Brabham: Never had to push so hard.....

David Brabham has admitted that he has never had to work so hard for success, particularly in a race already as arduous and competitive as the GT1 class at the Le Mans 24 Hours.

The Australian partnered long-time co-driver Darren Turner and Aston Martin Racing newcomer Antonio Garcia to victory in the production-based category - the second straight for AMR's #009 car as well as Brabham and Turner - but only after fending off concerted pressure from the best of the US-based Corvette Racing entries.

While the 'yellow peril' had claimed a rare class pole and held sway in the opening few hours, the Gulf-sponsored #009 DBR9 moved to the front of the field in the third hour and remained there for the majority of the race. Despite the #63 Corvette rarely being more than a few minutes adrift, Brabham, Turner and Garcia survived the Sunday morning rainstorms to claim GT1 victory by less than a lap

"I've competed at Le Mans 15 times, but this is the closest race I've ever experienced," the Australian admitted, "That's exactly how I thought it would be from the start of the year and, of course, it makes our second win here even more satisfying."

While the #007 sister car lost 15 minutes in the pits after suffering an alternator problem in the early hours of Sunday morning, Brabham's #009 remained reliable to the flag - but that didn't mean that the crew could relax, with the Johnny O'Connell, Jan Magnussen and Ron Fellows Corvette poised to pounce on the slightest trouble, and a further shower of rain adding spice to the mix in the final hour.

"The finish was particularly tense," Brabham admitted, "We really didn't know how it was going to work out up until the very last lap. I've never driven a race where I've had to push so hard from the very start to the very end, but I think it's been a great show for everyone."