Two years ago, the now-Porsche LMP1 driver Brendon Hartley was facing his very first full-season of sportscar racing with Dublin outfit Murphy Prototypes in the ultra-competitive LMP2
category of the European Le Mans Series. Ahead of his second season in the WEC, we revisit this interview from 2013, in which the former Red Bull junior spoke openly about
his flirtations with Formula 1 and his goal to someday win the Le Mans 24 Hours.
For a relatively small nation of around 4.5 million people, New
Zealand has a rich motorsport heritage boasting the likes of 1964 Formula 1
champion Denny Hulme, Bruce McLaren, and double Indycar champion Scott Dixon,
with 23-year old Brendon Hartley at the forefront of a new generation of Kiwis
also comprising GP3 champion Mitch Evans and V8 Supercar stars Shane van
Gisberghen and Scott McLaughlin. A
protégé of Colin Giltrap, who helped forge Dixon’s immensely successful career in the United States, Hartley made a bright start to his career by winning first-time
out in the Toyota Racing Series, now well established for young drivers across
the globe looking for track-time during the winter.
From there he was picked up
by Red Bull, where the goal was pretty clear.
“Just go and win some races; that was pretty much it to be
honest,” says Hartley. “They told us what we were racing; there wasn’t a lot of
choice. I did Formula Renault for two years, Formula 3 in the UK and the
Euroseries, then the World Series. I mean they were all fantastic
championships, they knew what they were doing obviously and I stayed with them
for five years, got some good results. Really they just wanted you to win,
that’s what it came down to.
 |
| Pictured with Mark Webber at Red Bull. The two would later become team-mates in the World Endurance Championship (Getty). |
“I was very young when I joined so it was just a lot of
discovering as I went on. Coming from New Zealand at that time, there were no
drivers in Europe from home. You would sometimes read the odd Autosport
magazine and to what’s going on, but we’re kind of in our own world down there.
We followed America quite closely because Scott Dixon was doing well there, but
for me it was a bit of a new adventure. I moved to Germany at sixteen years old
and it was tough not seeing my family for eight to nine months. I knew it
wasn’t going to be easy, and that’s still the case. It’s just one of those
things I’m used to. It was very tough in the beginning and I learned a lot from
it. I’m definitely a stronger person because of it.
“In some ways, people saw what I did and now there’s a lot
more drivers in Europe. In some respects I kind of paved the way; people saw
what I was up to and learned about the championships and what’s available over
here. In the early stages it was just
me, and I was working it out as I went along.”
After winning the Formula Renault Eurocup and placing a
strong fourth on his F3 debut in the Masters, beating Romain Grosjean among
others, for 2008 Hartley was placed with crack British F3 outfit Carlin
Motorsport, alongside rival Red Bull junior Jaime Alguersuari and Racing Steps
pioneer Oliver Turvey, now a factory McLaren GT driver and occasional F1
tester. But despite winning as many times as the eventual champion Alguersuari,
inconsistency blighted Hartley’s season and it was the Spaniard who was
promoted to F1 with Toro Rosso the following season.
“It was
disappointing, probably more because, without being cocky, I think I had the
edge for most of the year but just made a lot of mistakes,” Hartley admits. “If
anything, I gave the championship away, which was really frustrating. It’s not
that I expected to win, but that I had the chance and I threw it away.”
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| On the cusp of F1, testing for Toro Rosso in 2011 (LAT). |
In all, Hartley enjoyed five seasons of Red Bull backing
before he was dropped in 2010, but holds no hard feelings about missing out on
F1.
“To be honest it wasn’t going that well and I wasn’t
performing as I should have been,” Hartley says frankly. “During 2009 I was
meant to be doing the Euroseries with Carlin, then at the last minute they
decided that I was going to do some World Series as well having never tested
the car and at the same time I was the reserve driver for the Formula 1 team.
You can imagine my schedule with doing Formula 3, World Series and going to the
F1 races. To be honest I was a bit burned out and in some ways I stopped
enjoying it, which is obviously not how it should be. I like to think that I’m really
back on my game now, but unfortunately there was a small period where I wasn’t
right on it, and I’m not the only one that’s happened to.
“I was there for five
years, so I was probably one of the longest lasting Red Bull juniors. Without them I
wouldn’t have any of the opportunities I’ve got now, I never would have got the
funds to come and race in Europe so I am very thankful for that. It was a shame
to get dropped but at the same time that’s life. Besides, I wasn’t
the only one, there were maybe around fifty or so guys before me...”
After that, Hartley
flirted with the Gravity Driver management scheme that one stage had a majority
stake in the Lotus-Renault F1 team, and took drives in GP2 and World Series
where and when they became available, his 3.5 podium at Monaco in 2011 a clear
highlight. But with diminishing chances of making F1, one final crack at GP2 in
Bahrain last April for Tiago Monteiro's underfunded Ocean Racing Technology
proved highly disappointing. A promising run from last on the grid to 10th in
race 1 was followed by a suspension issue in race 2 which caused his retirement
while well placed to score points, before being buried in the frantic midfield
pack for races 3 and 4.
"I got drafted
in at the last moment. It’s one of those races where something small can happen
[to disrupt your weekend] and in the end we didn't get a result from it when
maybe we could have done."
 |
| Negotiating La Sarthe at sunset (Murphy Prototype). |
Without a full-time
ride on the horizon, Hartley made the bold decision to switch to sportscars, a category in the ascendancy with increasing manufacturer
involvement and arguably the best prospects for a driver to turn professional.
"I take a
realistic approach to it,” Hartley says. “Growing up racing go-karts I
always said I wanted to be a Formula One driver but I never really knew how that
was going to happen. As things turned out I actually got pretty close!
Originally I was looking at America and what the options were. I never had the
money to race, I had a very good sponsor and support team in New Zealand that
were trying to help me get there, and when the opportunity with Red Bull came
up it was a no-brainer to come over and give Europe a chance. I had never
really looked at sportscar racing; the goal was always single-seaters.
“I've really
enjoyed being in LMP2 and I'd like to make a career out of it. I'm still young
- I'm only 23 years old although I've been in Europe almost seven years - so I
have a lot of experience for my age.”
Many a driver has
struggled to make the transition a success, with the traffic, driver-changes
and graveyard shifts that are all part and parcel of sportscar racing, a step
largely into the unknown. But if anything, changing to sportscars provided the
impetus Hartley need to get back to his best, making a strong first impression
at the fearsome Spa- Francorchamps
and taking fastest lap at Donington.
 |
| In conversation with Le Mans legend Dindo Capello (Murphy Prototype). |
"I've kind of
had the perfect entry into sportscars with Murphys, it’s gone really well.
Straight away at Spa I think I did a good job, I did I think three or four
stints in the race, got some good lap-times and came through third. Le Mans was
going very well as well, we were setting quickest times during the night and it
was unfortunate to have the problem we had, then at Donington we were on the
podium again.
"It requires a
different style to drive. Ultimately it’s still a car with four wheels and an
engine and I was on the pace pretty much straight away, so that wasn't a
problem. It took me a little while to adapt to sharing a car. It’s not always
easy, because although they're your teammates and you want to help them out, it’s
a weird feeling. Normally your team-mate is your worst enemy, so it’s quite a
different approach. That has taken me a while to get used to, but I'm very
fortunate as everyone has been great to work with and it’s a really nice
atmosphere in the team. It’s important that you can have fun. As an entry into
sportscars it’s worked for me and I've enjoyed it, which was the main thing; if
you don't enjoy it then why are you here?”
Following the 24
Hours (“it was just incredible, a big rollercoaster ride, you're just emotionally
wrecked after the week, I hope I'll go back there many times"), Hartley
cut his teeth on Mount Panorama in the Bathurst 12 and almost won on his debut
in Grand-Am, setting him up nicely for a crack at the 2013 ELMS title with
Murphy Prototypes, now a fully independent team running out of Brackley near
Silverstone. With ex-F1 driver Karun Chandhok and experienced GT campaigner Mark
Patterson lined up to partner him for another assault at La Sarthe, Hartley
will certainly be a man to look out for in 2013, and not just because of his
eye-catching hairstyle…
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