Editing Jack Brabham (section)

====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>