1983 BRANDS HATCH 1000km
PORSCHE 956 STARTED 4th | RESULT 1st 2
“Warwick beats the works” said our cover following an event his co-driver later called the race of his life.
Warwick was a rising star in the second half of 1983. He was impressing with Toleman in F1 and had shone on his Porsche 956 debut at the Spa 1000Km, qualifying and running third behind only the factory cars. At Brands Hatch just two weeks later, he would do even better…
Warwick joined John Fitzpatrick for the European championship round and the duo lined up fourth, behind the two works 956s and the Joest-run machine of Bob Wollek/stefan Johansson. But rain swung the advantage away from the Dunlop runners and towards the Goodyear-shod Fitzpatrick car, which also had a special carbon-fibre nose and engine cooling fan to allow the underbody air vents to be closed, costing power but boosting downforce.
Warwick swiftly dealt with Wollek, Derek Bell and Jacky Ickx in the opening three laps before disappearing into the distance. After six laps he was 10s clear of Ickx, who then had a spin as he tried to keep the privateer in sight.
“Warwick’s driving was a joy,” reported Autosport’s Quentin Spurring. “Scything past the backmarkers whether they had seen him or not, he totally committed himself to the job of making hay while the rain fell.”
“The Rothmans Porsches were quicker in practice, but in the wet we had the better tyre and more downforce,” recalls Warwick, who lost some of his lead due to a safety car period. “It was magic. I lapped almost everyone except Ickx, an established rainmaster.”
And when Warwick came in for the car’s first scheduled stop, Fitzpatrick wasn’t keen to jump aboard: “At the first pitstop I was bursting for a pee, but Fitz said, ‘There’s no way I’m getting in the car, you do another stint and pee in the car if you have to.’”
Warwick lapped second-placed Stefan Bellof, another rising star, during that stint before the track started to dry and slicks were fitted when Fitzpatrick climbed in. Now the advantage swung towards the works Porsches, Fitzpatrick not helped by being forced to spin to avoid an errant backmarker.
Warwick took over once more and, despite the pace of the works 956s, the gap was still over a lap as the six-hour race approached two-thirds distance. Better fuel consumption also helped, and Fitzpatrick continued to lead during his second stint, though Bell (sharing with Bellof) and Ickx (co-driving with Jochen Mass) finally managed to get their 956s back onto the lead lap.
The Fitzpatrick car gained time at the final stops, during which Warwick once again climbed in. At one point he was forced off the road by a backmarker and the engine started to overheat, but Warwick held on to take a famous victory by 46s from a charging Bellof.
“As I left, Fitz was so excited and gave me a brown envelope with half the prize money,” adds Warwick. “It wasn’t part of the deal, I just wanted to drive the car, I loved sportscar racing mainly because I was normally in one of the best cars, unlike F1. Giving me that money really meant a lot and showed the sort of person Fitz was. That race put me on the map to do other sportscar races.”