If a Formula 1 movie were to be filmed today, set in modern times but based on the achievements of Aussie Sir Jack Brabham, the writer would be ridiculed for its absurdity.
'Black Jack' – a nickname coined by his rivals for his incredible toughness on-track – won the world championship three times.
He drove to his third and final championship in 1966 at the wheel of a Brabham BT19, a car he built himself from the ground up, that also carried his own name.
READ MORE: 'It's wild': Why motorsport's Super Bowl is a must-watch
READ MORE: Bol phone had doping information says WADA
READ MORE: 'Gobsmacked' Payten rips Bunker as Holmes learns fate
Brabham is the only man in the history of the sport to do so. It's a feat that will surely never be repeated. Last Sunday marked 10 years since his death, age 88.
His youngest son, David, commemorated it by winning a GT race at Brands Hatch outside London in a Brabham BT62 sports car.
The main straight at the Brands Hatch circuit is named the Brabham Straight, after Jack.
A Brabham car, with a Brabham at the wheel, crossed the finish line on Brabham Straight to win a race on the 10th anniversary of his death.
"The stars certainly aligned with that one," David told Wide World of Sports.
"You couldn't have asked for a better celebration of Dad's life."
Brabham is one of only two Australians to ever win the F1 world championship, the other being Alan Jones.
https://twitter.com/brabsracer/status/1792324589806358993Sir Jack founded the Brabham organisation with compatriot Ron Tauranac in 1960, while the former was driving for Cooper.
It was also the year he won the second of his three world championships. He won the first two back-to-back.
Brabham left Cooper at the end of 1961 to drive for Brabham. Brabham and Tauranac worked tirelessly to develop first the Brabham BT3 (the BT signifying their initials), then the BT7 and BT11
It was at the wheel of the BT19 that Brabham won four-straight grands prix in 1966 to set himself up to win the championship, before sealing it with a second place finish at the Mexican Grand Prix driving the BT20.
He won the championship by 14 points over John Surtees.
Even then, for Brabham and Tauranac to take on the likes of Ferrari, Lotus, and Cooper, and win, was a David and Goliath achievement.
But to look back on it now, some 60 years later to what Formula 1 looks like in 2024, it's completely unfathomable.
"I think over time, even now at the age that I am, you hear more and more of what he did and what he achieved, and you just sit there and think, 'how the hell did you do all that'?" David said.
"It was quite amazing, really. Things have changed so much, so if there was a time to do it, it was back then.
"No one else has achieved what Dad achieved, and no one will ever repeat it.
"The timing was perfect for someone like him to capture those moments, and he did."
Sir Jack retired with 14 wins, 13 pole positions and 12 fastest laps from 123 grand prix starts.
David now has full control of the Brabham name.
Sir Jack retired from F1 when David was only five years old, and the family returned to Australia. He competed in the Bathurst 1000 on three occasions.
Growing up, David was much more interested in football, and Sir Jack was just Dad – albeit a Dad who had people asking for pictures wherever they went.
"I knew as a kid he was probably the most famous Australian at the time," David said.
"Just after his retirement, he was doing adverts on TV for so many different companies. Wherever we went, people just stared and wanted pictures and autographs and whatever.
"I knew very early he was famous. I just wasn't sure what he was really famous for, other than motor racing."
from WWOS https://ift.tt/p0R86f9
via IFTTT
.jfif)
0 Comments