The Observer

He's a member of an exclusive and very special club: like Fangio, Stewart, Lauda, Piquet, Prost, Senna and Schumacher, Jack Brabham won three Formula One World Championships. And yet unlike most of that illustrious company, he is rarely mentioned when it comes to the 'greatest ever' debates that inevitably pop up from time to time.

Why? After all, in each of his three championship years Brabham was a lot more than simply lucky. OK, in 1959 he was aided by the retirements of title rivals Tony Brooks and Stirling Moss to be crowned at the US Grand Prix, but no one would argue that he didn't deserve to be champ.

And in 1960 he was completely dominant, scoring an incredible run of five successive GP victories. He almost repeated the feat in '66 when he managed four wins on the bounce.

Jack Brabham at the Autosport Awards © LAT

A great world champion, then, and a man worthy of the status of legend. But again, why is he not considered one of the greatest ever drivers?

Well, perhaps this answers the question. If you were to rank the greatest drivers who were also talented engineers, no one would touch 'Black Jack'. His success was not simply down to pure speed.

He was integral and essential to the development of the rear-engined revolution that took place at Cooper's Surbiton works. Thanks to his engineering nous, Cooper stole a march on their F1 rivals in 1959 - and Jack made the most of the advantage on-track. A brilliant example of his dual skills as an engineer and driver.

Then in 1960 it was Jack that pushed Charles Cooper the hardest to give the green light to the T53 'lowline', which was a direct answer to the new threat produced by Lotus and its Type 18. Again, Cooper and Brabham nailed it. The T53, pretty much created on a plane on the way home from the Argentine GP, marked the zenith of their union.

Into the 1960s, Cooper's fortunes faded and its double world champion looked for a new focus. Creating his own team and his own cars signalled the depth of Brabham's ambition - although he hated the new 1.5-litre formula.

Speaking to me in 2004, Brabham said: "The change [for 1961] was a disaster for Cooper and I - the rug was pulled from under our feet. And there may have been an extra tug from Ferrari. In '61, it was the only team with a good 1500cc engine. No one was happy about the change.

"As far as I was concerned it should have lost the F1 name as the formula was very little better than F2. The fact that we went to three litres in 1966 just made the 1500cc formula look more ridiculous."

But it made Brabham look very clever. His achievements in the mid-1960s arguably eclipse those of the late 1950s. His decision to use the unsophisticated Repco power plant ensured reliability without pushing any boundaries, but once again his rivals weren't prepared for the change. Brabham and Denny Hulme made hay in '66 and '67 - and Jack wrote a unique chapter of history by winning the title in a car bearing his own name.

Jack engineered himself into a position to win all three titles - in more than one sense. He wasn't the fastest driver, which is why he never appears on those 'greatest ever' lists, but he was quick enough. Mixed with intelligence and tenacity beyond the levels of most resulted in one of the toughest competitors the sport has ever known.

Jack Brabham (Brabham BT33 Ford) 1970 Grand Prix of Monaco © LAT

When he won that third title he was already 40 years old - an old man in F1 terms, even then. The significance of being able to win a world championship is not lost on his youngest son, David, who has just landed himself a return to prototype sportscar racing with the new Acura Honda programme.

"I'm 41, so I'm just a little older than dad was when he won his final title," he says. "Being this age now brings it home how big an achievement that was."

At the age of 44, Jack embarked on his final F1 season - and an Indian summer awaited him. His 14th and final GP win at the South Africa season opener set him on course for another tilt at the title. But those famous last lap retirements in Monaco (crash under pressure from Jochen Rindt) and Brands Hatch (running out of fuel) set him back. Still, 1970 was a memorable final fling for the great man.

And then he walked away. The team was sold on to Bernie Ecclestone and Jack returned to Australia. Yes, he would still take an interest in racing, particularly through his three sons - and he even drove a works Porsche in an Australian World Sportscar Championship race in the 1980s - but just as he had been during his sporting career, he never looked back, only forward.

All of the above explains why I've always been a fan of Jack Brabham. That was why I was so thrilled to meet him at the Autosport Awards the other night.

When we started thinking about the guest list for this year's event, it didn't take us long to come up with a desire to include the now beknighted Sir Jack Brabham. He celebrated his 80th birthday earlier this year and of course the 40th anniversary of his third world title. The honours had started at the Australian GP, so we were hopeful of convincing him to join us. And for once, he was prepared to look back and reflect.

An email, then a phone call (we were able to chat despite his famous deafness, before he handed me over to his wife Margaret) and about 15-odd emails to organise flights and accommodation finally secured his presence at our special night. It was well worth it.

As anyone who joined us at the Grosvenor House Hotel would attest, Sir Jack is a frail man these days. The eyesight is failing as well as the hearing, so communication isn't easy. But underneath the weakened shell, he's still the same Jack Brabham. The twinkle in his eye is still there.

I had a hand in the tribute video shown on the night, and it was a buzz to watch it come alive on the big screens. Great archive footage courtesy of Brunswick Films reminded us of 'Black Jack' in his prime, set to the creamy, evocative tones of the great Matt Monro.

Jack Brabham (Brabham BT33 Ford) 1970 British Grand Prix © LAT

Interspersed with the footage were interviews with Murray Walker, Bernie Ecclestone and Ron Dennis. Murray and Bernie gave us some nice soundbites - but Ron gave a little bit more!

When I asked Ron to say a few words about Sir Jack, I was well aware that the pair weren't exactly friends. As a young Brabham mechanic, Dennis had not enjoyed a great relationship with his teammate - particularly after the 1970 British GP and that lost a win thanks to a lack of fuel.

Brabham always blamed Dennis, claiming that the mechanic had forgotten to set the fuel mixture correctly on the grid to allow the car to make it through the race. Would he talk about it on our video? Yes! Thirty-six years on, it clearly still rankles.

As Ron explained, the true story is that it was another who forgot to do his job on the grid - and he finally owned up just a couple of years ago, by letter! Ron didn't name him on film, but it is well known that the culprit was Nick Goozee, who went on to work for Penske.

When reminded of this on stage at the Awards, Sir Jack clearly found the whole story amusing. Apparently, his anger at Dennis had turned into a family joke over the years. And he admitted that he had been wrong to blame Ron - with that old glint in his eye!

David joined his dad for the evening, and was clearly proud to see his old man in the limelight. Quite right, too. Jack Brabham is a true hero. They just don't make them like him any more.