Sir Jack Brabham has died
Discussion
88 year old Sir Jack Bramham has died. World Driver's Champion in 1959, 1960 and 1966.
He was the first (and probably last) driver to win the world championship in a car bearing his name.
Regarded as a natural driver with a significant bent for the engineering side of the sport, Jack was universally liked amongst the paddock.
Beginning in a 2 litre cooper in the 1957 F1 season, Jack showed promise and stayed on for 1958. Coventry Climax finally produced a competitive F1 engine in 1959, Brabham put it to good use, but due to being overly cautious when fuelling his Cooper before the final race, he ran out of fuel with around half a mile before the chequered flag. One of the enduring images of racing in the fifties is of Jack pushing his Cooper over the finishline to get fifth place which was enough to seal the championship from Tony Brooks in the Ferrari. He was champion again in 1960 in a much more straightforward campaign. When the 1.5litre engine formula came in in 1961 Jack didnt get on with it. Success was harder to come by and he didnt enjoy what he perceived as a lack of power. This didnt stop him from winning a race in a Brabham, the team he had started with fellow Australian Ron Tauranac. His pragmatic approach to the simplest solution saw him go for a low powered, but reliable engine for the 1966 regulation change. This reliability saw him reap the rewards that season. When the repco engines became obsolete Jack was persuaded to race for one last season in 1970 with Cosworth DFV power. But for reliability woes, a last lap mistake at Monaco and an empty petrol tank on the last lap in Britain, Jack could quite easily have been world champion for a fourth time. He retired whilst he still had the pace to win GPs.
Brabham was the oldest living past world champion, 1964 world champion John Surtees now takes on that mantle.
He was the first (and probably last) driver to win the world championship in a car bearing his name.
Regarded as a natural driver with a significant bent for the engineering side of the sport, Jack was universally liked amongst the paddock.
Beginning in a 2 litre cooper in the 1957 F1 season, Jack showed promise and stayed on for 1958. Coventry Climax finally produced a competitive F1 engine in 1959, Brabham put it to good use, but due to being overly cautious when fuelling his Cooper before the final race, he ran out of fuel with around half a mile before the chequered flag. One of the enduring images of racing in the fifties is of Jack pushing his Cooper over the finishline to get fifth place which was enough to seal the championship from Tony Brooks in the Ferrari. He was champion again in 1960 in a much more straightforward campaign. When the 1.5litre engine formula came in in 1961 Jack didnt get on with it. Success was harder to come by and he didnt enjoy what he perceived as a lack of power. This didnt stop him from winning a race in a Brabham, the team he had started with fellow Australian Ron Tauranac. His pragmatic approach to the simplest solution saw him go for a low powered, but reliable engine for the 1966 regulation change. This reliability saw him reap the rewards that season. When the repco engines became obsolete Jack was persuaded to race for one last season in 1970 with Cosworth DFV power. But for reliability woes, a last lap mistake at Monaco and an empty petrol tank on the last lap in Britain, Jack could quite easily have been world champion for a fourth time. He retired whilst he still had the pace to win GPs.
Brabham was the oldest living past world champion, 1964 world champion John Surtees now takes on that mantle.
Gassing Station | Formula 1 | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff