ALEX BRUNDLE READIES FOR MUSTANG SALLY AT THE CLASSIC
Last year Alex Brundle teamed up with his dad, Martin, to share a stunning Jaguar E-type racing at The Classic.
Now this year, with his father back at his day job commentating for Sky F1 at the Belgian Grand Prix, Alex has hatched another great plan to compete at the world’s biggest historic motor racing festival – he’s spent the past months restoring an iconic 1965 Ford Mustang to contest the Adrian Flux Trophy For Transatlantic Pre ’66 Touring Cars, Sunday afternoon’s grand finale to three days of unrivalled retro track action.
Having earned his spurs racing in Formula 3 and Formula 2, Alex is currently racing high-tech prototypes in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Like so many other of today’s racers, though, he has also caught the retro racing bug, loving both the history and exhilarating challenge of experiencing cars with far more power than grip.
“The Mustang is an absolute beast to drive on the limit,” he grinned. “It has a live rear axle, cross-ply tyres and approaching 400 horsepower. It will spin its wheels in third gear! What’s more, you can go sideways and still be fast – that’s what’s really awesome about it.”
Brundle admits to having a pretty open mind when first setting out to build his own historic racing car but says he was swayed towards a Mustang project by the big smiles he got from those he respected in the paddocks when mooting the American muscle car as a possible option.
“That set me off in the Ford’s direction and then I was alerted to a gorgeous Candy Blue bodyshell with no rust that was available for sale,” explained Alex. “The timing was perfect, too, giving us just enough time to complete its restoration for The Classic at Silverstone, one of the peaks of the classic racing year.”
While Brundle enlisted the help of renowned Jaguar preparation guru and racer Gary Pearson to help him prepare the Mustang for the track, the painstaking build wasn’t without its challenges. “I actually slipped and headbutted the front suspension of the Mustang once, during the build!” confessed Alex.
On the positive side, once all the components were finally put together, he has thoroughly enjoyed the process of taming the monster for the track battles ahead.
“Though the Mustang is, on paper, quite a simple car, it’s really tricky to get the absolute most out of it,” admitted the 32-year-old after several days spent circuit testing.
“Unlike when you race a modern prototype, you really feel like you can make a difference. We can move things around, change the setup, and the feedback you give can revolutionise how the car behaves in a way that’s impossible in a high downforce car. So the development process has been a great pleasure.”
With the Mustang now fine-tuned for action, Alex is relishing the prospect of debuting his new creation at The Classic – an event he loves.
“We seem to have sorted most things out and I’m confident of a good result,” he predicted. “Silverstone is the heart of British motorsport so to have a major classic event there is absolutely unmissable. Racing these fabulous old cars on the full Grand Prix circuit is a fantastic experience which speaks for itself.”
As well as debuting the Mustang, Brundle will also be racing a legendary V6 powered Cologne Capri and an equally iconic Lola T70 Mk3b at The Classic. On top of that he will be piloting a famous Jaguar V12 XJR-8 sportscar that his father raced in period in a special parade to mark the 40th anniversary of Group C.
Keeping him busy over the three-day festival, Alex will also be hosting Flux Presents interviews on the Adrian Flux stand at Silverstone where those being interviewed include multiple World Superbike champion Carl Fogarty and Alex Riley, co-presenter of The Car Years on ITV.
In the meantime, the full Mustang story can be followed on in a series on the Adrian Flux website: https://www.adrianflux.co.uk/motorsport/rebuilding-1965-ford-mustang.
Full details of tickets for The Classic 2022 at Silverstone – which must be purchased in advance – can be found at: www.silverstone.co.uk/events/the-classic.
