Sir Jack Brabham 10 years on

Let’s remember our triple-F1-World Champ’s passing on the Gold Coast a decade ago this week. John Arthur Brabham was on born April 2, 1926 and died on May 19, 2014.

Brabham famously cut his teeth on Sydney speedways, winning the ’48 Australian Speedcar Championship, initially funding his road-racing exploits in Coopers with his speedway winnings!

In 1955 he moved to the UK, by mid-year he shared the grid of the British Grand Prix with the legendary Juan-Manuel Fangio. Jack’s car was a self-constructed Cooper T40 Bristol, Fangio’s a Mercedes Benz W196 Silver Arrows.

The cover of Auto Action celebrating the life of Sir Jack Brabham after his passing in 2014.

Brabham finally ‘beat’ Fangio in 1978 when Jack finished in front of the great Argentinian’s Mercedes in his 1966 F1 Championship winning Brabham BT19 Repco V8 at Sandown during the 1978 Tribute to Fangio meeting. 

Jack won two World Championships for Cooper in 1958-59 before achieving fame and fortune aboard his own Brabham cars from 1962, built in partnership with Ron Tauranac, an under-rated design and production-racing-car genius.

Brabham retired from F1 at the end of 1970. Had Lady Luck smiled upon him, he could have won the World Championship ‘as a pensioner’ that year, but ultimately took only the one GP victory rather than the three that seemed in-the-bag!

Sir Jack Brabham at Sandown in 1986.

He came home and farmed sheep at Wagga-Wagga, sold cars and ‘planes in Sydney in addition to his involvement in a few businesses in the UK. 

Reluctantly at first, he guided his sons, Geoff, Gary and David into racing. All achieved much, Geoff and David won at Le Mans, Gary and David made it to F1. The Brabhams wrestled back the commercial rights to the Brabham name, launching the Adelaide built BT62 sports-prototype/road cars just as Covid hit. Brabham fans await their next move…

As the ‘Drive to Survive’ generation of enthusiasts explore history, social media is awash with interest in Our Jack, Brabham Racing Cars and Repco-Brabham V8 Engines…

Chaucer’s Time Waits For No Man doesn’t seem to apply to John Arthur Brabham, his deeds and products live on. Long may it continue.  

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Podcast: Supercars Perth and F1 Imola preview

On this week’s show, Andrew, Bruce and PG rejoice at the return of Supercars after what feels like and eternity, but is only four weeks. We preview the Perth round in this week’s Auto Action RevLimiter.

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