As ever, David Brabham has enjoyed a varied season, with a return to the Panoz marque and outings in an Aston Martin at both the
Silverstone FIA GT and Le Mans 24 Hours events, giving him plenty to reflect upon as he gives us his mid-term review.
Q:
David, you are now halfway through the season in the ALMS, how has your season gone so far?
David Braham:
Looking back at my season so far makes me feel apprehensive at this moment. The reason is that we started the season with a bang, winning the Sebring 12 Hours and really starting the season strong. I got the pole for that race and we had the most laps led, and the end of the race was really close as the Porsche and
Ferrari were right behind us. It looked like a close battle for the championship. Now, we have dropped off the pace a little and we haven't won a race since.
Q:
Why is that?
DB:
A number of things really. One, the Ferrari 430 looked really good on the road at Sebring, and the paddock could see this had the most potential to be a constant winner. As they have developed the car around the American circuits, the thing is a weapon. The car is now hard to beat. The Porsche was quick at Sebring too. As you could see in the race, we were trading lap times with them at the end of the race, but, after Sebring, they got a power break and, at Mid-Ohio, I was really hanging onto second place. The Porsche and I were fighting hard, but you could see that they had a big power advantage over me, and Porsches have now won the most races to date.
Q:
Do you feel the organisers need to have another look at the rules?
DB:
I think that they are looking into this because it is fairly obvious now that the Ferrari and the Porsches have an advantage over us and the BMWs. From my point of view, if they don't, we are going to struggle to win another race.
Q:
Has the Panoz been restricted?
DB:
Last year, they had the front splitter length reduced, which has made the car understeer a lot more. Depending on the track, we can be okay at some places, but, at others, we don't have enough front grip.
Q:
The Corvettes have been restricted a lot now with weight, engine restrictors and fuel to allow the Aston Martin DBR9s to be competitive. Is this a good thing for the series to do?
DB:
I think it is, but it is a difficult thing to judge. Everyone wants to win and, if you didn't, you shouldn't be racing. I have seen teams have an advantage over their competitors, but hide the fact they are quick. As a team, you don't want to show that you have this big advantage because the rules can change to slow you down. It is always good if you are in that team and you have a little more when you need it! But it is difficult to see the true picture out there and the series rule makers have a big job to make all
the different cars competitive.
