Eric Brandon was a childhood friend of Cooper founder John Cooper . Not surprisingly, Brandon drove his first races with the small and few 500 cc Formula 3 cooperators. In 1951, Brandon was one of the best drivers in this class in Great Britain. In 1951 he was the first to win the British Formula 3 Championship .
When Alan Brown began to build his Ecurie Richmond in 1952 to take part in the 1952 World Cup, he brought Brandon into his team. The world championship was driven according to the Formula 2 regulations and Ecurie Richmond used Cooper racing cars with Bristol engines. Brandon made his debut in the World Championship in 1952 at the Swiss Grand Prix . Eighth place in this race remained the best place he achieved in the world championship in five starts. In 1953 he finished fourth in the Gran Premio di Siracusa , then switched to sports cars and competed in national races until the end of the 1950s.