While still pursuing his goal of driving in next year’s 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, Matthew Brabham has found a way to keep himself busy in the meantime.
The grandson of three-time Formula 1 champion Sir Jack Brabham, and the son of IndyCar and sports car great Geoff Brabham, the younger Brabham is taking – shall we say – a different kind of road this weekend.
He’ll compete at Surfers Paradise in his native Australia, racing in veteran American race car driver Robby Gordon’s Stadium SuperTruck Series.
It’s the same racetrack that Gordon finished third behind Nigel Mansell and Emerson Fittipaldi in the CART race there in 1993.
“The track has changed a little bit since my IndyCar days (having been shortened from 4.5 kilometers for Indy cars to 2.96 kilometers to better accommodate V8 Supercars),” Gordon told Speedcafe.com.
As for Brabham, he’ll drive the No. 83 in the 11-truc field with primary sponsorship from legendary rock band Def Leppard.
This will be Brabham’s second start in a Truck for Gordon, having done so earlier this year at Toronto.
“He raced in Toronto and did a good job there without any preparation beforehand,” Gordon said.
That’s almost the same situation Brabham faces this weekend, having arrived back in his native land on Thursday after being overseas in the U.S.
While looking for a full-time ride, Brabham has kept himself busy in 2015, competing in a number of events across a variety of race series including Indy Lights, Formula E, Stadium Super Trucks, a NASCAR late model event and two IndyCar tests for Andretti Autosport.
“I guess I’m at that point in my career where I’ve got to accept anything I can get. There’s a lot of late call-ups,” Brabham told Speedcafe.com. “Coming back to the Gold Coast to see all my friends and my family and race at the same time is just awesome.
“I’m just going to have some fun in practice tomorrow and just get my bearings really.
“I’ve driven on this track in Formula Ford so I know where the track goes and I’ve been watching IndyCar races here my whole life.”
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