Brun Motorsport
Brun Motorsport was a Swiss automotive racing team founded in 1983 by Walter Brun . As a Porsche private team, it took part permanently in sports car races in various international championships. The greatest success is the title in the sports car world championship in 1986. It later became an independent designer. Brun was also briefly part of the Formula 1 team EuroBrun Racing , which existed from 1988 to 1990. In 1992 the team was disbanded.
History as a racing team
The beginnings and first flights of fancy
After Walter Brun had competed for the GS-Tuning team and its partner Sauber Motorsport in the sports car world championship and in the German racing championship for a few years , he took over the ailing company GS-Tuning and named it Brun Motorsport for the 1983 season around. Brun initially took over the BMW M1 and a Sauber SHS C6 from GS-Tuning, the latter being modified and later known as the Sehcar C6 . The new team also kept Hans-Joachim Stuck and Harald Grohs as drivers, while Walter Brun was also behind the wheel.
After initial problems with the Sehcar, Brun was one of the first privateers to receive a Porsche 956 , which was used in both the sports car world championship and the German racing championship. With the new vehicle, Brun was immediately competitive and Walter Brun clinched the first victory for his team in an Interserie race at the Autodrom Most . This first success was followed by fourth place in the 1000-kilometer race at Spa-Francorchamps .
In 1984 the Sehcar project was discontinued. Instead, the team bought a second Porsche 956, which was mainly driven by Massimo Sigala and Oscar Larrauri . With Jägermeister and Warsteiner , the team also received new sponsors. Brun, who now contested his first full season in the sports car world championship and in the German racing championship with both Porsche 956s, was able to continuously improve his performance during the season. Fourth place at the season opener, the 1000-kilometer race in Monza, was followed by fourth and seventh place at the 24-hour race at Le Mans and third and fourth place at the 1000-kilometer race at Spa-Francorchamps. After all, Brun Motorsport scored its second race victory in the team's history in the 1000-kilometer race in Imola . Shortly thereafter, a victory in a run of the German racing championship on the Nürburgring was achieved, which was followed a little later by a victory in an interseries race on the same track. Brun secured his first championship at the end of the season when the team championship in the German Racing Championship could be won, while Stefan Bellof , who drove for both Brun and Joest Racing , won the driver's title.
Triumph and tragedy
For the 1985 season, Brun added a new Porsche 962C to his vehicle fleet of two Porsche 956s . The team began to dominate the combined Interseries and German racing championships this year and achieved five race victories. Hans-Joachim Stuck was runner-up behind Joests Jochen Mass . In the sports car world championship, however, the team remained without a win. Although Brun achieved a third place in Mugello and a second place at the Hockenheimring , it often had difficulties reaching the goal. Thus, only the sixth championship place succeeded in the team classification. At the 1000 kilometer race in Spa-Francorchamps, the team suffered a serious setback when Stefan Bellof had a fatal accident.
Based on the sporting successes in 1985, Walter Brun began to further expand his team for the 1986 season. Two more Porsche 962Cs were purchased, one of which was used exclusively in selected races in the North American IMSA GT Championship . There, Brun Motorsport achieved the best result in five races, a second place behind champion Al Holbert in Watkins Glen . Back in Europe, the team returned to the World Sports Car Championship. After Brun was not able to cross the finish line at the Le Mans 24-hour race last year, the team took second place this time. The first win of the season came in Jerez , followed by another in Spa-Francorchamps . Although only one of the victories counted for the championship and Brun Motorsport was only able to score points in four races, this was enough to beat the Jaguar and Porsche works teams and win the team standings in the World Sports Car Championship. Brun concluded the successful season with a win in the Interserie at the Österreichring .
1987 got off to a successful start when Brun Motorsport opened the season with a second place in the Daytona 24-hour race . Nevertheless, Brun lost his role as the dominant team in the sports car world championship to the aspiring Jaguar factory team. Brun also had difficulties in the Supercup , the successor series to the German Racing Championship. Thus, for the first time in its history, the team had to accept a winless season, although occasionally strong performances were achieved. However, consistent top positions in the World Sports Car Championship were not enough for Brun to defend his title. Nevertheless, Brun was able to assert himself as the best Porsche team in second place.
Failed Formula 1 project and decline
Due to his great success and in the hope of providing his driver Oscar Larrauri with a cockpit in Formula 1 , Brun joined forces with Euroracing to form EuroBrun in 1988 . Although Walter Brun secured the financing of the company, Euroracing largely made the decisions of the Formula 1 team. The team had no chance, however, and since Brun could now concentrate less on his sports car team, successes increasingly failed there too. Even with the support of the new sponsor Repsol , the team was only able to achieve a single victory in an interseries race. Brun slipped into fourth place in the sports car world championship behind Jaguar, Sauber-Mercedes and Joest.
When Walter Brun reduced his involvement in EuroBrun in 1989, he tried to restructure his sports car team. After the 24-hour race at Daytona, which the team finished in third place, Brun withdrew from the IMSA GT Championship and instead entered the All-Japan Sports Prototype Championship , in which the team made its debut race Reached third place. In the sports car world championship, Brun Motorsport only achieved two podium positions, but thanks to constant gain of points came third in the championship. Both Jaguar and the newcomers Nissan , Toyota and Aston Martin were beaten.
Since Walter Brun continued to spend a lot of money on EuroBrun and the German Supercup was dissolved, he downsized his team for the 1990 season. He also gave up his engagement in Japan and the team now concentrated almost exclusively on the World Sports Car Championship. Despite the high level of commitment, points remained a rarity, and fifth place in Spa-Francorchamps was the best result of the season. In the team ranking, Brun fell to seventh place.
After the 1990 season, the unsuccessful Formula 1 team EuroBrun was dissolved. At the same time, new regulations were introduced in the sports car world championship, according to which Brun's Porsche 962C would no longer be permitted from 1992. However, Porsche did not develop a successor to the Porsche 962C. Instead of buying a vehicle from another manufacturer, Brun decided to use the experience gained from Formula 1 to develop his own vehicle. The team now wanted to contest the sports car world championship with the so-called Brun C91 . In the 1991 season, Brun initially still used his two Porsche 962Cs. The team was able to improve compared to the previous year and - thanks to the new point system, according to which the first ten teams now received points - it was regularly ranked again. Halfway through the season, a Porsche 962C was replaced by the company's own design, the Brun C91. However, this vehicle was a disaster and only survived a few laps in all races. Brun Motorsport ended the season in ninth place in the team classification.
Brun initially assured that the Brun C91 would be better prepared for the 1992 season. But the financial strain after the unsuccessful Formula 1 project and the costs of developing the Brun C91 became too high. Since there have not been any good results in recent years, no more financially strong sponsors could be found. Brun Motorsport finally dissolved before the start of the 1992 season. Walter Brun continued to race for a few years and supported RWS Motorsport and Konrad Motorsport .
History as a designer
Walter Brun developed vehicles throughout Brun Motorsport, although only one had his name. When his team was founded, the Sauber SHS C6, which the previous GS-Tuning team had used, was retained. Brun believed the vehicle had potential in the C2 class and modified the chassis to convert it to a Cosworth V8 engine. Problems with the car, however, prompted Brun to replace the power unit with a turbocharged BMW engine that had previously been used by Sauber . Nevertheless, the vehicle turned out to be hardly competitive, so Brun bought a Porsche 956 instead .
Later, after many years of experience and success with the Porsche 956 and later with the Porsche 962C , Brun was urged to catch up with the Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz works teams. In order to improve the Porsche 962C, Brun began development work on his own chassis in 1987. In order to repair the weak points of the Porsche 962C, these vehicles received a new monocoque from Brun, onto which parts of the Porsche 962C were mounted. A total of eight of these vehicles were built, few of which were sold to other teams and the rest of Brun's fleet was added to the Porsche 962C.
Brun's biggest project was the development of the Brun C91 in 1991 in preparation for the regulations changes for the 1992 season. The vehicle had a new design with some elements of the Peugeot 905 , Mercedes-Benz C291 and Jaguar XJR-14 like a large double rear wing and a low body, which was dominated by a large cockpit. Because of the new regulations, which forbade turbocharged six-cylinder boxer engines from Porsche, Brun had to fall back on an ordinary naturally aspirated engine. Brun turned to Judd , the same engine manufacturer who supplied Brun during the Formula 1 project, from which the team has now received the new Judd EV V8 engine. However, the vehicle has had major mechanical problems continuously since its debut in the middle of the 1991 season. Brun was never able to come to terms with the vehicle until insufficient funding forced him to liquidate.
