Whilst many significant and exotic machines have participated in the Birkett Relay, seldom has a contemporary Le Mans prototype been seen at the event. One exception was in 1978 when Ian Bracey arrived with his Ibec-Hesketh 308LM fresh from participating at Le Mans just three months prior.
Bracey was a Lloyds of London insurance broker and having cut his teeth in Clubmans sportscar races, had first sampled Le Mans in 1976 behind the wheel of a 2-litre Lola T294 finishing 22nd overall. Seeking to challenge for outright honours, Bracey enlisted the help of former Hesketh F1 designer Harvey Postlethwaite to produce a brand-new chassis around a detuned 3.0-litre Cosworth DFV engine and Hewland GF400 gearbox. Postlethwaite used his Hesketh connections to source front and rear suspension components from the F1 team, and the building of the car was started in the Hesketh workshops. However, as the Hesketh team's fortunes waned, work on the Ibec chassis stalled and eventually Bracey moved the project to the Lyncar outfit for completion.
Having been shaken down at Goodwood just 12 days earlier, the Ibec duly made its first competitive outing, as planned, at the 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans, where Bracey was joined by Ian Grob and Guy Edwards. Despite the lack of testing Edwards impressed on the regulars the new car’s potential by qualifying the Ibec in 13th position, although the patriotic Bracey’s habit of greeting the dawn in the paddock by playing the bugle may not have been so well received! During the race the car was held up by a number of early teething troubles but survived the night and looked set for an improbable finish. However, shortly after a lengthy pitstop to repair a brake hose and fix a suspension mount that had pulled out of the tub; the Cosworth DFV cried enough and after 19 Hours of running the Ibec was out of the race.
The Ibec’s next race appearance was to be at the Birkett Relay at Donington Park where Bracey joined the British Motor Racing Marshal’s Club (BMRMC) Team managed by Val Adaway. Joining Bracey in the team would be Frank Sytner (1988 BTCC Champion) aboard a Lola T492, Tony Lanfranchi in an Opel Magnum GSE, Malcom Prior’s Vauxhall Magnum, Ricky Podmore’s MGB and Chris Meek equipped with an MG Midget.
The race started well for the BMRMC Team with Sytner surviving a clash with Adrian Yates-Smith’s Porsche 911 to lead the early stages and after approximately two hours headed for the pits to be replaced by Bracey. The Ibec’s appearance was to be sadly short-lived as after 30 minutes Bracey put a wheel on the grass exiting the Craner Curves which resulted in him spinning into the bank. Speaking to Autosport afterwards Bracey said “It was entirely my own fault. When I saw the sun before the race, I put some tape across the top of my visor. When I banged my head, the helmet tipped forward and I couldn’t see…”
Damage to the Ibec was limited to a broken nose and a punctured radiator and the car made two more unsuccessful visits to Le Mans in 1980 and 1981 before finishing its career in the British Thundersports Championship.