SPECIAL FEATURE: MOTORSPORT
C L A S S O F ’ 8 9
The Classic Revival car is
962-003BM, the third car built by
Brun, which first appeared at
Suzuka in April 1989 for the opening
round of the World Sportscar
Championship. It featured
the Hydro Aluminium livery and
had a short-tail body developed by
Bombien specifically for the
Brun team. Its design included a
double-element rear wing separate
from the engine cover, and
distinctive cut-outs in the lower part
of the sidepods behind the front
wheels.
Chassis 003BM was central to
Brun’s 1989 world championship
campaign. Its best results were
a fifth place at Donington and
second overall at the final round in
Mexico, for both of these
Harold Huysman was partnered by
Oscar Larrauri. The car’s result in
Mexico proved to be the
last time a 962 finished in second
place in a World Sportscar
Championship round.
After making just one appearance
in the 1990 World Sportscar
Championship – at Monza in
red, white and green Torno colours
and driven by Massimo Sigala and
Eje Elgh – 003BM returned to Le
Mans for a second time. Back in
Hydro Aluminium livery and driven by
Huysman, Sigala and Bernard Santal
it was fitted with the latest up-rated
full works spec 3.2-litre Andial
built engine. It started mid-grid after
issues in qualifying, but climbed up
the order and finally crossed the
finish line in 10th place.
G A M E O V E R
After Le Mans the car was used
to test the installation of the
Neotech V12 engine that Brun was
developing for 1991, in readiness for
the introduction of the 3.5-litre normally
aspirated Group C regulations.
The 003BM car was then sold by
Brun at the end of 1990 to German
privateer Willy Koenig, along with
the sister 006BM chassis. But after
doing just three Interserie races
in 1991 the car was retired from
competition. It spent most of the
1990s in a private collection in the
UK and itthen became part of the
world-famous Historic Porsche
Collection of Group C cars in 2001.
The car was then bought by a
private collector in early 2016 and
it has now made its way to New
Zealand, where it has returned to the
track for the first time since 1991.
“ B R U N R E A L I S E D I T W O U L D N E E D S O M E T H I N G S P E C I A L
T O C O M P E T E W I T H T H E FA C T O R Y T E A M S F R O M N I S S A N ,
T O Y O TA , J A G U A R A N D S A U B E R M E R C E D E S ”
30 June 2018