David Brabham to Make Phillip Island Guest Outing

David Brabham will make a one-off appearance in this weekend’s Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS round at Phillip Island.

The 58-year-old, who has 24 Formula 1 starts to his name and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2009 for Peugeot, will partner Chris Batzios aboard the No. 34 Volante Rosso-run Harrolds Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo for the fourth round of the season.

It follows Batzio’s regular co-driver, Ross Poulakis, temporarily moving across to Volante Rosso’s Aston Martin Vantage GT3 alongside Alex Gardner.

Brabham’s connection with Volante Rosso dates back to 2022 when his son Sam made two appearances aboard a Mercedes-AMG GT4 for the team. Sam then made another two outings for the Sydney-based squad in 2023 in the GT3 class.

“I’ve never driven the Mercedes GT3 before, I raced against one in the UK in GT Cup and it’s very quick so I am really looking forward to driving it,” said Brabham.

“Sam has always been complementary of Volante Rosso and when I was at Bathurst for a GT round when Sam raced, it was clear to me they were a very good team with a strong technical understanding of the car.

“I’m very much looking forward to being part of Harrolds Racing by VR and driving alongside a friend in Chris.

“As a family we have forged a strong and personal relationship with Chris, Ross Poulakis and the Harrolds brand, and we look forward to further growing this.”

Batzios added: “Having David as a co-driver has been a work in progress for some time.

“I’ve got a close, personal connection with David and Sam. I’ve had Sam with me before and now to have the ‘big man’ himself is just absolutely ridiculous to be honest. It’s like living out a boyhood dream.

“I’ve watched David on TV racing in various categories, but mainly in Formula 1 and at Le Mans as a fan. By sheer fluke I got to meet him many years down the track and we struck up a close friendship with the Brabham family.

“I got on the phone to David only a few days ago and said ‘listen, when are we going to do this? When are we going to share a car?’ It’s a bucket list thing. He said ‘what if we do Phillip Island? I think I can make it work’.

“Within the space of 24-48 hours we were able to piece it all together.”

Brabham’s son Sam will also be in action at Phillip Island driving for Love Racing, which is likewise run by Volante Rosso, in the Monochrome GT4 Australia Series.