Brian Redman in Motorsport

[John Turner]

A very interesting piece in the December issue of Motorsport with Simon Taylor talking to this much underrated driver. In fact Redman was pretty much top drawer when it came to sportscars. Apart from his fine achievements, what struck me most about this dialogue was several references to the loss of so many of his fellow drivers, during the 60's and 70's. It is not a new revelation of course, but a timely reminder. We all tend to look back at the past through glasses of varying shades of rosiness but there was a huge price to pay for their (and our) love of motor racing. Whatever we think of contemporary racing and the part that modern technology and safety features play in the often dull racing and lack of overtaking opportunities at the highest level, we should, I think, be thankful for the efforts of Jackie Stewart, Louis Stanley and Sid Watkins (as they were then!) amongst others for substantially reducing the annual toll.

[Steve Wilkinson]

Brian Redman was an ace in F5000 and when you consider the quality of the cars he drove in F1 he was better than your average F1 pilot.

Admittedly he is best remembered for his exploits in Sportscars built by Chevron, Porsche, Ferrari, Lola etc. However I first saw him in the Bridges E-Type at Oulton when he was head & shoulders above the rest in the race.

A true Northern Star if ever there was one!

[Alan Raine]

Brian Redman was one of those drivers who could drive almost anything, and he always did it well. In those days if you did F1 you were probably racing other cars as well, unlike today where drivers seem to have to stick to one formula. Redman and others of his era, Frank Gardner, David Hobbs, Vic Elford etc were able to jump from car to car in different catagories and be successful. I am just glad I was around to see some of it

It was dangerous then compared to now and John is right in applauding the efforts of those who fought to make it safer, although I do sometimes feel that the safety aspect has taken some of the sparkle out of racing. Redman had a few big accidents in his time and fortunately survived them pretty well intact unlike some of his contempories.

[Davhut]

I was riding in a friends golf cart at Road America's Brian Redman Challenge this summer, out by the far reaches of the track, when a bump from behind and a shout, "Hey, wanna race?" came from Brian. He was teaching his young granddaughter how to drive. A remarkable man, a great driving talent.

[John Turner]

Yes, I agree, Alan. Fortunately we still see plenty of sparkle in both clubbie events and historic racing, but they too, (setting aside certain issues we have discussed before), have benefitted from the many improvements in safety that have taken place over the years. On a personal level, the one thing that does annoy me, as a spectator, is the height of the fencing at so many of our circuits.

I was not denying Brian Redman's achievements in other formulae; merely highlighting the area in which many of his finest results were achieved. He truly is a 'Northern Star', Steve!

[Alan Raine]

Originally Posted by John Turner

On a personal level, the one thing that does annoy me, as a spectator, is the height of the fencing at so many of our circuits.

The fencing can be a pain at the big circuits especially for someone like yourself who takes a lot of photos from spectator areas. They have been around for a long time though. I last marshaled in about 1981 and they were quite common at Silverstone then.

Back to Brian Redman. He always struck me as a driver who always enjoyed his racing and although he was happy enough in F1, he was just as happy in F5000 or Sports Cars. (I've not seen the Motorsport article yet so have not seen what he has said) I know it's from another era, but I wish a few of the modern drivers could have a similar attitude. Montoya going to NASCAR is a start!

[Armco Bender]

Saw him drive an F2 Chevron against the F5000 cars in NZ in 1976,he certainally was a quick pedaller.

[Pete Brennan]

Redman's F5000 will be in action this weekend at Sandown Park.Also the second owner Ken Smith NZL will be doing a few laps.Big field of 5 litre cars.I am off to the track.

[davyboy]

I was never lucky enough to see him back in the early 1970s... a little too young to appreciate my racing properly back then... but I was fortunate to see him in this year's Silverstone Classic when he drove the wheels off the beautiful BRM P160 in a race where the car was completely outclassed by more modern Grand Prix machinery. The commentator dwelt a lot on Brian, treating him with the hero reverence he duly deserved.

One of Britain's most under-rated drivers of the 1960s and 1970s... he deserved to achieve way more than he did... but as John mentioned above... he came away with possibly the biggest prize of his generation - his life.

http://russell.whitworth.com/Silvers...g.jpg.jpg.html

[Armco Bender]

Redman's F5000 will be in action this weekend at Sandown Park.Also the second owner Ken Smith NZL will be doing a few laps.Big field of 5 litre cars.I am off to the track.

Damn,envious.

Didn't Redman have a massive flip over crash in a CanAm car?

[Alan Raine]

Originally Posted by Armco Bender

Damn,envious.

Didn't Redman have a massive flip over crash in a CanAm car?

That's covered in quite a good article Here