Brian Redman

In the concluding instalment of our two-part interview, Brian Redman looks back on some key moments of his glittering career, including his Stateside success and Targa Florio triumph

Total 911: How did racing start for you?

Brian Redman: It started because my maternal grandfather passed away and he had this mop making business. Only two men worked in it, but we made mops for [chemical company] ICI Nobel in Birmingham. The mops were for its explosives division. The normal steel clip and plate on a mop would have caused sparks, so we made special versions for ICI with brass fittings.

My grandad was a real character and a great car enthusiast. He had an MG MGA and a Triumph TR2. When I was 17, I passed my driving test but had never been above 40mph in my life. We were going to go to the Yorkshire east coast because he was a big shooting man.

We were in this TR2 on a narrow country road, going across east Yorkshire, and my grandad said, “Send it on, lad.” So we start increasing the speed… when it got to 90mph I started getting nervous. However, he started puffing – something he did when he got excited. We hit 100mph and he was so excited, and he said, “That’s it! First time I’ve ever done a hundred on this road!”

When he passed, I bought the mop business from my mum for £500 and bought a Morris Thousand Traveller to deliver the mops. I ended up putting a roll bar on it, brake linings, an anti-tramp bracket, and I was driving like a maniac on the road. If someone passed me, I would go half an hour out of my way to get past them again and that’s what made me realise I needed to get on the track.