The astute engine call behind Brabham’s unique F1 feat

The ‘old man’ with the long (fake) beard and walking stick gingerly waddled to the green and gold Formula 1 car sitting on pole position. Jack Brabham was all too used to the wise-cracks about his age, so couldn’t resist a comical retort. But behind the stunt and the good-natured laughter it triggered, there was also a dash of genuine niggle.

Yes, he’d turned 40 in April, and yes, before this season he hadn’t won a points-paying grand prix for almost six years. But look at him now, here at Zandvoort for the 1966 Dutch GP – already a winner twice and leading the standings.

In F1’s ‘return to power’ season, as engine capacities doubled to three litres, Old Man Brabham had pulled a technical masterstroke and was winding back the clock. Zandvoort was the third in a string of four consecutive victories that happy summer of 1966 – shades of the Cooper glory days. For doughty Brabham and his tight-knit team, the 1960s were finally beginning to swing.

He’d built up to this since November 1963 when it was announced that F1 was due an upsize. More speed, more acceleration, more wheelspin, more noise: drivers rubbed their hands. Yet in an echo of the 1961 downsize, major players still wouldn’t be fully prepared for the change.

It didn’t help that in February 1965 Coventry Climax struck a blow by refusing to build an engine to the new regulations. The company previously best known for its fire pump engines had been the power behind four F1 world titles since 1959, claiming 40 grand prix wins – 25 since the downsize in 1961. Of the 22 won by the benchmark FWMV V8, Jim Clark’s Lotuses had won 19 of them. Now what?

Lotus ended up killing time in 1966, falling back on Tasman series 2-litre Climax power and BRM’s hefty, overweight and reliably unreliable H16. Cooper joined forces with Maserati to use a V12 with a DNA anchored in the late 1950s, while the heritage of Ferrari’s 12-cylinder could be traced even further back to its foundations deep in the 1940s.

Still, John Surtees was looking good for a second (four-wheeled) world title, even if the twin-spark 60-degree V12 was on the heavy side and better suited to sportscar racing. The trouble was, Brabham undercut them all after surely the best-value flight he ever took.

Repco engine in Jack Brabham's self-built BT19 helped propel him to the 1966 title

Photo by: David Phipps

He flew to LAX to view a liner-less aluminium Buick block at a GM distributor close to the Los Angeles International airport. While there, he was pointed towards a sister pushrod unit that had been created for a now-defunct Oldsmobile project. In the simple, relatively light two-valve 90-degree V8, Brabham spotted a potential answer to his F1 power vacuum. He had the engine transported to his old friends at Repco – short for Replacement Parts Company – back home in Melbourne.

Meanwhile in a flat in Croydon, Phil Irving, who’d made his reputation at Vincent motorcycles, drew a new engine based on the Oldsmobile block – with Brabham and his design partner Ron Tauranac looking over his shoulder, the latter advising on ancillary requirements.

For Repco, pistons, rings, bearings, pins, guides, seals, gaskets and liners were all in-house products. The chain-driven sohc V8 proved compact, frugal (new blocks cost £11, con-rods £7!) and user-friendly fitted into Tauranac’s latest spaceframe BT19. Initial power came in at 280bhp at 7500rpm, just shy of the V12 Ferrari, but at 144kg it was a deal lighter, significantly so compared with the complex 252kg BRM H16.

There’s no doubt Jack Brabham engineered his way to an achievement that is likely to remain unique: champion in a car of his own making. But he drove damn well too

Surtees was worried, and his worst fears were confirmed at Silverstone’s non-championship International Trophy where Jack beat the Ferrari to pole position and left it for dust. Nevertheless, Brabham’s points-paying season took time to ignite.

As Stewart won in Monaco with a 2-litre Tasman version of his 1965 BRM – emphasising this as a time of transition – Surtees bristled at Ferrari politics lumbering him with the big V12 when he knew a 2.4 V6 was better suited to the principality. As for poor Brabham, he suffered from a tummy bug, retired with transmission trouble and caught a bus back to his hotel because he couldn’t find a taxi. Not for the first time… it’s F1, but not as we know it.

At Spa, Surtees saw off Jochen Rindt’s Cooper in a classic encounter – and his last F1 appearance for Ferrari before their combustible divorce post-Le Mans. Brabham finished a cautious fourth, but was just happy to be alive after scraping through a big twitch in the deluge at Burnenville that caught out Stewart, whose dreadful experience following his accident triggered his epochal campaign for better F1 safety.

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The glory run began at Reims with a historic landmark: the first F1 world championship grand prix winner in a car bearing his own name – and Jack’s first since the 1960 Portuguese GP, a drought of 45 races. To compound his pleasure team-mate Denny Hulme scored a first podium, driving the new BT20.

Brabham won on the BT19-Repco's debut in the International Trophy at Silverstone in a sign of what was to come

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Jack also dominated the F2 race, as Brabham chassis would all season, with a firecracker of a Honda 1-litre. Naturally, Jack’s rivals (and friends) were the first to congratulate him: John Cooper, ex-Brabham driver Dan Gurney – who’d clearly left the team just at the wrong time – and Colin Chapman.

On to Brands Hatch, Jack’s favourite circuit, where he and Denny notched up a British GP 1-2 – the stuff of dreams. Next, ‘the old man of racing’ pulled his grid stunt at Zandvoort, battled with Clark’s 2-litre Lotus on another oily surface, then stroked home when the Lotus pitted. To cap his summer Jack then won at the Nurburgring in his faithful BT19, fighting off a spirited challenge from Surtees, now driving for Cooper.

The third world title was within touching distance. But at Monza Jack would claim it sitting on the pit counter following an early retirement. There’s no doubt Jack Brabham engineered his way to an achievement that is likely to remain unique: champion in a car of his own making. But he drove damn well too. As he headed into 1967, Jack coveted a fourth world championship. All that would stop him was his team-mate.

Is Denny Hulme F1’s most overlooked world champion? Perhaps it was the Kiwi’s self-effacing character, for he never sought the limelight. Nevertheless, he grafted for his chance in the top flight, made the most of it when it came, and won his world title on merit.

Hulme first journeyed to the UK in 1960 on the New Zealand Driver to Europe scheme and carved a decent reputation in Formula Junior while working as a mechanic at Brabham. Gurney’s presence meant it took time for him to earn his F1 chance but, when the Californian left to take a lead from Brabham and form Eagle, Hulme was perfectly placed to slot into a supporting role beside the Old Man in that glorious season of 1966.

Now Denny was ready to step up a gear, which doesn’t happen often with so-called ‘number twos’. Think about that for a moment. How many have done it? Hulme deserves more credit.

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Bad luck and lost brake fluid cost him a maiden win at Kyalami, but in Monaco Denny was supreme to score his first – only for the success to be overshadowed by the appalling death of Lorenzo Bandini, burnt in his blazing Ferrari. The best of times – and the worst.

Brabham's 1966 achievement in becoming the only driver to win a championship in his own car is unlikely ever to be repeated

Photo by: David Phipps

Then Zandvoort and another landmark, one that would spell the beginning of the end of Brabham-Repco’s golden era. Lotus was done killing time in the 3-litre era as Chapman wheeled out the Type 49, with its stressed-member Ford Cosworth Double Four-Valve (DFV) V8 slung ominously off the back. Clark beat Brabham first time out with the sensational new combination, but reliability gremlins undermined Lotus thereafter. Sure, Clark won four times that season, but the retirements in between allowed Hulme and Brabham to make more hay.

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Tried and trusted proved key in 1967 as Jack led Denny to a second consecutive French GP 1-2, this time on the funny little short circuit at Le Mans. Clark won at Silverstone, but Hulme was second to keep the points counter ticking over, then at the Nurburgring Denny scored his second win as the demands of ‘The Green Hell’ broke the 49s.

In Mexico for the finale Brabham found himself five points down on his employee; Jack needed to win with Denny lower than fourth to snatch the crown. But there was to be no late drama. As Clark won (too little, too late), Hulme stuck to Brabham’s tail to complete the job without a hitch or fuss, the model of consistency.

Brabham was convinced his team could have scored a title hat-trick in 1968 had it stuck with the two-cam. Instead, the season spiralled into a disaster of poor reliability

Denny didn’t stick around to defend his title at Brabham. That autumn he’d driven for old friend and fellow Kiwi Bruce McLaren in Can-Am, and with Robin Herd’s M7A bristling with DFV power for 1968, he broke the news to Jack he was switching camps. No hard feelings.

Repco hadn’t been idle in 1967, having evolved its Type 740 V8 design. But now in the face of the DFV threat, the Melbourne company took a step too far, upgrading to four camshafts and four valves per cylinder for the Type 860. For the rest of his life, Brabham was convinced his team could have scored a title hat-trick in 1968 had it stuck with the two-cam. Instead, the season spiralled into a disaster of poor reliability.

What a waste, especially since Jack had signed the promising Jochen Rindt. A single fifth for Brabham and a pair of thirds for the Austrian was quite the comedown. Repco’s short but intensely successful time was done. Jack followed the herd and grabbed DFV power for 1969, but couldn’t argue with Rindt’s decision to join Lotus.

In Jochen’s place came Jacky Ickx, fresh from title contention (and a broken leg) with Ferrari, courtesy of sponsor Gulf, keen to keep its sportscar star on the oil company’s books. The Belgian never clicked with Jack, 20 years his senior. But Brabham had greater concerns.

Hulme profited from poor reliability for Lotus and Jim Clark to take the 1967 title in Brabham's BT24

Photo by: Motorsport Images

A crash while testing an experimental Goodyear tyre at Silverstone before the French GP shook the triple champion, now 43. The Brabham crew that cut him free was led by a promising mechanic, Ron Dennis, who had joined with Rindt the previous year. Jack was just happy to be alive, but a badly broken ankle kept him out for three races, until he returned at Monza.

Now the full focus of the team, Ickx stepped up. After winning the closest-ever racing finish at Le Mans in a Gulf Ford GT40, he logged F1 podiums at Clermont-Ferrand and Silverstone before taking pole at the ’Ring. A poor start dropped Ickx to ninth, but he’d carved past Stewart by lap seven for a terrific win.

Another followed at Mosport, this time with Brabham following him for a team 1-2. But Jack was under pressure at home. He’d survived through a deadly era, but the Silverstone test shunt was a stark reminder of diminishing odds. The trouble was that old fire still burned. He didn’t want to stop.

Still, that autumn Jack convinced Rindt to return with the promise of a first Tauranac F1 monocoque – Ron had stuck to his guns on spaceframes for long enough. But when Jochen received a counter-offer too good to turn down to remain at Lotus, he asked Brabham to be released from his deal. Rindt’s manager and friend Bernie Ecclestone spelled it out: if you want to win the championship, stay at Lotus; if you want to stay alive, go back to Brabham. Jochen made his choice.

But Rindt’s U-turn did at least leave Brabham with little option but to race on into the new decade. A long phone call convincing wife Betty while at Watkins Glen hadn’t gone well. But he was fired up and ready for what turned into a fitting swansong.

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Amid Mauro Forghieri’s masterful flat-12-powered Ferrari and Chapman’s ‘next big thing’, the Type 72, Tauranac’s solid BT33 more than held its end up as the team’s first stress-skinned monocoque F1. First time out at Kyalami Brabham scored the last of his 14 world championship GP wins, but it had not been easy.

First, Rindt’s Lotus clobbered him airborne at the first turn. Surprised to be still intact, Jack got his head down and chased Stewart’s new March for the lead, only for the Tyrrell-entered 701 to flick a stone into his cheek, leaving a lasting scar. Usually it was Jack himself, the old dirt-track racer, giving out such treatment.

Brabham became the first driver to win in three different decades when he took his BT33-Ford to victory at the 1970 Kyalami opener

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Increasing deafness from years of screaming racing engines led Jack to experiment with comical ‘teddy bear’ helmet designs that incorporated ear defenders. But there was nothing funny about his final flourish of form in 1970. The trouble is two races stand out, both for the wrong reason: last-lap denouements.

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The first at Monaco was entirely his own doing. Facing pressure from a fast-closing Rindt and in among backmarkers, Brabham broke character by missing his braking point at Gasworks for the last time and slid into a barrier. Then there was Brands Hatch, where another win slipped as Brabham stuttered out of Stirlings Bend for the final time, again to the benefit of Rindt, as Jack coasted out of fuel. A traumatic example of finger trouble: the engine had been running fully rich, and for years Jack blamed Ron Dennis for not turning down the setting on the grid – only for future Penske mainstay Nick Goozée to admit in 2002 that he was the guilty culprit.

So a title that got away? Had those races not been lost, along with another at Jarama, yes, there’s a case. But in the context of the horrors of that year, it doesn’t matter. The loss of Piers Courage at Zandvoort, Bruce McLaren in a testing crash at Goodwood and then Rindt in practice at Monza – plus another frightening testing accident for Jack at the Dutch track – only wound up the family pressure. At 44, Brabham called time.

It says much about his mentality that Jack didn’t stick around to manage Brabham from the sidelines. Old comrade Tauranac was handed the reins for 1971, but the hard-nosed engineer was no frontman

As Rindt was crowned a posthumous champion, Jack relished his final months as a professional racing driver, also enjoying sportscar races with Matra. He’d survived 23 incredible, eventful years behind the wheel, and now began a second life. Knighted for services to motorsport in 1979, he died aged 88 in 2014 after a long and wonderful life well lived.

It says much about his mentality that he didn’t stick around to manage Brabham from the sidelines. Old comrade Tauranac was handed the reins for 1971, but the hard-nosed engineer was no frontman. He accepted an invitation to meet Ecclestone on his yacht, where Bernie offered a ‘partnership’ – to buy the team. Years later Ron admitted he more or less gave Brabham away to the sharpest tool in the F1 box.

Tauranac, who died in 2020 aged 95, reckoned he’d suggested £130,000, only for Ecclestone to cut him down to £100k at the 11th hour. A steal… But a deal also necessary if Brabham was to continue as a true F1 powerhouse.

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Tauranac went on to revive Ralt, as his first hillclimb specials had been called, and made a mark on his own terms as the builder of fine F3 and F2 cars. As for the Brabham team, it was about to be transformed in a whirlwind of technical and commercial alchemy conjured by a new double-act at the helm. Ecclestone and Gordon Murray were ready to lead F1 into pin-sharp and uncharted territory.

After Brabham retired, his long-time collaborator Ron Tauranac elected to sell up, as Bernie Ecclestone led the team into a new era

Photo by: Motorsport Images