It’s a bit of a family affair. On 17 June 1990, Martin Brundle won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with his Jaguar teammates Price Cobb and John Nielsen. His son Alex was born a month and a half later, on 7 August. At an interview given in 2012, when father and son raced the 24 Hours for Greaves Motorsport in the LMP2 class, Martin’s wife and Alex’s mum Elizabeth remembered “I came to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1990, six weeks before Alex was born, and had to get special permission from my doctor to be at the race. Alex started coming when his dad raced here at the end of the nineties and early 2000s. We brought a small bed with us and he slept in that.”

Alex, now 30, tells us the rest. “My first memories are mainly of the Toyota GT one project and it was the first Le Mans I attended. We were there as a family to support my Father and I really enjoyed the atmosphere. I struggled to understand the concept of the race honestly as a very young man but I remember thinking the car looked much better than an F1 car at the time, in terms of aesthetics. I remember the feeling of tension though and the expectation of victory for a large manufacturer like that. I was just about to start my own career in karting at that age with sights on Formula 1. So it’s really only now that I make sense of my first experiences there.”

How did you and Martin get on working together the first time you took part in the 24 Hours in 2012?

“Pretty well actually. It was my first Le Mans so very much a learning curve for me that year. I think that factor is what made it work best as it was clear that I was there to build experience. I don’t know if it would go as well now actually! I feel that we would tussle more over the engineering direction and race strategy. My Father remembers and drives a very different ‘Le Mans’ to me. I remember him commenting that year how ’sharp’ the car felt. Nowadays the LMP2 machinery is even sharper and more aggressively prepared. I think Le Mans these days would be a bit culture shock for him. But it was certainly a magic experience to share the car with him.”

What do you think of the various LMP2 prototypes that you’ve driven over the course of your career (Zytek, Morgan, Ligier, Oreca)?

“They are all great cars, The Zytek had too much downforce for Le Mans really but was also amazing in the final sector. The Morgan came alive in low downforce trim and had a much better aerodynamic balance, it was open top and quite a raw experience. The first Ligier JS P2 was a special experience for me as I had put around 25 days, on track into its development. It was the first of the sequence of ever increasingly efficient closed top cars which defined the direction of LMP2. The Oreca 07 is an LMP1 car really! You don’t have to go too far back to meet a time where a car such as this, would be able to take overall victory at Le Mans. It ’shrinks’ the track in comparison to the older cars because the terminal speed and arrival speed is so much higher. It’s hard to compare them but all great cars.”

The Zytek in 2012 and the Morgan in 2013 were a generation of open cockpit prototypes, whereas since 2014, the Ligier and the Oreca have had closed cockpits. Which do you find more comfortable?

“The closed cars feel safer that’s for sure. Regarding issues with the windscreen such as rain and fogging; I have never had anything like that with the most modern LMP2 cars, and you feel you can push to the absolute limit with the monocoque surrounding you. You need to get the cabin lighting absolutely right or it can get quite confusing in there with the dash lights reflecting off the back of the screen. It can also be tougher to tell if it’s slightly raining in a closed car. Certainly the little dump of rain at the start of 2014 (Ligier) was much tougher to handle than the rain overnight in 2013 (Morgan) Honestly in terms of safety and being able to push hard it’s really no contest, the closed cars are better.”

To what extent does having a longstanding relationship with the team, like you do with United Autosports (in the LMP3 category in 2016 and the LMP2 category since 2019) make for a more fulfilling experience as a racing driver?

“I think it helps a lot to build a relationship with a team. I have found throughout motorsport that however many times you have competed with good results, teams only really consider the performances you give in their own car because they know the parameters and I guess it’s closer to home! That means you really start again every time you move teams so it’s nice not to have to start building again in 2020! We are building a nice group of results together. I am continuing to learn a lot from the team. I enjoy the atmosphere of United Autosports and their expectation of good performance is infectious. Let's hope we can continue to secure good results and refine what we do together.”

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 17 SEPTEMBER 2020, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS FREE PRACTICE. Four years after coming second in the LMP2 class in a Morgan-Nissan with French team OAK Racing, Alex Brundle achieved a similar result in 2017 in an Oreca 07 fielded by Jackie Chan DC Racing, finishing in third place overall. Will 2020 be the year he takes the top spot? Tune in at 2.30 pm on Sunday 20 September to find out!