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Le Mans / ALMS
LM24: Le Mans 1989, My Race, Brian Redman
Three of the glorious new Aston Martin-Lola LMP1 cars will start Le Mans this year but the prototype game started for the British marque twenty years ago.
The AMR1 was a stunning car to look at, but as Redman recounts, its straighline speed was anything but stunning. (UltimateCarPage.com)
Jan Charouz, Stefan Mucke and Tomas Enge raced a red-white-and-blue Aston Martin-engined LMP1 prototype in the 2008 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but it wasn’t the first time that Aston prototypes dressed in those colors would race on the renowned track.
That honor goes to the Ecurie Ecosse team in 1989. Fielding two V8-powered Aston Martin AMR1 prototypes built to Group C regulations, the famed English marque’s return to Le Mans with proper cars and engines was a great departure from the odd-looking EMKA-Aston Martins that raced earlier in the decade.
Dressed in smart colors and with flowing bodylines, the AMR1 chassis looked the part of a serious contender and the storied Ecurie Ecosse team put together a veteran staff of crew and drivers for their assault on Le Mans.
“Well, that was a great effort really,” said sportscar legend Brian Redman, driver of the #18 AMR1 alongside Irishman Michael Roe and Greek sportscar stalwart Costas Los. “It was really (Greek shipping magnate) Peter Livanos and (then Aston Martin Chairman) Victor Gauntlett behind the program, it was their effort and not so much Aston Martin. Aston Martin had been sold to Ford by then. It was led by Richard Williams and Ray Mallock; Ray Mallock was the engineer, Richard Williams the team manager and did a really good job.”
If the AMR1 looked fast while stationary, it struggled to maintain its image once it set foot on the track. “It was slow, what can you say? It was a good, strong car but it was just slow,” Redman recalled. “We were desperate really. I’d drive through the Porsche Curves and a Porsche would pass you or a Jaguar would pass you and you could stay with them upon entry to the Mulsanne Straight, right behind them and not lose one inch. And as soon as you got on the Mulsanne, they disappeared. By the time you were half down the Mulsanne Straight you couldn't see them they were so far ahead. We were doing 218 miles an hour and they were doing 240 miles an hour.”
While the team wasn’t in the running for the win, or even a top-10 finish, Redman remembers the 1989 fondly due to the warm atmosphere within the team. The Aston Martin fans trackside also made the year memorable. “Still, it was enjoyable and then in fact at the end, Peter Livanos said, ‘Brian, would you like to do the last stint?’ It didn’t really matter because we weren't going to do anything, we were in 11th place. If we gained any places, it would be because of attrition. But anyway, I go round and it was a bit boring really when you’re going round and round and at the Arnage corner the car would slide very easily. It was second gear at about 80 miles an hour or so, I slid it for a few laps and then I didn't let it slide for some reason.
“And suddenly an English group on the right-hand side of the track, about 10 guys there had a handwritten sign: “Give us some ‘Oppo’(site lock). Well, I gave it so much ‘Oppo’ I spun it! Then the next lap another sign came up: ‘Now, fastest lap.’ And the third and last sign: ‘Crumpets and tea with the queen?’ So it was actually the most amusing Le Mans I had I think.”
The Aston Martin made comparable power to the other atmospheric engines, and as Redman points out, the car’s straighline limitations was rooted in its inability to cut through the air cleanly. “It was aerodynamic. And in many ways, the whole program had been sold to people like Livanos and Gauntlett by Max Boxstrom the designer. In 1988 when it was agreed that I join the team, Peter (Livanos) said we had this secret aerodynamic package which was going to revolutionize everything. Well, it wasn't really the case.”
The Aston Martin AMR1 program only last the one year, and with time, Redman believes the car had vast potential. “It was a good effort. I think that if we been able to carry on in 1990 Ray Mallock had a new body designed which I believe had half the drag with the same downforce. But of course, we know they ran out of money again; the usual racing story. So it was a pity but yes; there was nothing spared in any way to try and make it the best it could be.
One improvement to the AMR1 caught Redman’s attention immediately. “We got inkling really, it's been tested in Silverstone and Donnington and no doubt Ray Mallock drove it because he's an extremely good driver as well. I didn't drive until I got to the first race which was Dijon in France. Well, like all British tracks, Donnington and Silverstone are extremely smooth; they’re almost like billiard tables. Well, Dijon is not, it's bumpy and boy, I tell you, when that car went round turn one at Dijon and hit a bump it nearly took off!
“It had been designed on Formula One principles with zero droop in the rear suspension. And so when you hit a bump it just bounced skywards. By Brands Hatch, was about July, Ray Mallock had been working away at making the car better and managed to engineer in about half an inch of droop and it a made a huge difference to the car. But, of course, that wouldn't affect the aerodynamics in any way, but it kept the car going forward rather than up!”
Radio Le Mans host john Hindhaugh would make his first trip to Le Mans in 1989 and immediately fell in love with the Aston Martins. As Redman intimated, Mallock had the AMR1 headed in the right direction – something Hindhaugh would later learn when he went to work for Ray Mallock Limited.
“What people forget is that this was the first of what was due to be a series of these cars and as such, [the AMR1] was meant to evaluate some very clever concepts. When I spoke to Ray Mallock many years later he said the AMR2 and AMR3 would have been even more radical and would have certainly have taken the Aston Martin name right back to the top of Sportscar Racing. I miss their looks and the amazing sound of that Callaway V8…”
Looking to this year’s brace of Gulf Oil-sponsored Aston Martin-Lola LMP1s, Redman, no stranger to the famous blue and orange colors after many years driving Gulf Porsches, takes pride in seeing the continuance of the Aston Martin name in the prototype ranks at Le Mans.
“Yes, absolutely. Of course, I was a great friend and admirer of Eric Broadley, the originator of Lola and to see the company being carried on like this is extremely good and I'm sure Eric is very happy to see it as well. My time with Aston Martin twenty years on, well, was a great fun year for me. I was getting on a bit age-wise and knew I didn't have very long left at the top of the game, and it was an honor to be a part of that program with a great group of people.”
View the Brian Redman and Aston Martin prototype gallery.
Read more about the Aston Martin AMR1.
View the Aston Martin AMR1 Photo Gallery at UltimateCarPage.com
Marshall Pruett is Auto Racing Editor for SPEEDtv.com. Pruett grew up at "Pruett's Olde English Garage," his father's shelter for abused foreign cars, and spent his childhood being dragged across the West Coast to help with his dad's amateur racing exploits.
Pruett spent twenty years working in the IRL, CART, IMSA, and most of the known open-wheel feeder series before retiring from active duty in 2001. And in case you were wondering, no, he isn’t related to Scott Pruett.
Marshall lives in Northern California with his wife Shabral.
That honor goes to the Ecurie Ecosse team in 1989. Fielding two V8-powered Aston Martin AMR1 prototypes built to Group C regulations, the famed English marque’s return to Le Mans with proper cars and engines was a great departure from the odd-looking EMKA-Aston Martins that raced earlier in the decade.
Dressed in smart colors and with flowing bodylines, the AMR1 chassis looked the part of a serious contender and the storied Ecurie Ecosse team put together a veteran staff of crew and drivers for their assault on Le Mans.
“Well, that was a great effort really,” said sportscar legend Brian Redman, driver of the #18 AMR1 alongside Irishman Michael Roe and Greek sportscar stalwart Costas Los. “It was really (Greek shipping magnate) Peter Livanos and (then Aston Martin Chairman) Victor Gauntlett behind the program, it was their effort and not so much Aston Martin. Aston Martin had been sold to Ford by then. It was led by Richard Williams and Ray Mallock; Ray Mallock was the engineer, Richard Williams the team manager and did a really good job.”
If the AMR1 looked fast while stationary, it struggled to maintain its image once it set foot on the track. “It was slow, what can you say? It was a good, strong car but it was just slow,” Redman recalled. “We were desperate really. I’d drive through the Porsche Curves and a Porsche would pass you or a Jaguar would pass you and you could stay with them upon entry to the Mulsanne Straight, right behind them and not lose one inch. And as soon as you got on the Mulsanne, they disappeared. By the time you were half down the Mulsanne Straight you couldn't see them they were so far ahead. We were doing 218 miles an hour and they were doing 240 miles an hour.”
While the team wasn’t in the running for the win, or even a top-10 finish, Redman remembers the 1989 fondly due to the warm atmosphere within the team. The Aston Martin fans trackside also made the year memorable. “Still, it was enjoyable and then in fact at the end, Peter Livanos said, ‘Brian, would you like to do the last stint?’ It didn’t really matter because we weren't going to do anything, we were in 11th place. If we gained any places, it would be because of attrition. But anyway, I go round and it was a bit boring really when you’re going round and round and at the Arnage corner the car would slide very easily. It was second gear at about 80 miles an hour or so, I slid it for a few laps and then I didn't let it slide for some reason.
“And suddenly an English group on the right-hand side of the track, about 10 guys there had a handwritten sign: “Give us some ‘Oppo’(site lock). Well, I gave it so much ‘Oppo’ I spun it! Then the next lap another sign came up: ‘Now, fastest lap.’ And the third and last sign: ‘Crumpets and tea with the queen?’ So it was actually the most amusing Le Mans I had I think.”
The Aston Martin made comparable power to the other atmospheric engines, and as Redman points out, the car’s straighline limitations was rooted in its inability to cut through the air cleanly. “It was aerodynamic. And in many ways, the whole program had been sold to people like Livanos and Gauntlett by Max Boxstrom the designer. In 1988 when it was agreed that I join the team, Peter (Livanos) said we had this secret aerodynamic package which was going to revolutionize everything. Well, it wasn't really the case.”
The Aston Martin AMR1 program only last the one year, and with time, Redman believes the car had vast potential. “It was a good effort. I think that if we been able to carry on in 1990 Ray Mallock had a new body designed which I believe had half the drag with the same downforce. But of course, we know they ran out of money again; the usual racing story. So it was a pity but yes; there was nothing spared in any way to try and make it the best it could be.
One improvement to the AMR1 caught Redman’s attention immediately. “We got inkling really, it's been tested in Silverstone and Donnington and no doubt Ray Mallock drove it because he's an extremely good driver as well. I didn't drive until I got to the first race which was Dijon in France. Well, like all British tracks, Donnington and Silverstone are extremely smooth; they’re almost like billiard tables. Well, Dijon is not, it's bumpy and boy, I tell you, when that car went round turn one at Dijon and hit a bump it nearly took off!
“It had been designed on Formula One principles with zero droop in the rear suspension. And so when you hit a bump it just bounced skywards. By Brands Hatch, was about July, Ray Mallock had been working away at making the car better and managed to engineer in about half an inch of droop and it a made a huge difference to the car. But, of course, that wouldn't affect the aerodynamics in any way, but it kept the car going forward rather than up!”
Radio Le Mans host john Hindhaugh would make his first trip to Le Mans in 1989 and immediately fell in love with the Aston Martins. As Redman intimated, Mallock had the AMR1 headed in the right direction – something Hindhaugh would later learn when he went to work for Ray Mallock Limited.
“What people forget is that this was the first of what was due to be a series of these cars and as such, [the AMR1] was meant to evaluate some very clever concepts. When I spoke to Ray Mallock many years later he said the AMR2 and AMR3 would have been even more radical and would have certainly have taken the Aston Martin name right back to the top of Sportscar Racing. I miss their looks and the amazing sound of that Callaway V8…”
Looking to this year’s brace of Gulf Oil-sponsored Aston Martin-Lola LMP1s, Redman, no stranger to the famous blue and orange colors after many years driving Gulf Porsches, takes pride in seeing the continuance of the Aston Martin name in the prototype ranks at Le Mans.
“Yes, absolutely. Of course, I was a great friend and admirer of Eric Broadley, the originator of Lola and to see the company being carried on like this is extremely good and I'm sure Eric is very happy to see it as well. My time with Aston Martin twenty years on, well, was a great fun year for me. I was getting on a bit age-wise and knew I didn't have very long left at the top of the game, and it was an honor to be a part of that program with a great group of people.”
View the Brian Redman and Aston Martin prototype gallery.
Read more about the Aston Martin AMR1.
View the Aston Martin AMR1 Photo Gallery at UltimateCarPage.com
Marshall Pruett is Auto Racing Editor for SPEEDtv.com. Pruett grew up at "Pruett's Olde English Garage," his father's shelter for abused foreign cars, and spent his childhood being dragged across the West Coast to help with his dad's amateur racing exploits.
Pruett spent twenty years working in the IRL, CART, IMSA, and most of the known open-wheel feeder series before retiring from active duty in 2001. And in case you were wondering, no, he isn’t related to Scott Pruett.
Marshall lives in Northern California with his wife Shabral.
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