#0122 Panoz Esperante GTR1

24H of Le Mans 1998

Panoz Esperante GTR1 #45
Drivers: David Brabham, Andy Wallace, Jamie Davies
7th place overall, 7th place in GT1

Don Panoz is another enthusiast who has set himself the goal of competing at Le Mans with his own car and team. Panoz had made a fortune in the pharmaceutical industry - and was best known for its "nicotine patch". He founded his son Dan a motorsport company - and in 1997 Panoz Motorsports to build the Esperante GTR-1 race car. Shown in the painting is the works car used in 1998 in the hands of experienced drivers David Brabham, Andy Wallace and Jamie Dumfries. David Brabham and his two brothers inherited their passion for motorsport from their father, Sir Jack Brabham - all four raced at Le Mans. Andy Wallace has been a regular at Le Mans since 1988 when he won in Jaguar. Jamie Davies has also competed in a number of Le Mans races, including a second place finish in 2004 for Audi. The Esperante-Panoz finished a remarkable seventh overall in what many still call the race of the century due to its participation by a record-breaking number of factory teams. Don Panoz founded the successful American Le Mans Series (AMLS) in 1999.