Former Supercar driver Dale Brede has died.
Longtime friend, Dick Johnson Racing’s Will Davison, posted on socials: “Still shocked and heartbroken. We were only just chatting about how excited you were to meet Dash.
“I’ve been struggling with the reality of this post for days and haven’t quite processed the incredibly sad loss of one of my best mates Dale Brede.
“I feel honoured and truly lucky to of had you a part of my life for over 20 years brother. You’ve enriched mine and so many other lives. We’ve had endless laughs and countless good times for a lifetime over. Kind, gentle, intelligent, witty, hilarious and always the life of the party.
“Always smiling in the eyes of so many! Talented on four wheels and also two, Supercar driver, Superbike team owner and competitor, people person and businessman.
“Life won’t be the same without you here and we will miss you more than words. So long and until we meet again Bredey.
“All my love and thoughts are with Campbell, Jenny, Duncan and his family.”
Born in Canberra on October 12, 1974, Brede came up the motorsport ranks through karting and two years in Formula Fords before tackling the Australian Drivers’ Championship in 1998.
He raced with the National Capital Motors team, initially on his own in Ralt RT23 he purchased from Steve Cramp, before he went to a Reynard 94D.
In the Formula Holden series, he finished the first season in 12th, went one better the following year with a best result of a third at Phillip Island, and then placed seventh overall in 2000. That year he scored a couple of thirds, racing against the likes of Simon Wills, NCR teammate Christian Murchison, Matt Halliday, Tim Leahey and Paul Dumbrell.
In 2001 Arthur Abraham’s team entered a Holden Commodore VT for him in the Konica V8 Supercars Series and finished sixth in the title. For 2002 he linked with Craig Harris and drove the Gulf Western Oils Ford Falcon AU, won the first round and was second behind Dumbrell at the end of the season.
Brede’s performance earned him an opportunity to join Brigg Motorsport for the main game enduros where he partnered with Steve Owen in the CAT Falcon. The next year Brede was with the Holden Young Lions program with John Faulkner Racing for sixth in the Konica Series before he teamed with Faulkner for the enduros.
For 2004 Brede was in the full Supercars Championship with Team Dynamik before he took an endurance co-driver position with Brad Jones Racing and contested some rounds of the Development Series. With John Cleland, Brede finished seventh in the Bathurst 1000.
He was with BJR at Bathurst in 2006 when his co-driver for The Great Race, Mark Porter, was killed in the Development Series support race. Michael Caruso stepped in as his replacement, but Brede crashed one-third of the way through. It was his last drive in a Supercar.
Since then, he has been involved with motorbikes. He rode some, and owned and ran Canberra Motorcycle Centre, one of Australia’s largest motorcycle dealerships. He was also active in the Australian Superbike Championship with Team Suzuki ECSTAR Australia, the factory outfit with Josh Waters and Markus Chiodo.
Brede’s obituary and funeral arrangements will be announced later by the family.
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