Alex, thanks for taking the time out of what is going to be a very busy schedule this year for you. You were quite literally racing all over the place when it came to sportscars last season, becoming a seasoned professional and showing what you’re capable of, when you put the hammer down.
Let’s first of all talk about your experience at Daytona at the Rolex 24 Hours last year. You raced in the LMP2 car with Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr, when you joined the Muscle Milk Pickett Racing outfit for the first race of the Tudor United Sportscar Championship. Jann Mardenborough then also ended up joining the team for the famed 12 Hours of Sebring for the next round.
How was your first experience of the American racing scene, which is a lot more open that what you find in different paddocks across the globe in different categories?
It was a lot of fun to be there. Klaus and Lucas are very experienced when it comes to racing over in the States, as well as having been a part of the Muscle Milk program for a very long time. So I gained a lot by working with them and it was my first REAL taste of American prototype racing, which is very different from the way that we do things over in Europe.
The traffic is the first thing that hits you, as well as the sheer amount of it, and sometimes it is a lot more unpredictable than it is in the World Endurance Championship. It is a tough race and it really catches your attention, as there is constant G.
It’s never straight, so there is always the feeling of g-force. Your body kind of gets used to it, so you end up relaxing in the car, otherwise you end up tiring yourself out over 24 hours.
Yes, it was a fantastic experience and the American public was just great. They were very well accustomed to the name Muscle Milk and they were very friendly to us and welcoming to me.
I really enjoyed it, and it showed just how passionate that they are about their racing and I think that performance-wise, things went up a gear for me in the way that our car was balanced, when it came to fighting for wins at the end of the year.
Above: whilst not a graduate of the NISMO academy, Brundle has long had an associated with NISSAN-powered machinery.
Below: Teaming up with recent Nissan LMP1 driver Olivier Pla