The Formula 1 veteran, Le Mans winner and world sportscar champion helps Autosport pick out the best drives of his career
KEVIN TURNER
1991 NURBURGRING 430KMJAGUAR XJR-14STARTED 2ND | RESULT 1ST
10 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.”
1986 SILVERSTONE 1000KMJAGUAR XJR-6 STARTED 3RD | RESULT 1ST
9 As a former president of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, Warwick has a special affinity with Silverstone and played his part in one of the circuit’s milestone moments. Outqualified by a turbo Lancia and a turbo Porsche, Warwick’s normally aspirated V12 Jaguar looked strong in race
