Brian Redman

This unassuming Lancastrian was a professional racing driver who excelled in sports cars and Formula 5000. He finished third on his second Grand Prix start but that was the highlight of his 12-race Formula 1 career.

Family background and early racing career

The son of the owner of a chain of grocery stores, Brian Redman had already completed his national service and worked in the family business when he first raced a supercharged Morris Minor Traveller at Rufforth in 1959. It was six years before his career gained momentum when almost unbeatable in Charles Bridges’ lightweight Jaguar E-type during 1965.

A move to sports cars followed with Bridges’ Red Rose Motors Lola T70 in 1966 but Redman was sharing Peter Sutcliffe’s Ford GT40 when he finished fourth in that year’s Spa 1000Kms – his first international result of note. Redman drove John Wyer’s GT40 in the 1967 Le Mans 24 Hours although his race was over before his first stint behind the wheel – co-driver Mike Salmon badly burnt in a fire after an hour.

Redman also raced in Formula 2 that year with David Bridges’ Lola T100-Ford and he ended 1967 by winning the non-championship Kyalami Nine Hours with Wyer’s Mirage M1-Ford and Jacky Ickx.

Formula 1 with Cooper

He was most impressive in both single-seaters and sports cars at the start of 1968. Redman made his GP debut in South Africa with a works Cooper T81-Maserati and he finished third next time out in Spain, now driving a BRM-powered T86B. He replaced a holidaying Chris Amon in Ferrari’s F2 team at the Nürburgring for what was a dramatic one-off. He was hit in the eye by a stone and lost two minutes while checking his cut eye and changing the splintered goggles. Redman charged back through the field to finish an impressive fourth.

Not only that but Redman scored fine sports car victories at Brands Hatch and Spa-Francorchamps when sharing John Wyer’s Ford GT40 with Ickx. However, he crashed heavily at Les Combes during the Belgian GP when his suspension failed. The Cooper crashed over a concrete barrier and into some parked cars – briefly catching fire. A marshal was seriously injured and Redman badly broke his right arm to sideline him until October.

Sports car success for Porsche

He enjoyed spectacular success in 1969 with a works Porsche 908 and co-driver Jo Siffert. They won five times to help clinch a first World Sportscar Championship for the Stuttgart marque. He drove Wyer’s Porsche 917K during 1970 and success included victories in the Daytona 24 Hours and Targa Florio.

Switch to Ferrari

However, he suffered burns to face, hands, neck and right leg after crashing on the opening lap of the latter race in 1971. Four years after turning down a contract with Ferrari (after that impressive F2 outing) Redman joined the Italian team in 1972 and won four times during his two seasons driving its sports cars

Redman won almost every major sports car race during his career except for the Le Mans 24 Hours – fifth place finishes in 1978 and 1980 being his best results in that race. His Porsche 935 won the IMSA class on both occasions but it was a disappointing return from his 13 appearances.

Occasional Formula 1 appearances

Alongside his sports car career, Redman only made occasional GP starts during the 1970s. Most notable were fifth place finishes in Monaco and Germany during his three races with a Yardley McLaren M19A-Ford in 1972. His final GP was at Monaco in 1974 when he retired a UOP Shadow DN1A-Ford – the first time Redman had started three F1 races in a row.

Championship success in North America

F1 was only ever a sideline for he had forged a new and successful career in North American F5000. He raced Sid Taylor’s McLaren-Chevrolet in the European Championship from 1971 before joining Haas-Hall Racing across the Atlantic. He won the North American title for three successive seasons from 1974 to 1976 with the team’s Lola-Chevrolets.

The 1977 season began with Redman critically injured when his Haas-Hall Lola T333CS-Chevrolet rolled during qualifying for the opening Can-Am race of the year at St Jovite. Out of racing for the rest of the year, he won the 1978 Sebring 12 Hours on his return. He joined Cooke-Woods Racing in 1981 and won the Daytona 24 Hours for a second time on the way to being crowned as IMSA GTP Champion.

Racing less during the next two seasons, Redman joined the Group 44 Jaguar team in 1984 and was part of the line-up as the marque returned to Le Mans. Similarly, he was with Aston Martin in 1989 when it too raced again at the Circuit de la Sarthe in what was Redman’s last full season.

No longer pursuing a fulltime racing career, he ran Redman-Bright Engineering in Formula 3000 during 1997 and 1998 and is now a promoter of historic events from his home in Florida. His autobiography Daring Drivers, Deadly Tracks was publishing in 2016.