Editing Jack Brabham (section)

===Europe===

====Cooper====
[[File:Cooper T51 rear Donington.jpg|right|thumb|A rear-engined T51 of the type Brabham used to win his first world championship]]
Upon arriving in Europe on his own in early 1955, Brabham based himself in the UK, where he bought another Cooper to race in national events. His crowd-pleasing driving style initially betrayed his dirt track origins: as he put it, he took corners "by using full [steering] lock and lots of throttle".<ref>Unique p.58 "Jack Brabham" 1959</ref> Visits to the Cooper factory for parts led to a friendship with Charlie and [[John Cooper (car maker)|John Cooper]], who told the story that after many requests for a drive with the factory team, Brabham was given the keys to the transporter taking the cars to a race.<ref>Dracket (1985) p.16</ref> Brabham soon "seemed to ''merge'' into Cooper Cars":<ref name=GPcars80>Lawrence (1989) p.80</ref> he was not an employee, but he started working at Cooper daily from the midpoint of the 1955 season building a Bobtail mid-engined [[sports car]], intended for [[Formula One]], the top category of single seater racing.{{efn|Formula One rules did not at that time prevent the use of cars with enclosed wheels.}} He made his Grand Prix debut at the age of 29 driving the car at the [[1955 British Grand Prix]]. It had a 2-litre engine, half a litre less than permitted, and ran slowly with a broken clutch before retiring.<ref name=GPcars80 /><ref>Brabham, Nye (2004) pp.54–56</ref> Later in the year Brabham, again driving the Bobtail, tussled with [[Stirling Moss]] for third place in a non-championship Formula One race at [[Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit|Snetterton]]. Although Moss finished ahead, Brabham saw the race as a turning point, proving that he could compete at this level. He shipped the Bobtail back to Australia, where he used it to win the 1955 [[Australian Grand Prix]] before selling it to help fund a permanent move to the UK the following year with his wife Betty and their son [[Geoff Brabham|Geoff]].<ref>Brabham, Nye (2004) pp.56–57</ref>

Brabham briefly and unsuccessfully campaigned his own second hand Formula One [[Maserati 250F]] during 1956, but his season was saved by drives for Cooper in [[Sports car racing|sports cars]] and [[Formula Two]], the junior category to Formula One.<ref>Brabham, Nye (2004) p.59</ref> At that time, almost all racing cars had their engines mounted at the front but Coopers were different, having the engine placed behind the driver, which improved their handling. In 1957, Brabham drove another mid-engined Cooper, again only fitted with a 2-litre engine, at the [[1957 Monaco Grand Prix|Monaco Grand Prix]]. He avoided a large crash at the first corner and was running third towards the end of the race when the fuel pump mount failed. After more than three hours of racing, the exhausted Brabham, who "hated to be beaten",<ref>Brabham, Nye (2004) p.61</ref> pushed the car to the line to finish sixth.<ref>Unique ''Jack Brabham – Star from Down Under'' p.27 reproduced from [[Car and Driver|Sports Car Illustrated]] 1959</ref> The following year, he was Autocar Formula Two champion in a Cooper, while continuing to score minor points-scoring positions with the small-engined Coopers in the World Drivers' Championship and driving for [[Aston Martin]] in Sportscars.<ref name=Unique30 /> His schedule necessitated a considerable amount of travel on the roads of Europe. Brabham's driving on public roads was described as "safe as houses",<ref>Unique p.111, a reproduction of the profile 'Deeds, not words' by Alan Brinton (1966)</ref> unlike many of his contemporaries—on the way back from the [[1957 Pescara Grand Prix]], passenger [[Tony Brooks (racing driver)|Tony Brooks]] took over driving after Brabham refused to overtake a long line of lorries. In late 1958, Brabham rekindled his interest in flying and began taking lessons. He bought his own plane and on gaining his [[Pilot licensing in the United Kingdom|licence]] began to make heavy use of it piloting himself, his family, and members of his team around Europe to races.<ref name="Brabham 1971 pp.98—117">Brabham (1971) pp.98—117</ref>

In [[1959 Formula One season|1959]], Cooper obtained 2.5-litre engines for the first time and Brabham put the extra power to good use by winning his first world championship race at the season-opening [[1959 Monaco Grand Prix|Monaco Grand Prix]] after [[Jean Behra]]'s Ferrari and [[Stirling Moss]]'s Cooper failed.<ref>Rendall (2007) pp.215–216</ref> More podium places were followed by a win in the [[1959 British Grand Prix|British Grand Prix]] at Aintree after Brabham preserved his tyres to the end of the race, enabling him to finish ahead of Moss who had to pit to replace worn tyres.<ref>Brabham, Nye (2004) p.85</ref> This gave him a 13-point championship lead with four races to go. At the [[1959 Portuguese Grand Prix|Portuguese Grand Prix]] at Monsanto Park, Brabham was chasing race leader Moss when a backmarker moved over on him and launched the Cooper into the air. The airborne car hit a telegraph pole, throwing Brabham onto the track, where he narrowly avoided being hit by one of his teammates but escaped with no serious injury.<ref name="ReferenceA">Straw, Edd (7 May 2009 ) "Jack of All Trades" ''Autosport''</ref> With two wins each, Brabham, Moss, and Ferrari's Tony Brooks were all capable of winning the championship at the final event of the season, the [[1959 United States Grand Prix|United States Grand Prix]] at Sebring. Brabham was among those up until 1&nbsp;am the morning before the race working on the Cooper team cars. The next day, after pacing himself behind Moss, who soon retired with a broken gearbox, he led almost to the end of the race before running out of fuel on the last lap. He again pushed the car to the finish line to place fourth, although in the event this was unnecessary as his other title rival, Brooks, finished only third.<ref>Brabham, Nye (2004) pp.89–97</ref> His championship-winning margin over Brooks was four points. According to Gerald Donaldson, "some thought [his title] owed more to stealth than skill, an opinion at least partly based on Brabham's low-key presence."<ref name=Halloffame />

Despite his success with Cooper, Brabham was sure he could do better. He considered buying Cooper in partnership with Roy Salvadori and then in late 1959 he asked his friend [[Ron Tauranac]] to come to the UK and work with him, producing upgrade kits for [[Sunbeam Rapier]] and [[Triumph Herald]] road cars at his car dealership, Jack Brabham Motors, but with the long-term aim of designing racing cars.<ref>Lawrence (1999) p. 22-4 & Henry (1985) p.19</ref> Brabham continued to drive for Cooper, but on the long flight back from the [[1960 Formula One season|1960 season]]-opening [[1960 Argentine Grand Prix|Argentine Grand Prix]], he had a heart-to-heart with John Cooper. John's father Charlie and the designer [[Owen Maddock]] had been reluctant to update their car, but although a Cooper had won in Argentina, other cars had been faster before they broke down.<ref>Brabham, Nye (2005) pp.112–113</ref> Brabham helped design the more advanced [[Cooper T53]], including advice from Tauranac.<ref>Lawrence (1999) pp.11–12</ref> Brabham spun the new car out of the next championship race, the [[1960 Monaco Grand Prix|Monaco Grand Prix]], but then embarked on a series of five straight victories. He won from the front at the [[1960 Dutch Grand Prix|Dutch]], [[1960 French Grand Prix|French]], and [[1960 Belgian Grand Prix|Belgian Grands Prix]], where title rival Moss was badly injured in a practice accident that put him out for two months. Two other drivers were killed during the race. At the [[1960 British Grand Prix|British Grand Prix]], Brabham was closing on Graham Hill's BRM before Hill spun off, leaving Brabham the victory. He then came back from eighth place to second at the [[1960 Portuguese Grand Prix|Portuguese Grand Prix]] after sliding off on [[Tramway track|tramlines]] and won after race leader John Surtees crashed. Brabham's points total was put out of reach when the British teams withdrew from the Italian GP on safety grounds.<ref>Brabham, Nye (2005) pp.115–121</ref> Mike Lawrence writes that Brabham's expertise in setting up the cars was a significant factor in Cooper's 1960 drivers' and constructors' titles.<ref>Lawrence (1998) p.86</ref>

Coventry Climax were late in producing the smaller 1.5-litre engine required for the [[1961 Formula One season|1961 season]] and the Cooper-Climaxes were outclassed by new mid-engined cars from [[Porsche in Formula One|Porsche]], Lotus, and championship-winners Ferrari.<ref>Lawrence (1998) p.87</ref> Brabham scored only three points and finished 11th in the championship. He had a little more success in the non-championship Formula One races, where he ran his own private Coopers and took three victories at [[1961 Lombank Trophy|Snetterton]] (26 March), [[1961 Brussels Grand Prix|Brussels]] (9 April), and [[1961 Aintree 200|Aintree]] (22 April).

[[1961 Indianapolis 500|The same year]], Brabham entered the famous [[Indianapolis 500]] oval race for the first time in a modified version of the Formula One Cooper. It had a 2.7-litre Climax engine producing {{Convert|268|bhp|kW PS|0|abbr=on}} compared to the 4.4-litre, {{Convert|430|bhp|kW PS|0|abbr=on}} [[Offenhauser]] engines used by the front-engined [[Roadster (automobile)|roadsters]] driven by all the other entrants. Jack qualified a respectable 17th at 145.144 mp/h (pole winner [[Eddie Sachs]] qualified at 147.481 mp/h), and while the front-engined roadsters were much faster on the long front and back straights, the rear-engined Cooper's superior handling through the turns and the shorter north and south sections kept the reigning World Champion competitive. Brabham ran as high as third before finishing ninth, completing all 200 laps. Although most of the doubters in the American Indycar scene claimed that rear-engine cars were for drivers who like to be pushed around, as Brabham put it, it "triggered the rear-engined revolution at Indy" and within five years most of the cars that raced at [[Indianapolis Motor Speedway|Indianapolis]] would be rear-engined.<ref>Brabham, Nye (2004)pp.133–136</ref>

====Brabham====
[[File:BrabhamJack19650801Südkehre.jpg|right|thumb|Brabham at the [[1965 German Grand Prix]] at the Nürburgring.]]
[[File:Brabham at 1966 Dutch Grand Prix (5).jpg|thumb|left|Brabham after winning the [[1966 Dutch Grand Prix]] at Zandvoort.]]
[[File:2005 Goodwood Festival of Speed F2 Brabham BT18 Honda.jpg|thumb|right|Brabham BT18-Honda of the type with which Jack Brabham dominated [[Formula Two]] in 1966]]
[[File:Brabham at 1966 Dutch Grand Prix.jpg|thumb|left|Brabham in the car before the [[1966 Dutch Grand Prix]] at Zandvoort.]]
[[File:1970 Brands Hatch Race of Champions Jack Brabham BT33.jpg|thumb|right|Brabham in his [[Brabham BT33]] at the [[1970 Race of Champions]] at Brands Hatch.]]
Brabham and Tauranac set up a company called Motor Racing Developments (MRD), which produced customer racing cars, while Brabham himself continued to race for Cooper. MRD produced cars for [[Formula Junior]], with the first one appearing in mid-1961. Brabham left Cooper in 1962 to drive for his own team: the Brabham Racing Organisation, using cars built by Motor Racing Developments.<ref name="Law31">Lawrence (1999) p. 31</ref>{{efn|Brabham, Nye (2004) pp. 14, 145–9 Brabham's and Tauranac's (Lawrence 1999 p. 32) accounts differ on whether the BRO was formed for the purpose of F1, or was already in existence.}} A newly introduced engine limit in Formula One of 1500&nbsp;cc did not suit Brabham and he did not win a single race with a 1500&nbsp;cc car.<ref>Cooper, Adam (May 1999) "The world according to Jack" ''Motorsport p. 36'' The article quotes Jack as saying "There's no way you could call those 1500-cc machines Formula One."</ref> His team suffered poor reliability during this period and motorsport authors Mike Lawrence and David Hodges have said that Brabham's reluctance to spend money may have cost the team results, a view echoed by Tauranac.{{efn|Tauranac says (Lawrence (1999) p.48) that he feels a third mechanic would have reduced the reliability problems. Lawrence himself notes (Lawrence (1999) p.71) that 'If only Jack had been prepared to spend a little more money, the results could have been so much better'. Hodges (1990, p.32) notes, 'Economy was a watchword. ...It was this attitude, perhaps, which cost [Brabham] some races'.}} During the [[1965 Formula One season|1965 season]], Brabham started to consider retirement to manage his team. [[Dan Gurney]], who had taken the team's first championship race win the previous year, took the lead driver role while Brabham gave up his car to several other drivers towards the end of the season. At the end of the season, Gurney announced his intention to leave and set up his own team and Brabham decided to carry on.<ref>Lawrence (1999) pp.70–71</ref>

In 1966, a new 3-litre formula was created for Formula One. The new engines under development by other suppliers all had at least 12 [[cylinder (engine)|cylinders]] and proved difficult to develop, being heavy and unreliable. Brabham took a different approach to the problem of obtaining a suitable engine: he persuaded Australian engineering company [[Repco]] to develop a new 3-litre eight-cylinder engine for him.<ref>Henry (1985) p. 53</ref> Repco had no experience in designing complete engines. Brabham had identified a supply of suitable [[engine block]]s obtained from [[Oldsmobile]]'s aluminium alloy [[Buick V8 engine#215|215]] engine and persuaded the company that an engine could be designed around the block, largely using existing components. Brabham and Repco were aware that the engine would not compete in terms of outright power, but felt that a lightweight, reliable engine could achieve good championship results while other teams were still making their new designs reliable.

The combination of the Repco engine, designed by Phil Irving, and the [[Brabham BT19]] chassis designed by Tauranac worked. At the [[1966 French Grand Prix|French Grand Prix]] at [[Reims-Gueux]], Jack Brabham took his first Formula One world championship win since 1960 and became the first man to win such a race in a car of his own construction. Only his two former teammates, [[Bruce McLaren]] and [[Dan Gurney]], have since matched this achievement. It was the first in a run of four straight wins for the Australian veteran. The 40-year-old Brabham was annoyed by press stories about his age and, in a highly uncharacteristic stunt, at the [[1966 Dutch Grand Prix|Dutch Grand Prix]] he hobbled to his car on the starting grid before the race wearing a long false beard and leaning on a cane before going on to win the race.<ref>Henry (1985) pp.61–62</ref> Brabham confirmed his third championship at the [[1966 Italian Grand Prix|Italian Grand Prix]] and became the only driver to win the Formula One World Championship in a car that carried his own name.

The season also saw the fruition of Brabham's relationship with Japanese engine manufacturer [[Honda]] in Formula Two. After a generally unsuccessful season in 1965, Honda revised their 1-litre engine completely. Brabham won ten of the year's 16 European Formula Two races in his Brabham-Honda. There was no European Formula Two championship that year, but Brabham won the ''Trophées de France'', a championship consisting of six of the French Formula Two races.<ref>Lawrence (1999) p.221</ref>

In 1967, the Formula One title went to Brabham's teammate [[Denny Hulme]]. Hulme had better reliability through the year, possibly due to Brabham's desire to try new parts first.<ref>Lawrence (1999) p.92 Hulme, Tauranac, and Frank Hallam, Repco-Brabham's chief engineer, all shared this view.</ref>

Despite taking pole position in the first two rounds, mechanical problems halted his chances of victory. He spun numerous times in [[1967 South African Grand Prix|South Africa]], and at [[1967 Monaco Grand Prix|Monaco]], his engine blew up at the start, and the win went to his teammate [[Denny Hulme]]. At the [[1967 Dutch Grand Prix|Dutch Grand Prix]], he scored his first podium of the season, with second place, behind Scotsman [[Jim Clark]]. He retired in the [[1967 Belgian Grand Prix|Belgian Grand Prix]] with another blown engine. He fixed this by winning the [[1967 French Grand Prix|French Grand Prix]] at the [[Bugatti Circuit]] in [[Le Mans]]. He came fourth at the [[1967 British Grand Prix|British Grand Prix]], behind [[Chris Amon]], his teammate Hulme, and Clark. At the [[1967 German Grand Prix|German Grand Prix]], he had a huge battle with Amon, and Brabham eventually finished ahead of the New Zealander, by only half a second. Hulme was the winner. At the first ever [[1967 Canadian Grand Prix|Canadian Grand Prix]] at [[Mosport International Raceway|Mosport Park]], he took a huge win, ahead of Hulme, in cold and rainy conditions. At the [[1967 Italian Grand Prix|Italian Grand Prix]] at [[Autodromo Nazionale Monza|Monza]], Brabham had to finish second, only a few car lengths behind [[John Surtees]], who took his last GP win. Hulme retired from the race, cutting the gap to 3 points between the two, as the circus headed for the United States, at [[Watkins Glen International|Watkins Glen]] for the [[1967 United States Grand Prix|United States Grand Prix]]. Brabham outqualified his teammate, and finished fifth in the race, and with Hulme on the podium, this meant the championship chances were looking slim for Black Jack, as the circus went to [[1967 Mexican Grand Prix|Mexico]] for the championship deciding and final race of the season. Once again, he outqualified his teammate, and needed to win, with Hulme fifth or lower. But [[Jim Clark]] was simply too fast during the whole weekend, and dominated the race from pole to win, with Brabham finishing over 1 minute and 25 seconds behind. Hulme finished third, and so the New Zealander won the championship, while Brabham settled for second place. The team secured the Constructors' Championship, with 67 total points scored, and 23 points ahead of Lotus which scored a total of 44 points.

Brabham raced alongside his teammate [[Jochen Rindt]] during the [[1968 Formula One season|1968 season]]. It wasn't a good season for him. He retired from the first seven races, before scoring two points for fifth place at the [[1968 German Grand Prix|German Grand Prix]]. He retired from the remaining four races. At the end of the year, he fulfilled a desire to fly from Britain to Australia in a small twin-engined [[Beechcraft Queen Air]].<ref name="Brabham 1971 pp.98—117"/> Partway through the [[1969 Formula One season|1969 season]], Brabham suffered serious injuries to his foot in a testing accident. He returned to racing before the end of the year, but promised his wife that he would retire after the season finished and sold his share of the team to Tauranac.
{{quote box|quote="I felt very sad, [...] I didn't feel I was giving up racing because I couldn't do the job. I felt I was just as competitive then as at any other time, and I really should have won the championship in 1970. [...] I'd have been a lot better off if I'd stayed, but sometimes family pressures don't allow you to make the decisions you'd like to."|source=''The World according to Jack'', Motor Sport (May 1999) p.36|width=31%|align=right}}
Finding no top drivers available despite coming close to bringing Rindt back to the team, Brabham decided to race for one more year. He began auspiciously, winning the first race of the season, the South African Grand Prix, and then led the third race, the Monaco Grand Prix until the very last turn of the last lap. Brabham was about to hold off the onrushing Rindt (the eventual 1970 F1 champion) when his front wheels locked in a skid on the sharp right turn only yards from the finish and he ended up second. While leading at the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch, he ran out of fuel at Clearways and Rindt passed him to take the win while Brabham coasted to the finish in second place. After the 13th and final race of the season, the Mexican Grand Prix, Brabham did retire. He had tied [[Jackie Stewart]] for fifth in the points standings in the season he drove at the age of 44. Brabham also drove for the works [[Equipe Matra Sports|Matra]] team during the [[1970 World Sportscar Championship]] season and won the final race of the season and his final top level race at the Paris 1000&nbsp;km in October that year.<ref>Brabham, Nye (2004) p.237</ref> He then made a complete break from racing and returned to Australia, to the relief of his wife who had been "scared stiff" each time he drove.<ref>Drackett (1985) p.50</ref>