Sam Brabham, the race winning grandson of the late Sir Jack Brabham, will not contest the three rounds of the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain at Croft this weekend. The nineteen year old has cited budget issues when he confirmed the withdrawal this week.
The decision puts any hope of wrestling the championship title out of the grasp of his JTR Motorsport team mate Jayde Kruger’s hands out of reach.
Sam said, “It’s perhaps a popular misconception that because I’ve got a famous racing name, I’m bound to have the budget to compete. It makes no difference if I’m a Brabham or not, the budget required is the same for everyone and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s been challenging this season and our luck, like at Oulton Park, just hasn’t played to running on restricted finances.”
Brabham’s finances were stretched after he put a wheel wide at the Cascades during the second race at Oulton Park, which resulted in suspension failure at one of the fastest parts of the circuit two laps later. The car was heavily damaged in the resulting double barrel roll, which put him out of race three. His budgetary problems mean he has had to focus on the later part of the season and a strong performance in 2015.
“I’m not in the championship hunt anymore this year,” he added, “so I need to look at the bigger picture. We’re talking to a few interested parties and I hope we can either work up some new deals or find some new backers. We’re certainly not giving up and if anything this just makes me stronger and even more determined.”
Sam’s father, the former F1 and FIA World Endurance Championship racer David Brabham also commented saying, “It’s a shame Sam’s got to miss Croft this weekend, but it’s really just down to circumstances. I’ve been working on a big project involving the wider Brabham brand for some years now, which has had to absorb a lot of my time and resources. I’ve had to look at the long term, causing a short-term shortfall for Sam.
“So the last couple of years have been tight on budget and Sam has done a tremendous job in the circumstances, when he sometimes hasn’t known if he’s racing from one round to the next. It’s not fair to Sam to race under that pressure and at this stage it’s important he races under the right circumstances. Our aim now is for Sam to have a strong end of season, using every tool possible to ensure he has a proper chance.”
