PATRÓN HIGHCROFT CHAMPIONSHIP ACES STILL ON TRACK POST SEASON The 2010 American Le Mans Series championship may have drawn to a close last weekend, but Patrón Highcroft Racing's title winners David Brabham and Simon Pagenaud are not about to put their helmets away just yet.
Both 2010 LMP championship winners will be on track this weekend - Brabham contesting the famous Bathurst 1000 V8 Supercar enduro in Australia and Pagenaud going back to his roots with a major karting event near Indianapolis.
A former winner in the Super Touring Bathurst V8 Supercar event with his brother, Geoff, David Brabham will contest the Australian classic with former ALMS Porsche factory driver Alex Davison.
The combination of Brabham and Davison bring together two of Australia's most famous racing families. Brabham's father, Sir Jack Brabham, was a three-time Formula 1 World Championship winner while Davison's grandfather, Lex Davison, is a four-time Australian Grand Prix winner.
The V8 Supercar race this Sunday is the second of three Australian events Brabham will tackle this year. He finished 10th with Davison in the recent Phillip Island 500 mile enduro and will also contest the Gold Coast 600 again with the Stone Brothers Racing team later this month.
The Gold Coast event has been billed as the world's great touring car race with 17 other international drivers including Dario Franchitti, Jacques Villenueve, Helio Castroneves, Sebastien Bourdais also joining Brabham on track.
Both Brabham and Franchitti will have extra support at the Gold Coast race, two-time Petit Le Mans LMP2 winner Marino Franchitti will be on hand to cheer on his brother Dario, his Patrón Highcroft Racing teammate Brabham, as well as his close friend and V8 Supercar championship leader, James Courtney.
Davison qualified the team's Irwin tools-sponsored Ford Falcon 18th fastest yesterday. Brabham has also had his share of track time, getting reacquainted to the V8 Supercars sedans that actually have more horsepower than his HPD ARX-01c, but significantly less downforce and braking ability.
"The goal was to try and get back into the swing of driving an Aussie V8 again," Brabham said.
"Obviously it was only last Saturday that I was driving my normal car, which is very different. I'm reasonably happy with the progress that Irwin Racing made today.
"There are areas that I need to work on. I'll look at the data tonight and come out all guns blazing tomorrow.
"We made some improvements to the Irwin Ford and as soon as we started to do this I was feeling more confident with it. I've still got to get my head right and find some more confidence, which will happen with more time in the car and around the team.
"Similar to Phillip Island, we will achieve this. I'm still very optimistic that we can have good pace in the race. I'll work on myself a little bit and the car as well. I think the signs are definitely there, we just need to piece it all together."
Back Stateside, Pagenaud will not only return to his karting roots near Indianapolis this weekend but he will also turn back the clock to 2007 when the Frenchman had another fast Australian teammate.
Pagenaud will team up with his former Champ Car Team Australia teammate Will Power in the RoboPong 200 Presented by Bridgestone event at New Castle Motorsports Park.Power enjoyed a stunning 2010 season at Penske Racing in the IndyCar Series. He lead the championship until the final round. For Pagenaud it was a dilemma - to cheer for his former teammate and close friend or his current teammate Marino Franchitti's brother Dario who eventually stole the crown in the final race.
The 200 mile karting race has not only attracted some of the nation's top karting talent, Pagenaud and Power will be joined by IndyCar regulars Ed Carpenter, Dan Wheldon, Graham Rahal, Milka Duno, Jay Howard and young stars Conor Daly and James Davison (the cousin of Brabham's V8 Supercar teammate Alex Davison)
"I'm really looking forward to racing with Will on Sunday," Pagenaud said.
"It seems my whole career I have been teammates with very fast Australians. It has been great to go back to karting as well and hopefully we can do well.
"We have done a lot of testing this week but these karting kids are very fast and we have a big job ahead of us."
Pagenaud still has one final sportscar race on his calendar this year, the final round of the Le Mans Intercontinental Cup in Zhuhai, China on November 7.
The Patrón Highcroft star will be reunited with the Peugeot factory squad with whom he drove at Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans this year.
While he was successful at Spa taking the victory with Sebastien Bourdais and Pedro Lamy, Pagenaud was not as fortunate at Le Mans, failing to get the chance to drive the car in the race after early problems.
He will be looking to make amends in China as he again teams up with former Champ Car ace and fellow Frenchman, Bourdais.
"I'm looking forward to going to China and hopefully also getting a chance to take a look around while I am there," Pagenaud said.
"This will be my first time in China and I am sure it will be a great experience.
"It will be a big opportunity for me to help Peugeot clinch the manufacturer's championship in the inaugural Le Mans Intercontinental Cup."
