans in both 1993 and 2007 and second place outright for another iconic British marque – Bentley – in 2003. What's more, the DBR9 he will be competing in again this year is no longer bedecked out in its traditional British Racing Green colours, but rather the celebrated Gulf livery, with the famous oil company set to mark the 40th anniversary of its debut in the race in 2008.

“In some ways Gulf is like a legendary trademark name at Le Mans,” Brabs acknowledged. “It goes back many years and covers some fantastic times there. To combine the two – Aston Martin and Gulf – is pretty special, so just to be a part of that is great.

“All these things are pretty cool, but at the end of the day we're there to do a job, and we've just got to get on with it and win the race. What happens outside of that is outside our control. The most important thing is that we go there and do our job, and the nice thing is we've got a fantastic brand in Aston Martin and a great brand in the sponsor in Gulf as well. That will create a lot of interest for the race, which is also good for the team.

“I think it's a given that we're [Brabham, Turner and Garcia] going to work well together. We know each other very well, we know the car very well, we're very similar-sized and I'm really looking forward to it. I think we're all very pleased with the decision to put us together, and I was pleased when I was told who I was going to be driving with, although I would have been fine with the other guys as well – both are very strong driver line-ups.”

The Wimbledon-born ace also insisted that he felt no additional pressure returning to La Sarthe as the defending class winner as opposed to the underdog – the role AMR has assumed for the previous three years. He added that he would continue to go back to Le Mans for as long as the race welcomes him, admitting that it is 'very much a big part' of his life.

“I think pressure really depends on the way you look at it,” he underlined. “Every race you go to at Le Mans you go there to win, obviously. There's always a certain amount of pressure, but I don't think it adds any extra pressure to what I have to do and hopefully not the team either.

“You have a particular mindset when you go into a race like that. You've got to make sure that your preparation is good, and I think the better your preparation the more comfortable you feel when you get to the race. Yesterday was history; we've got a new race again, so we've got to treat it like that and make sure that every individual in the team does their best on the day.

“Every time I think about it, every time I go there to compete, leave the place, go back again – to me it's addictive, and very much a big part of my life in terms of my racing world. It comes round only once a year, but it's such a huge event and I just love competing in it; I have never once lost interest in it, and I'm very much looking forward to going back again.”

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