One of the most endearing aspects of endurance racing has always been the David vs Goliath battles. And one small British company certainly fits that bill, having taken on the big guys at Daytona, Sebring and, of course, Le Mans. Be it Grand Am, ALMS, LMES, ELMS, FIA SCC, ISRS and whatever championship Le Mans was running as a part of at the time, if any, Pilbeam Racing was right there running in the SRL, SR2, LMP675 and LMP2 classes.

Pilbeam Racing has always had Mike Pilbeam at the head of affairs, showcasing his incredible technical and design talents.

Mike’s motorsport career began with BRM at the end of the World Championship-winning 1962 season. A short spell with Ford was followed by a move to Lotus (in 1969), working under Maurice Philippe on the Type 72 and several other projects.

Surtees beckoned resulting in the TS9 and TS9B being added to Mike’s portfolio, before a return to BRM, this time designing his first full F1 car, the BRM P201 (which finished 2nd in its first Grand Prix start).

In late 1974, Mike set off to follow his own path, setting up Pilbeam Racing Designs. Staying in Bourne, as an almost neighbour to his former employer, it meant that this small town in Lincolnshire now boasted a significant contribution to the world of motorsport.

Soon after going it alone, Mike began working with Tom Wheatcroft, coming up with the R18 Formula Atlantic and R19 F2 cars. He also set about designing and building his second full F1 car – the LEC CRP1 for David Purley.

Mike then really began to make a name for himself in hillclimbing, with Pilbeams accounting for 17 British Hillclimb Championship titles between 1977 and 1997.

For the 1999 season, Pilbeam Racing introduced its return to mainstream track action and this is where our sportscar racing interest really takes off. The Pilbeam MP84 was designed for the Sports Racing Lights category of the International Sports Racing Series and similar classes around the world.

Appearances in the Grand Am and American Le Mans Series in the USA, plus the Le Mans Endurance Series and the FIA SportRacing World Cup over in Europe, led to plenty of success for the diminutive racer, with class wins and championship titles along the way. In 2001, Pilbeam MP84s took part in both the Daytona 24 Hours (for the second time) and, for the very first time, a Pilbeam took the start of the Le Mans 24 Hours. A total of eight MP84s were built.

For the 2003 season, the MP84 was updated sufficiently that a new nomenclature was deemed necessary, and four of the original cars were upgraded to the new specification.

The MP91 featured a lower engine, revised cooling and new, longer rear bodywork. Team Bucknum took this new design to Le Mans, for Pilbeam’s second appearance at the famous event.

Over in France, Pierre Bruneau had acquired the ex-EBRT Schroder MP84 chassis (02) and this was also one of the four MP84s upgraded to an MP91.

Pierre’s MP91 raced in the Le Mans Endurance Series but was never entered for Le Mans itself though, he had bigger plans – the purchase of the first example of Mike’s next project. The Judd-powered MP93 was unveiled in the spring of 2005.

A full carbon-fibre chassis marked a new phase of construction for Pilbeam Racing and the chassis was designed such that it could technically compete in either LMP1 or LMP2. PiR Racing chose LMP2 for MP93-01 and it raced at Le Mans for three consecutive years, from 2005 to 2007.

Possibly the highlight of its time at Le Mans was when, in 2006, Simon Pullan led a wet qualifying session for quite some time, ahead of all the big-name LMP1 runners. The session finished with the little Pilbeam in 6th place overall and top of LMP2, with just five LMP1s ahead of it – both Audis, both Pescarolo Sports and the Creation Autosportif.

Mike has continued to service his many creations since then, as well as continuing to build successful cars for the hills and developing a range of upgrades for the Lotus Elise and Exige. Through his connections at Lotus, Mike has continued quietly working on the suspension and development of many Lotus projects over the decades, including the fabulous 300RR racer that famously took back-to-back victories at the Sepang 12 hours, in 2005 and 2006.

Pilbeam Racing has been very much at the heart of this car’s return to track action recently and, alongside this, Mike has designed and built a much-improved and lighter chassis that can either directly replace an Elise/Exige example, or be used as the basis for a bespoke GT car build.

And now, after more than 50 years of building and maintaining championship-winning cars under his own name, Mike is planning to pass on Pilbeam Racing – so that he can finally retire!

The company can either be sold as a whole or in parts, including designs, tooling, and workshop equipment. A list of what is available can sent on request, plus there could also be designs and tooling available.

Contact Mike Pilbeam for more information and to discuss further via email at mike@pilbeamracing.co.uk

Images by Rick Wilson