Editing Brabham (section)

===Middlebridge Racing (1989–1992)===
After Lüthi's arrest on tax fraud charges in mid-1989,<ref>Slevin, Gary (2008) [http://www.f1rejects.com/centrale/submitted/brabham/index.html The Decline of Brabham] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014120637/http://www.f1rejects.com/centrale/submitted/brabham/index.html |date=14 October 2008 }}. Formula One Rejects. Retrieved 10 June 2009</ref> several parties disputed the ownership of the team. Middlebridge Group Limited, a Japanese engineering firm owned by billionaire Koji Nakauchi, was already involved with established [[International Formula 3000|Formula 3000]] team Middlebridge Racing and gained control of Brabham for the [[1990 Formula One season|1990 season]]. Herbie Blash had returned to run the team in 1989 and continued to do so in 1990. Middlebridge paid for its purchase using £1&nbsp;million loaned to them by finance company Landhurst Leasing,<ref name="Landhurst">{{cite news|title=Formula One obsession led to pounds 50m Landhurst fraud|author=John Willcock|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/formula-one-obsession-led-to-pounds-50m-landhurst-fraud-1236602.html|newspaper=[[Independent (newspaper)|The Independent]]|date=18 October 1997|access-date=26 April 2011|location=London}}</ref> but the team remained underfunded and would only score a few more points finishes in its last three seasons.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

Jack Brabham's youngest son, [[David Brabham|David]], raced for the Formula One team for a short time in 1990 including the season-ending [[1990 Australian Grand Prix|Australian Grand Prix]] (the first time a Brabham had driven a Brabham car in an [[Australian Grand Prix]] since [[1968 Australian Grand Prix|1968]]). 1990 was another disastrous year, with Modena's fifth place in the season-opening [[1990 United States Grand Prix|United States Grand Prix]] being the only top six finish. The team finished ninth in the Constructors' Championship. Brundle and fellow Briton [[Mark Blundell]], scored only three points during the [[1991 Formula One season|1991 season]]. Due to poor results in the first half of 1991, they had to prequalify in the second half of the season; Blundell failed to do so in Japan, as did Brundle in Australia. The team finished 10th in the Constructors' Championship, behind another struggling British team, Lotus. The 1992 season started with [[Eric van de Poele]] and [[Giovanna Amati]] after [[Japanese Formula 3000]] driver [[Akihiko Nakaya]] was denied a superlicense. [[Damon Hill]], the son of another former Brabham driver and World Champion, debuted in the team after Amati was dropped when her sponsorship failed to materialise. Amati, the fifth and last ({{as of|April 2025|lc=y}}) woman to race in Formula One, ended her career with three DNQs.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Elson|first=James|date=2021-01-02|title=Giovanna Amati: 'Once the helmet was on, I felt I was treated equally'|url=https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/single-seaters/f1/giovanna-amati-once-the-helmet-was-on-i-felt-i-was-treated-equally|url-status=live|access-date=2021-12-02|website=[[Motor Sport (magazine)|Motor Sport]]|publisher=Motor Sport Magazine Limited|location=London|language=en-GB|quote=Amati, the fifth woman to ever race in Formula 1, made three attempts to pre-qualify for Brabham during the 1992 season, at South Africa, Mexico and Brazil, failing to make it through each time.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108164649/https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/single-seaters/f1/giovanna-amati-once-the-helmet-was-on-i-felt-i-was-treated-equally |archive-date=8 January 2021 }}</ref>

Argentine [[Sergio Rinland]] designed the team's final cars around Judd engines, except for 1991 when [[Yamaha Motor Company Ltd.|Yamaha]] powered the cars. In the [[1992 Formula One season|1992 season]] the cars (which were updated versions of the 1991 car) rarely qualified for races. Hill gave the team its final finish, at the [[1992 Hungarian Grand Prix|Hungarian Grand Prix]], where he crossed the finish line 11th and last, four laps behind the winner, [[Ayrton Senna]]. After the end of that race the team ran out of funds and collapsed.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Higham|first=Peter|date=December 2017|editor-last=Trott|editor-first=Nick|title=The rise – and fall – of Brabham|url=https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/december-2017/64/rise-and-fall-brabham|magazine=[[Motor Sport (magazine)|Motor Sport]]|location=London|publisher=Motor Sport Magazine Limited|issue=1108|page=64|issn=0027-2019|access-date=2021-12-02|quote=It returned after a year’s absence under new ownership and struggled on for four largely unsuccessful campaigns before closing its doors following the 1992 Hungarian GP.}}</ref>

Middlebridge Group Limited had been unable to continue making repayments against the £6&nbsp;million ultimately provided by Landhurst Leasing, which went into [[Administration order|administration]]. The [[Serious Fraud Office (UK)|Serious Fraud Office]] investigated the case. Landhurst's managing directors were found guilty of corruption and imprisoned, having accepted bribes for further loans to Middlebridge.<ref name="Landhurst"/> It was one of four teams to leave Formula One that year. (''cf'' [[March Engineering]], [[Fondmetal]] and [[Andrea Moda Formula]]). Although there was talk of reviving the team for the following year, its assets passed to Landhurst Leasing and were auctioned by the company's [[Administrative receivership|receivers]] in 1993.<ref>Baker (10 October 1993)</ref> Among these was the team's old factory in Chessington, which was acquired by Yamaha Motor Sports and used to house Activa Technology Limited, a company manufacturing composite components for race and road cars run by Herbie Blash. The factory was bought by the [[Carlin DPR]] [[GP2 Series|GP2]] motor racing team in 2006.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/55796|title=Carlin to enter GP2 in 2007|author=Glenn Freeman|date=27 November 2006|work=Autosport.com|access-date=8 December 2006}}</ref>