One of the 1980s legendary drivers, David Brodie, died on Tuesday.
Viewed in the pantheon of British motor racing history David Brodie, was an international saloon car racing folk hero, perhaps best known for carrying the iconic script ‘Run-Baby-Run’ on the front of his Ford Escort 2.1 litre Mk1.
He successfully competed in the British Touring Car Championship for four decades and his best season in the UK’s premier saloon car racing series was in 1985 when he finished fourth overall, but this result is merely the tip of the Brodie racing iceberg, with many more stellar performances hidden beneath.
Popularly known as ‘Brode’, he was born at Amersham in Buckingham and first started motor racing in the early 60’s, winning on his début at Silverstone in a standard 1100 cc Austin A30 road car which he built himself.
Since then, he competed in over 700 races in saloons, sports cars, as well as Formula three and, sensationally (above), led the 1994 Le Mans 24 hours race as a rookie!
He’s credited as being the seventh most successful driver in Brands Hatch history but has also held lap records at every UK circuit he raced at, with the saloon car record he set at Thruxton in 1989 (below) remaining unbroken until 1995 and his saloon car lap record at Crystal Palace remaining etched in motor racing history for ever!
Having raced at virtually all the major European circuits, Brode also competed in several 500km and 24-hour races, including finishes in gruelling 6-Hour races at the Nurburgring and Hockenheimring in Chris Barber’s unloved Lotus 62 sportscar single-handed.
Then there was Le Mans 1994, when he shared a privately entered Harrier LR9C LMP2 car with William Hewland and Kiwi, Rob Wilson, qualifying fastest and leading the class until the car was retired in the early hours of Sunday morning with terminal suspension problems.
Fuel consumption statistics from this race showed that during average 1-hour driving stint, Brode used 13 litres of fuel less than one team driver and 8 litres less than the other, whilst still setting fastest laps!
In partial retirement, Brode raced his 2.8 litre V6 VW Vento saloon, often leading his beloved Harrow Car Club team in the 750-motor club’s annual Birkett 6-Hour Relay race at Silverstone as a driver, but he also frequently donned overalls and helmet to test numerous racing cars and remained intensely competitive.
Brode was a former main board Director of the British Racing Drivers Club and founder the club’s celebrated Rising Stars scheme for promising British and commonwealth drivers.
Along with Sir Jackie Stewart, he was a director of the Springfield Boys Club, a post he held for 27 years. Famously, he was a close friend and best-man to the late, great F1 legend Ronnie Peterson and founding director of Williams Grand Prix Engineering after he formed a close friendship with Sir Frank (above), spending time at the infamous motor racing flat in Pinner, hanging out with Piers Courage, Jonathan Williams and Charlie Crichton-Stuart!
David Brodie’s autobiography: ‘The Last Train to Cockfosters’, captures all this fascinating motor racing history and a great deal in several compelling volumes which can be sampled on the internet and ordered from his website – but prepare the Kleenex for a sometimes sad, sometimes hilarious read!
Brode lived with wife Peggy and their family in the idyllic Oxfordshire river-side village of Whitchurch-on-Thames where Peggy runs the Modern Artist Gallery. Never one to shrink from the truth, Brode always provided his characteristically honest, down to earth and no-holds-barred opinions! RIP Brode!
David Brodie 1943 – 2024
© Images courtesy of the David Brodie Archive
