1991 NURBURGRING 430km

JAGUAR XJR-14 STARTED 2nd | RESULT 1st

Emotions were running high for round five of the 1991 world sportscar championship at the Nurburgring. Warwick had contemplated retirement following the death of younger brother Paul in a British Formula 3000 crash at Oulton Park just a month before. Then he was given a rude chop by Michael Schumacher’s Mercedes during qualifying, taking his Jaguar’s left-front wheel off. A furious Warwick reacted by famously chasing the German through the garages. And the TWR Jaguar team was under pressure, its XJR-14 having been caught thanks to significant developments from Peugeot and the Silver Arrows.

After Warwick qualified second to team-mate Teo Fabi, debutant David Brabham started the car. He fell to third at the start as Keke Rosberg’s Peugeot came by. While Fabi led, there was a Peugeot-jaguar-mercedes battle for second before Rosberg spun thanks to an engine issue. That handed second to Brabham, who almost immediately took the lead when Fabi had a spin in traffic.

Just before his pitstop, Brabham got baulked by a backmarker and Mauro Baldi’s Peugeot moved to the front. Warwick was catching the leading Peugeot, now driven by Philippe Alliot, when the 905 hit engine trouble.

During a safety car period thanks to the V10’s spectacular blow-up, Warwick was erroneously held at the end of the pitlane, handing the lead to Brabham, now in the XJR-14 started by Fabi. Warwick put on a charge and passed Brabham. He reeled off the remaining laps to take a highly charged victory. “We needed this,” said father Derry.

“We raced hard all day and deserved the result, against a few problems,” says Derek. “David was immense. He took as much pressure off me as he could in the media, knowing I was struggling with all the emotions of Paul’s death and having family there.”