Sam Brabham will make a welcome return to the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, confirming his entry this week to contest the remaining rounds of the 2019 season with Team Connect It, run by Brookspeed Motorsport, as a Pro-Am entry.
A Porsche Carrera Cup Scholarship finalist in 2015, Brabham takes on the four-round campaign off the back of his Porsche Carrera Cup GB debut last September with Redline Racing. Then returning to the track for the first time in four years, the talented third-generation driver took a brace of top six Pro-Am finishes and capped his inaugural outing with a finish just outside of the top 10.
First up on Sam’s 2019 agenda will be Thruxton, over his 25th birthday weekend of 17-18 August, and a chance to revisit the track where he took the first two outright British Formula Ford race wins of his career. Cementing his potential after finishing as the Scholarship Class runner-up the previous year, he became the only family member to win a British Formula Ford race just two weeks before his legendary grandfather, Sir Jack Brabham, sadly passed away in May 2014.
From Thruxton, Brabham will head to his home track of Silverstone, 31 August-1 September, in support of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season opener, where he will tackle the Grand Prix Circuit for the first time. He returns to Silverstone’s National Circuit on 28-29 September before concluding the year at Brands Hatch – where the main straight is named after his triple Formula One World Championship-winning ‘Pops’ – for the British Touring Car Championship season finale on 12-13 October.
The four-race deal means Sam will run with Southampton-based Brookspeed for the first time, thanks to team title sponsorship from Connect It Utility Services, a multi-utility services company delivering a range of connections – from single or dual utility to multiple plot and service connections.
Brabham, meanwhile, continues to be personally sponsored by intellectual property specialists, Forresters, who have supported Sam from the start of his racing career.
Speaking from the shakedown of his Team Connect It Porsche Carrera 911 GT3 Cup car at Silverstone, Sam said: “It feels amazing to be heading back to the track and rejoining Porsche Carrera Cup GB. Last September seems a long time ago so it’s great to be back in the race seat with a four race commitment, which will really help me with consistency and understanding the car to build on progress each round.
“I can’t wait to get back to the high speed of Thruxton, a place that holds a lot of good memories for me. I look forward to the new challenge of performing well there in the Porsche, but Friday practice will be vital to get a feel for the car before jumping into qualifying. It’s great to be back on the BTCC package and to support the WEC at my home track is going to be pretty special considering Dad’s remarkable history.
“To be working with Brookspeed and Connect It for the first time is an incredible opportunity. Thanks also to my long-term sponsors, Forresters, who have been with me since the beginning. With one event in five years, these four rounds are going to be about developing me and the car, hopefully in preparation for next year. I can’t wait to see how we can develop together.”
Team Connect It Team Principal Martin Braybrook commented: “We are delighted to be coming back to Porsche Carrera Cup GB for the remaining 2019 rounds with Sam Brabham. We’ve been speaking to Sam and his Dad, David, for some time about different ventures but it’s thanks to the support of Connect It that has enabled us to bring this package together.
“Sam has only done one previous round, so we are treating this as a slow build-up for next year. That said, he was very impressive in shakedown testing, showing excellent pace considering he was last in a Porsche nearly a year ago. We’re looking forward to seeing what he can do with consistent seat time to really get to grips with the car.”
Images: David Lord
