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Sir Jack Brabham
DOB: 02.04.1926 Nationality: Australian Life Member Since 1960
- AChievements
- 1Formula One Champion 1959
- 2BRDC International Trophy winner 1959
- 3Formula One Champion 1960
- 4BRDC International Trophy winner 1964
- 5Formula One Champion 1966
- 6BRDC International Trophy winner 1966
- 7Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) 1966
- 8Australian of the Year 1966
- 9Knight Bachelor 1978
- 10Australian Sports Medal 2000
- 11Centenary Medal 2001
- 12Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) 2008
Three-time Formula One champion Sir Jack Brabham is the only driver to win the world F1 championship in a car of his own design.
'Black Jack' (named for his facial stubble) plied his trade racing midget cars, and was a regular at the ARDC's Mt Druitt circuit. His early titles include the 1948 Australian Speedway Championship, the 1949 Australian and South Australian Speedcar championships, and the 1950 and 1951 Australian championship. All of these were won in a car he helped build.
He left for Europe in 1955 and rose to the top of world motorsport, claiming the Formula One championship in 1959 in John Cooper's Coventry Climax. The car he helped Cooper design and build is credited with starting the mid-engine revolution in F1 and Indy.
Sir Jack continued his winning ways the following year, again taking out the Formula One championship. 1960 also marks the birth of Motor Racing Developments (MRD), the race car manufacturer Sir Jack founded with Ron Tauranac – another ARDC member – and Melbourne engineer Phil Irving.
Jack steered his very own Repco Brabham BT19 race car to his third Formula One championship in 1966. The next year he was beaten by team-mate Denny Hulme and the pair won the manufacturers' title. MRD went on to become the largest manufacturer of customer racing cars in the world in the 1960s. By 1970, the company founded by two ARDC members had built more than 500 cars.
After amassing a record of 126 Formula One Grand Prix starts (129 entries) between 1959 and 1970, Jack retired and was knighted Sir John Arthur "Jack" Brabham in 1978.
His sons Geoff, Garry and David, and grandsons Matthew and Sam have all raced.
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| Brabham in the so-called "Lowline" Cooper-Climax F1 car. Picture is likely from the 1960 British Grand Prix, which Brabham won for the second year in a row. (Photo via www.jackbrabham.com) | |
Brabham in the BT19-Repco drifting through one of the corners on his way to victory. This is a hand-tinted version of a black and white original. (Photo via www.jackbrabham.com) | |
Jack Brabham celebrates his first victory of the 1966 Grand Prix season. (Photo via www.jackbrabham.com) |
