Brabham
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Motor Racing Developments Ltd., more usually known as Brabham, was a racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team founded in 1960 by two Australians: driver Jack Brabham and designer Ron Tauranac. The team won four drivers' and two constructors' world championships in its 30 year history. As of 2006, Jack Brabham's 1966 drivers' championship remains the only one won by a driver in a car bearing his own name.
In 1966 and 1967 Brabham won the drivers' and constructors' championships using Australian-built engines from Repco. During the 1960s Brabham was also the largest manufacturer of customer open wheel racing cars in the world, and had built more than 500 cars by 1970. Brabham cars won championships in Formula Two and Formula Three, and competed in the Indianapolis 500.
During the 1970s and 1980s, under the ownership of the British businessman Bernie Ecclestone — who later become responsible for administrating the commercial aspects of Formula One — the team introduced many innovations to Formula One, such as carbon brakes, the controversial but successful 'fan car', in-race refuelling, and hydropneumatic suspension. In the 1980s the team won two more drivers' championships with Brazilian Nelson Piquet, and became the first team to win a drivers' championship with a turbocharged car.
After Ecclestone sold the team in 1987, ownership passed eventually to the Middlebridge Group, a Japanese engineering firm. Midway through the 1992 season the team collapsed after Middlebridge was unable to continue making repayments against loans provided by Landhurst Leasing. The case was investigated by the UK Serious Fraud Office.
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[edit] Origins
Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac met in 1951 when both were successfully building and racing their own cars in Australia. Brabham went to the United Kingdom in 1955 to further his racing career. Driving for the Cooper Car Company works team, he became Formula One world champion in 1959 and 1960. In addition to driving, he had significant technical involvement at Cooper, particularly in developing the 1960 T53 ‘lowline’ car. Brabham consulted Tauranac by letter on technical matters and fed the results back into the Cooper designs.<ref>Lawrence (1999) pp. 18, 22 Brabham used a gear cluster designed by Tauranac for several years and Tauranac also advised on the suspension geometry of the lowline car.</ref>
Although Cooper had revolutionised Formula One by introducing the mid-engined layout, their approach to car design was less than scientific and Brabham felt sure that he could improve on it. In 1959 Brabham invited his friend Tauranac to come to the UK and work with him. Brabham described Tauranac as "absolutely the only bloke I'd have gone into partnership with".<ref>Brabham, Nye (2004) p. 140</ref> Initially this was at his car dealership, Jack Brabham Motors, producing upgrade kits for Sunbeam Rapier and Triumph Herald road cars, but with the long-term aim to design racing cars.<ref>Lawrence (1999) p. 22-4 Jack had already tried to buy Cooper in association with fellow-driver Roy Salvadori</ref>
Brabham and Tauranac set up a company called Motor Racing Developments Ltd, avoiding use of either man’s name, and produced their first car for the entry level Formula Junior class in the summer of 1961. Initially known as an MRD, the car's name was soon changed. Jabby Crombac pointed out that "[the] way a Frenchman pronounces those initials — written phonetically, 'em air day' — sounded perilously like the French word... merde."<ref>Scarlett (May 2006) p. 43. This is the story as recalled by both Ron Tauranac and Brabham mechanic Michael Scarlett. The British journalist Alan Brinton has also been credited with pointing out this unfortunate fact to Brabham. See Drackett (1985) p. 21.</ref> The cars were subsequently known as Brabhams, with type numbers starting with BT for 'Brabham Tauranac'.<ref>Drackett (1985) pp. 18, 21 The first prototype FJunior car therefore became the BT1 and its production version the BT2.</ref>
By the 1961 Formula One season, the first run under a new 1.5 litre engine capacity limit, the Lotus and Ferrari teams had developed the mid-engined approach further than Cooper. Having run his own private Coopers in non-championship events during 1961, Brabham left in 1962 to drive for his own team: Brabham Racing Organisation.<ref name="Law31">Lawrence (1999) p. 31</ref> The cars would be built by Motor Racing Developments, but because MRD's focus was on selling customer cars to generate income it was not until partway through the 1962 Formula One season that MRD delivered the first Brabham Formula One car, the BT3.<ref>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.</ref>
[edit] Racing history - Formula One
[edit] Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac (1961-1970)
The Brabham Racing Organisation (BRO) started the 1962 season, its first in Formula One, with an outdated customer Lotus 21-Climax. The team did not debut their own BT3, run in a turquoise livery and powered by the new V8 Climax engine, until the 1962 German Grand Prix, where driver Brabham retired with a throttle problem after nine of the fifteen laps. By the last two races of the season the car was competitive enough for him to take a pair of fourth places.<ref>Henry (1985) pp. 21-22 The 21 was only a stop-gap for BRO until a new Lotus 24 with the V8 Climax engine was ready.</ref>
From the 1963 season, the cars were run in Australia's racing colours of green and gold.<ref>Brabham, Nye (2004) p.147</ref> Jack Brabham took the team's first win at the non-championship 1963 Solitude Grand Prix in Germany.<ref>Henry (1985) p.28</ref> Between 1963 and 1965, Brabham was partnered by American driver Dan Gurney, who took the marque's first win in the world championship, at the 1964 French Grand Prix. Gurney won again at the 1964 Mexican Grand Prix and Brabham works and customer cars took another three non-championship wins during the 1964 season.<ref>Henry (1985) pp. 35-41</ref> The 1965 season was less successful, with no championship wins. During this period, Brabham finished third or fourth in the constructors' championship each year, but promising performances were marred by poor reliability on several occasions. Commentators, including Ron Tauranac, have said that a lack of resources may have cost the team results.<ref>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.</ref>
The Formula One engine capacity limit was raised to 3 litres for the 1966 season and suitable engines were scarce. Brabham used engines from Australian engineering firm Repco (see below), which had never produced a Formula One engine before, based on aluminium V8 engine blocks from the defunct American Oldsmobile F85 road car project, and other off the shelf parts.<ref>Pinder, Simon (1995) Mr Repco Brabham Frank Hallam pp. 20-23 Pinder Publications</ref> Few expected the Brabham-Repcos to be competitive,<ref>Brabham, The Man and the Machines p. 43 The team was the only one not contracted by John Frankenheimer for the shooting of the film Grand Prix at world championship races that year.</ref> but the light and reliable cars ran at the front from the start of the season and at the French Grand Prix at Reims-Gueux, Jack Brabham became the first man to win a Formula One world championship race in a car bearing his own name. Only his former team mate, Bruce McLaren, has since matched the achievement. It was the first in a run of four straight wins for the Australian veteran. Jack Brabham won his third title in 1966, becoming the only driver, as of 2006, to win the Formula One World Championship in a car carrying his own name (cf Surtees, Hill and Fittipaldi Automotive). In 1967, the title went to Brabham's team mate, New Zealander Denny Hulme. Hulme had better reliability through the year, possibly due to Jack 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> The Brabham team took the constructors' world championship in both years.<ref>Fearnley (May 2006) pp. 34-40</ref>
Hulme left for McLaren in 1968 and was replaced by Austrian Jochen Rindt. A more powerful version of the Repco V8 was produced to maintain competitiveness against Ford's new Cosworth DFV, but proved very unreliable. The Repco project had always been hindered by the lengthy lines of communication between the UK and Australia, which made correcting problems very difficult. The car was fast — Rindt set pole position twice during the season — but Brabham and Rindt finished only three races between them, and ended the year having scored just ten points.<ref>Fearnley (May 2006) p. 41</ref>
Brabham bought Cosworth DFV engines for the 1969 season. Rindt left for Lotus and was replaced by Jacky Ickx, who had a strong second half to the season, winning in Germany and Canada, after Jack Brabham was sidelined by a testing accident.<ref>Henry p.85</ref> Ickx finished second in the drivers' championship, with 37 points to Jackie Stewart's 63. Brabham himself took a couple of pole positions and two top three finishes, but did not finish half the races. The team were second in the constructors' championship, aided by second places at Monaco and Watkins Glen scored by Piers Courage, driving a Brabham for the Frank Williams Racing Cars privateer squad.<ref>Henry (1985) pp.79-80</ref>
Jack Brabham intended to retire at the end of the 1969 season and sold his share in the team to Tauranac. However, Rindt's late decision to remain with Lotus meant that Brabham drove for another year.<ref>Lawrence (1999) p.109 & Brabham, Nye (2004) pp.230-231 He was therefore technically a team employee in his final season.</ref> He took his last win in the opening race of the 1970 season and competed at the front throughout the year, although his challenge was blunted by repeated mechanical failures.<ref> Henry (1985) p.93</ref> Aided by number two driver Rolf Stommelen, the team came fourth in the constructors' championship.
[edit] Ron Tauranac (1971)
Tauranac signed veteran double world champion Graham Hill and the young Australian Tim Schenken for the 1971 season. Tauranac designed the unusual ‘lobster claw’ BT34, featuring twin radiators mounted ahead of the front wheels, a single example of which was built for Hill. Although Hill took his final Formula One win in the non-championship BRDC International Trophy at Silverstone,<ref>Henry (1985) pp. 114-17</ref> the team scored only seven championship points.
Tauranac, an engineer first and foremost, started to feel his Formula One budget, around £100,000 in 1971, was a gamble he could not afford to take without an experienced business partner.<ref>Lawrence (1999) p. 113</ref> During 1971 Tauranac started to look around for a such a partner. He eventually sold Brabham to Bernie Ecclestone, Jochen Rindt's former manager and erstwhile owner of the Connaught team, staying on as designer and to run the factory.<ref>Lawrence (1999) p. 116</ref>
[edit] Bernie Ecclestone (1972-1987)
Tauranac left Brabham early in the 1972 season. He and Ecclestone later agreed that their personalities did not allow for shared leadership.[citation needed] Pole position for Carlos Reutemann at his home race at Buenos Aires and a victory in the non-championship Interlagos Grand Prix were the highlights of an aimless year, during which the team ran three different models. For the 1973 season, Ecclestone promoted Gordon Murray to chief designer. The young South African produced the triangular cross-section BT42, with which Reutemann scored two podium finishes and seventh place in the drivers' championship.
In the 1974 season Reutemann took the first three victories of his Formula One career, and Brabham's first since 1970. The team finished a close fifth in the constructors' championship, fielding the much more competitive BT44s. After a strong finish to the 1974 season, many observers felt the team were favourites to win the 1975 title. The year started well, with an emotional first win for Carlos Pace at the Interlagos circuit in his native São Paulo. However, over the season tyre wear frequently slowed the cars, and the initial promise was not maintained.<ref> Gill, Barrie (1976) "The World Championship 1975" John Player Motorsport yearbook 1976 p. 103 Queen Anne Press Ltd. ISBN 0-362-00254-1</ref> Pace took another two podiums and finished sixth in the championship; while five podium finishes, including a dominant win in the 1975 German Grand Prix, placed Reutemann third. The team was ranked third in the constructors' table at the end of the year.
While competitors Lotus and McLaren relied on the Cosworth DFV from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, Ecclestone sought a competitive advantage for his team from other engine suppliers. Despite the increasing success of Murray’s nimble Ford-powered cars, Ecclestone signed a deal with Alfa Romeo to use their large and powerful flat-12 engine from the 1976 season. The engines were free, but they rendered the new BT45s, now in red Martini Racing livery, unreliable and overweight. The 1976 and 1977 seasons saw Brabham fall toward the back of the field again. Reutemann negotiated a release from his contract before the end of the 1976 season, signed with Ferrari, and was replaced at Brabham by Ulsterman John Watson. The team lost Carlos Pace early in the 1977 season when he was killed in a light aircraft accident.
For the 1978 season Murray’s radical BT46 featured several new technologies to overcome the weight and packaging difficulties caused by the Alfa engines. Ecclestone signed then two-time world champion Niki Lauda, whose US$1 million salary demand was met with sponsorship from the Italian dairy products company Parmalat. 1978 was the year of the dominant Lotus 79 ‘wing car’, which used aerodynamic ground effect to stick to the track when cornering, but the combination of Lauda and the BT46 brought two wins. The first was with the controversial 'B' version of the car, dubbed the "fan car", which exploited a loophole in the regulations. This loophole was promptly closed (see below), but the standard BT46 was competitive throughout the rest of the year.
The Brabham-Alfa era ended during the 1979 season, the team's first with young Brazilian Nelson Piquet. Murray designed the overambitious, full-ground-effects BT48 around a rapidly developed and unreliable new Alfa V12 engine. Despite an effective carbon-carbon braking system — a technology Brabham pioneered in 1976 (see below) — the team dropped to eighth by the end of the season. Alfa Romeo started testing their own Formula One car during this season, prompting Ecclestone to revert to Cosworth DFV engines, a move Murray described as being "like having a holiday". The new, lighter, Ford-powered BT49 was introduced before the end of the year at the 1979 Canadian Grand Prix; where after practice Lauda announced his retirement from driving, having lost all motivation to race.
The team used the BT49 over four seasons. In the 1980 season Piquet scored three wins and the team took third in the constructors' championship. This season saw the introduction of the blue and white livery that the cars would wear through several changes of sponsor, until the team's demise in 1992. By now the team fully understood the ground-effect phenomenon and further developed the BT49C for the 1981 season, incorporating a hydropneumatic suspension system to avoid ride-height limitations intended to reduce ground effect. Piquet, who had developed a close working relationship with Murray<ref name="RoePiq">Roebuck (1986) p.114</ref> took the drivers' title with three wins, albeit in the face of accusations of cheating (see below).
Brabham had tested a BMW 4-cylinder M10 turbocharged engine in the summer of 1981, and 1982's new BT50 was designed around it. Like the Repco engine, this was based on a road car engine block. Brabham continued to run the Ford-powered BT49D in the early part of the season while reliability and driveability issues were resolved. The relationship came close to ending, with BMW insisting that Brabham stop using the Cosworth powered BT49Ds, while Ecclestone maintained that the BMW powered cars were not reliable enough. The turbo car took its first win at the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix. In the 1983 season, the BT52B-BMW, driven by Piquet, was the first world-championship-winning turbo-powered Formula One car. Piquet scored a sequence of good results from mid-season to overtake Renault's Alain Prost at the last race of the year, the South African Grand Prix. The team did not win the constructor's championship in either 1981 or 1983, despite its lead driver's success. Riccardo Patrese was the only driver other than Piquet to win a race for Brabham in this period - the drivers in the second car contributed only a fraction of the teams points in each of these championship seasons.
Piquet took the team’s last win at the 1985 French Grand Prix before reluctantly leaving for Williams at the end of the season. After seven years and two world championships, he felt he was worth more than Ecclestone's salary offer for 1986.<ref name="RoePiq" /> Murray's radical long and low BT55, with its BMW engine tilted over to allow clean airflow to the rear wing, scored only two points in the 1986 Formula One season; the engine did not perform well in this orientation and the gearbox from Weissman was unreliable. By now a Formula One team budget for the year was £10 - 12 million.<ref>Drackett (1985) p.153 This estimate is Ecclestone's, from 1985, although he declined to reveal Brabham's actual budget.</ref> Italian Elio de Angelis became the Formula One team's first fatality when he was killed in a testing accident at Paul Ricard. Murray, who since 1973 had designed Brabham cars that had scored 22 Grand Prix wins, left the team at the end of the year.<ref name="AZBrabham">Hodges (1990) p.43</ref>
From the 1987 season FISA progressively reduced the turbo boost pressure allowed in Formula One, before banning turbocharged engines altogether for 1989.<ref>Tremayne, David and Hughes, Mark (1998, 2001) The Concise Encyclopedia of Formula One pp. 229-30 Parragon ISBN 0-7525-6735-7</ref> BMW, whose programme was based around turbocharged versions of their road engines, withdrew from Formula One after the 1987 season. Unable to locate a suitable engine supplier, Ecclestone withdrew the team from Formula One at the beginning of 1988. He eventually sold MRD for £2 million.<ref>'Tycoon's drive and a formula worth millions' The article does not specify who the team was sold to. The Times (London); Nov 11, 1997; Alasdair Murray; p. 4</ref> It passed through the hands of FIAT before ending up in the ownership of Swiss businessman Joachim Luhti.<ref name="Piranha">Collings (2004) p.143</ref>
[edit] Joachim Luhti (1989)
The Brabham team missed the 1988 season during the change of ownership, although MRD did produce a prototype mid-engined racing saloon, the BT57, for Alfa Romeo.<ref>Brabham (Motor Racing Developments) www.grandprix.com Retrieved 27 October 2006</ref> The new BT58, powered by an engine from Judd (originally another of Jack Brabham's companies), was produced for the 1989 Formula One season.<ref>Brabham, Nye (2004) p.254 Engine Developments, the company which builds Judd engines, was a company Jack Brabham set up in partnership with John Judd after his retirement from driving in 1970. Judd had previously worked for Brabham on the Repco project.</ref> Italian driver Stefano Modena was signed alongside the more experienced Martin Brundle. The team finished in eighth place, and Modena took the team's last podium: a third place at the Monaco Grand Prix.
[edit] Middlebridge Racing (1989 - 1992)
After the arrest of Luhti in mid-1989 on tax evasion charges,<ref name="Piranha" /> ownership of the team was disputed. Middlebridge Group Limited, a Japanese engineering firm which was already involved with established Formula 3000 team Middlebridge Racing, ended up with control of the team for the 1990 Formula One season. They paid for their purchase using £1 million loaned to them by finance company Landhurst Leasing.<ref name="Landhurst">"Landhurst duo took bribes for loans to Brabham" www.sfo.gov.uk Serious Fraud Office Annual Report 1997-1998 case studies retrieved 19 May 2006</ref> Nonetheless, the team was underfunded and would only score a few more points finishes in its last three seasons. Jack Brabham's youngest son, David raced for the Formula One team for a short time in 1990, and was followed by another son of a former Brabham driver and World Champion when Damon Hill joined the team in 1992. Hill was drafted into the team after Giovanna Amati, the last woman to attempt to race in Formula One, was dropped when her sponsorship failed to materialise.
The team's final cars were designed by Argentine Sergio Rinland and continued to use Judd engines, except for 1991 when Yamaha engines were used. In the 1992 season the cars rarely qualified for races. Hill gave the team its final finish, at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where he crossed the finish line four laps behind the winner. Before the end of the season the team ran out of funds and collapsed. Middlebridge Group Limited had been unable to continue making repayments against the £6 million ultimately provided by Landhurst Leasing, which went into administration. The case was investigated by the Serious Fraud Office. Landhurst's managing directors were found guilty of corruption - having accepted bribes for further loans to Middlebridge - and imprisoned.<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 receivers in 1993.<ref>'Sport Almanack: Racing cars for sale: one careful owner' The Independent on Sunday (London); Oct 10, 1993; Andrew Baker</ref>
[edit] Motor Racing Developments
The company that Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac set up in 1961 to design and build customer formula racing cars was called Motor Racing Developments (MRD). Initially Brabham and Tauranac each held 50 percent of the shares.<ref name="Law31" />
From 1963 to 1965, MRD was not directly involved in Formula One, where the works entry was run by a separate company, Jack Brabham's Brabham Racing Organisation. Like other customers, BRO bought its cars from MRD, initially at £3,000 per car,<ref>Fearnley, Paul (May 2006) "The powerhouse that Jack built" Motorsport p.39</ref> although it did not pay for development parts. MRD often ran works cars in other formulae. During this period the cars in all formulae were usually known as "Repco Brabhams", not because of the Repco engines used between 1966 and 1968, but because of a smaller-scale sponsorship deal through which the Australian company had been providing parts to Jack Brabham since his Cooper days.
Tauranac was not happy with his distance from the Formula One operation and suggested that he was no longer interested in producing cars for Formula One under this arrangement. Brabham investigated other chassis suppliers for BRO, however the two reached an agreement and from 1966 MRD was much more closely involved in this category. After Jack Brabham sold his shares in MRD to Ron Tauranac at the end of 1969, the works Formula One team was MRD, although the name on the official entry list sometimes varied in line with sponsorship deals. At the end of 1971 MRD was sold to Bernie Ecclestone, who retained the Brabham ‘brand’, as did subsequent owners.
Under Brabham and Tauranac in the mid-1960s, MRD was the largest manufacturer of single-seat racing cars in the world,<ref>Brabham - the man and the machines "Deeds, not words" p. 111 Unique Motor Books ISBN 1-84155-619-X</ref> and by 1970 had built over 500 cars.<ref name="car numbers">Lawrence (1999) p.207</ref> Brabhams were used by many teams in Formula One, most successfully by Frank Williams Racing Cars and the Rob Walker Racing Team. The 1965 British Grand Prix saw seven Brabhams compete, only two of them from the works team, and there were usually four or five at championship Grands Prix throughout that season. The firm built scores of cars for the lower formulae each year, peaking with 89 cars in 1966.<ref name="car numbers" /> Brabham had the reputation of providing customers with cars of a standard equal to those used by the works team, which worked ‘out of the box’. The company provided a high degree of support to its customers - including Jack Brabham helping customers set up their cars. Although the production of customer cars continued briefly under Bernie Ecclestone’s ownership, Ecclestone believed the company needed to focus on Formula One to succeed. The last production customer Brabhams were the Formula Two BT40 and Formula Three BT41 of 1973,<ref>Hodges (1990) p.39</ref> although Ecclestone sold ex-works Formula One BT44Bs to RAM Racing as late as 1976.<ref>Henry (1985) p.156 Henry claims Ecclestone did this to ensure the team would focus on its troublesome new Alfa Romeo powered BT45s.</ref>
[edit] Racing history - other formulae
[edit] Indycar
Brabham cars competed at the Indianapolis 500 from the mid 1960s to the early 1970s. After an abortive project in 1962, MRD was commissioned in 1964 to build an Indycar chassis powered by an American Offenhauser engine. The resultant BT12 chassis was raced by Jack Brabham as the Zink-Urschel Trackburner at the 1964 event and retired on lap 77 with a fuel tank problem. The car was entered again in 1965 and 1966, taking a third place for Jim McElreath on the latter occasion, although MRD was not involved. From 1968 to 1970 Brabham returned to Indianapolis, at first with a 4.2 litre version of the Repco V8 the team used in Formula One, before reverting to the Offenhauser engine for 1970. MRD's best finish was a fifth place for Peter Revson in 1969. The Brabham-Offenhauser combination was used until 1972.<ref>Indy 500 Stats www.indy500.com. Retrieved 27 June 2006</ref> Although not successful at Indianapolis, McElreath won four USAC races over 1965 and 1966 in the BT12.<ref>Lawrence (1999) p. 57</ref> The Dean Van Lines Special in which Mario Andretti won the 1965 United States Automobile Club (USAC) national championship was a direct copy of this car, by Andretti's crew chief Clint Brawner. Revson won a USAC race in 1969, using the Repco engine.
[edit] Formula Two
In the 1960s and early 1970s, Formula One drivers often competed in Formula Two as well. In 1966 MRD produced the BT18 for the lower category, with a Honda engine acting as a stressed component. The car was extremely successful, winning 11 consecutive Formula Two races in the hands of the Formula One pairing of Brabham and Hulme. Cars were entered by MRD and not by the Brabham Racing Organisation, avoiding a direct conflict with Repco, their Formula One engine supplier.<ref>Brabham - the man and the machines "Brabham - the organisation" p. 117 Unique Motor Books ISBN 1-84155-619-X</ref>
[edit] Formula Three
The first Formula Three Brabham was the BT9 in 1964, but it was not until 1965 that the marque really took off in the category. The BT15 was a highly successful design, 58 of which were sold, winning championships in the UK, Italy, Sweden and Denmark. The cars very much followed the design route of their Formula One and Formula Two cousins, combining spaceframe chassis and outboard suspension. Indeed, in the mid 1960s Formulas Three and Two both used 1 litre production-derived engines and the chassis were often very closely related. Further developments of the same concept, featuring the addition of wings, were highly competitive up until 1971. 1972's BT38C was Brabham's first production monocoque and the first not designed by Tauranac. It was less popular and successful than its predecessors. The angular BT41 was the final Formula Three Brabham.<ref>Manufacturers - Brabham www.f3history.co.uk Retrieved 26 June 2006</ref>
[edit] Formula Junior
The first Brabham chassis was the prototype MRD designed for Formula Junior, which at that time provided an entry level of racing. Retrospectively labelled the BT1 the car proved immediately competitive in the hands of Australian amateur racer Gavin Youl. The BT2-series were productionised versions of this prototype. Brabham continued to produce cars for this category until it ended in 1963.
[edit] Sportscars
Tauranac did not enjoy designing sportscars and could only spare a small amount of his time from MRD's very successful single-seater business. Only 14 sportscars were built between 1961 and 1972, out of a total production of almost 600 chassis.<ref>Lawrence (1999) pp.205-207</ref> The BT8A was the only one built in any numbers, and was quite successful in national level racing in the UK in 1964 and 1965.<ref>Lawrence (1999) p.55</ref> The design was "stretched" in 1966 to become the one-off BT17, originally fitted with the 4.3 litre version of the Repco engine for Can-Am racing. It was rapidly abandoned by MRD with engine reliability problems.<ref>Lawrence (1999) pp.84-85</ref>
[edit] Technical innovation
Brabham was often considered a conservative team in the Brabham-Tauranac era of the 1960s. The team won the 1966 and 1967 championships with traditional spaceframe cars six years after Lotus introduced monocoque chassis to Formula One. Designer Tauranac insists that the spaceframe chassis was far easier to repair and while willing and able to innovate - the BT1 was the first racing car to feature an adjustable anti-roll bar, for example - would only do so for good reason.
Early Brabhams went well on fast tracks; a fact Tauranac attributes in part to MRD’s pioneering use of wind tunnel testing to hone their aerodynamics. As early as 1963, tests in the Motor Industry Research Association tunnel taught the team to keep the nose of the car as close to the track as possible, to minimise aerodynamic lift.<ref> Henry (1985) p. 39 The initial tests were carried out under the auspices of Malcolm Sayer, who had been responsible for the aerodynamics of the Jaguar D-type Le Mans winning car.</ref> Brabham was one of the first teams to use trim tabs at the front of the car to control lift. They appeared as early as 1962 on the Formula Junior car<ref>Lawrence (1999) p.91</ref> and at the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix Brabham were the first, alongside Ferrari, to introduce full width rear wings for downforce and increased grip.<ref>Lawrence (1999) p.100</ref>
The team's most fertile period of technical innovation came in the 1970s and 1980s when Gordon Murray became technical director. During 1976, the team introduced carbon-carbon brakes to Formula One, which promised reduced unsprung weight and greater frictional performance. The initial versions used reinforced carbon-carbon composite pads and a steel disc faced with carbon pucks. The technology was not reliable at first; Carlos Pace was almost killed at the Österreichring in 1976 when he went off the circuit at 180 mph, after heat buildup in the brakes boiled the brake fluid leaving him with no effective braking.<ref>Henry (1985) p. 163</ref> By 1979 Brabham had developed an effective carbon-carbon braking system, combining structural carbon discs with carbon pads.<ref name="Carbon Fibre">Howard, Keith (June 2006) "Carbon fibre" Motorsport p.52 Interview with Gordon Murray and John Barnard on the early uses of Carbon Fibre in Formula One for brakes and chassis structure.</ref>
The Brabham BT46B of 1978, also known as the Fan car, generated an immense level of downforce by means of a fan, claimed to assist cooling, which sucked air from beneath the car. The car only raced once in the Formula One World Championship, Niki Lauda winning the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix, before a loophole in the regulations was closed by the FIA.<ref>Henry (1985) p.186-187 It is often claimed that the car was never banned, but rather withdrawn by Ecclestone. Ecclestone did agree to withdraw it after three races, but the FIA changed the regulations to render 'fan cars' in general, not the BT46B in particular, illegal before it could race again.</ref>
Murray started using lightweight carbon fibre composite panels to reinforce and stiffen Brabham's aluminium alloy monocoques from 1979. He was reluctant to built an entirely composite chassis until he completely understood how the new materials worked, an understanding achieved in part through an intrumented crash test of a BT49 chassis.<ref name="Carbon Fibre" /> The team did not follow McLaren's 1981 MP4/1 with their own fully composite chassis until the 'lowline' BT55 in 1986<ref name="AZBrabham" />, the last team to do so.
For the 1981 season FISA introduced a 6 cm minimum ground clearance for the cars, intended to slow them in corners by limiting the downforce created by aerodynamic ground effect. Gordon Murray devised a hydropneumatic suspension system for the BT49C, which allowed the car to settle to a much lower ride height at speed. Brabham were accused of cheating by other teams, although Murray believes that the system was legal. No action was taken against the team and others soon produced systems with similar effects. See Brabham BT49.<ref>Henry (1985) pp.223-225</ref>
At the 1982 British Grand Prix Brabham reintroduced the idea of re-fuelling and re-tyring the car during the race, to allow their drivers to sprint away at the start of races on a light fuel load and soft tyres. In tests at Donington Park the week before the race the pit crew were reported to "have refuelled and re-tyred the car in only 14 seconds"<ref>Skewis, Mark (July 13 2000) Five decades of news reporting Autosport 50th Anniversary issue p. 240</ref> The team made good use of the tactic in 1982 and 1983. Refuelling was banned for 1984, reappearing in 1994, but tyre changes have remained part of Formula One.
[edit] Controversy
While the fan car and hydropneumatic suspension exploited loopholes in the sporting regulations, the team was also accused of breaking those regulations in the early 1980s. During 1981, Piquet's first championship year, rumours - stated openly by Jacques Lafitte - circulated of illegal lightweight Brabham chassis. The cars were supposedly fitted with heavily ballasted bodywork before being weighed at scrutineering. The accusation was denied by Brabham's management. No formal protest was made against the team and no action was taken against them by the sporting authorities.<ref>Henry (1985) p.225</ref>
Ecclestone's position as president of the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA) and owner of Brabham left the team open to accusations that it had an inside track on forthcoming rule changes. Ecclestone denies the team was advantaged and Murray has noted that, contrary to this view, at the end of 1982 the team had to abandon their new BT51 car, built on the basis that ground effect would be permitted in 1983. When ground effect was then banned for the 1983 season by the FIA, Brabham had to design and build a second, entirely different, car (BT52) in only three months.<ref>Henry (1985) p.255</ref> At the end of the 1983 season, Renault and Ferrari, both beaten to the drivers' championship by Piquet, protested that the Research Octane Number (RON) of the team's fuel was above the legal limit of 102. FISA declared that a figure of up to 102.9 was permitted under the rules, and that Brabham had not exceeded this limit.<ref>Drackett (1985) p.133. Although "protested", as used by Drackett, implies a formal protest, he does not specify this, and Henry (1985) p.267 says 'no action was ever taken'.</ref>
[edit] Championship results
Results achieved by the 'works' Brabham team.
| Season | Entrant | Car | Tyres | Engine | Drivers | Constructors Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Brabham Racing Organisation | Lotus 21 Brabham BT3 | Dunlop | Coventry-Climax | Jack Brabham | 7th (9 points) |
| 1963 | Brabham Racing Organisation | Brabham BT3 Brabham BT7 Lotus 25 | Dunlop | Coventry-Climax | Jack Brabham Dan Gurney | 3rd (28 points) |
| 1964 | Brabham Racing Organisation | Brabham BT7 Brabham BT11 | Dunlop | Coventry-Climax | Jack Brabham Dan Gurney | 4th (33 points) |
| 1965 | Brabham Racing Organisation | Brabham BT7 Brabham BT11 | Dunlop Goodyear | Coventry-Climax | Jack Brabham Dan Gurney Denny Hulme Giancarlo Baghetti | 3rd (27 pts) |
| 1966 | Brabham Racing Organisation | Brabham BT19 Brabham BT20 Brabham BT22 | Goodyear | Repco | Jack Brabham Denny Hulme | Champion (42 pts) |
| 1967 | Brabham Racing Organisation | Brabham BT19 Brabham BT20 Brabham BT24 | Goodyear | Repco | Jack Brabham Denny Hulme | Champion (37 pts) |
| 1968 | Brabham Racing Organisation | Brabham BT24 Brabham BT26 | Goodyear | Repco | Jack Brabham Jochen Rindt Dan Gurney | 8th (10 pts) |
| 1969 | Motor Racing Developments | Brabham BT26/A | Goodyear | Cosworth DFV | Jack Brabham Jacky Ickx | 2nd (51 pts) |
| 1970 | Motor Racing Developments | Brabham BT33 | Goodyear | Cosworth DFV | Jack Brabham Rolf Stommelen | 4th (35 pts) |
| 1971 | Motor Racing Developments | Brabham BT33 Brabham BT34 | Goodyear | Cosworth DFV | Graham Hill Tim Schenken Dave Charlton | 9th (5 pts) |
| 1972 | Motor Racing Developments | Brabham BT33 Brabham BT34 Brabham BT37 | Goodyear | Cosworth DFV | Graham Hill Carlos Reutemann Wilson Fittipaldi | 9th (7 pts) |
| 1973 | Motor Racing Developments Ceramica Pagnossin Team MRD | Brabham BT37 Brabham BT42 | Goodyear | Cosworth DFV | Carlos Reutemann Wilson Fittipaldi Andrea de Adamich Rolf Stommelen John Watson | 4th (49 pts) |
| 1974 | Motor Racing Developments | Brabham BT42 Brabham BT44 | Goodyear | Cosworth DFV | Carlos Reutemann Carlos Pace Rikky von Opel Richard Robarts Teddy Pilette | 5th (35 pts) |
| 1975 | Martini Racing | Brabham BT44B | Goodyear | Cosworth DFV | Carlos Reutemann Carlos Pace | 2nd (54 pts) |
| 1976 | Martini Racing | Brabham BT45 | Goodyear | Alfa Romeo | Carlos Reutemann Carlos Pace Rolf Stommelen Larry Perkins | 9th (9 pts) |
| 1977 | Martini Racing | Brabham BT45/B | Goodyear | Alfa Romeo | Carlos Pace John Watson Hans Stuck Giorgio Francia | 5th (27 pts) |
| 1978 | Parmalat Racing Team | Brabham BT45C Brabham BT46/B/C | Goodyear | Alfa Romeo | Niki Lauda John Watson Nelson Piquet | 3rd (53 pts) |
| 1979 | Parmalat Racing Team | Brabham BT46 Brabham BT48 Brabham BT49 | Goodyear | Alfa Romeo Cosworth DFV | Niki Lauda Nelson Piquet Ricardo Zuniño | 8th (6 pts) |
| 1980 | Parmalat Racing Team | Brabham BT49/B | Michelin | Cosworth DFV | Nelson Piquet Ricardo Zuniño Hector Rebaque | 3rd (55 pts) |
| 1981 | Parmalat Racing Team | Brabham BT49/B/C | Goodyear | Cosworth DFV | Nelson Piquet Hector Rebaque Ricardo Zuniño | 2nd (61 pts) |
| 1982 | Parmalat Racing Team | Brabham BT49D Brabham BT50 | Goodyear | Cosworth DFV BMW | Nelson Piquet Riccardo Patrese | 2nd (76 pts) |
| 1983 | Fila Sport | Brabham BT52/B | Michelin | BMW | Nelson Piquet Riccardo Patrese | 3rd (72 pts) |
| 1984 | MRD International | Brabham BT53 | Michelin | BMW | Nelson Piquet Teo Fabi Corrado Fabi Manfred Winkelhock | 4th (38 pts) |
| 1985 | Motor Racing Developments Ltd | Brabham BT54 | Pirelli | BMW | Nelson Piquet Marc Surer François Hesnault | 5th (26 pts) |
| 1986 | Motor Racing Developments Ltd | Brabham BT54 Brabham BT55 | Pirelli | BMW | Elio de Angelis Ricardo Patrese Derek Warwick | 9th (2 pts) |
| 1987 | Motor Racing Developments Ltd | Brabham BT56 | Goodyear | BMW | Ricardo Patrese Andrea de Cesaris Stefano Modena | 8th(10 pts) |
| 1989 | Motor Racing Developments | Brabham BT58 | Pirelli | Judd | Martin Brundle Stefano Modena | 9th (8 pts) |
| 1990 | Motor Racing Developments | Brabham BT58 Brabham BT59 | Pirelli | Judd | Stefano Modena David Brabham Gregor Foitek | 10th (2 pts) |
| 1991 | Motor Racing Developments Ltd | Brabham BT59Y Brabham BT60Y | Pirelli | Yamaha | Martin Brundle Mark Blundell | 9th (3 pts) |
| 1992 | Motor Racing Developments Ltd | Brabham BT60B | Goodyear | Judd | Eric van de Poele Giovanna Amati Damon Hill | NC (0 pts) |
| Preceded by: Lotus | Formula One Constructors' Champion 1966-1967 | Succeeded by: Lotus |
| Motor Racing Developments <td style="vertical-align: middle; width:1px" rowspan=2> </td> |
|
Formula One: BT3 | BT7 | BT19 | BT20 | BT23 | BT24 | BT26 | BT33 | BT34 | BT37 | BT39 | BT42 | BT44/B | BT45 | BT46/B/C | BT48 | BT49/C/D | BT50 | BT51 | BT52 | BT53 | BT54 | BT55 | BT56 | BT58 | BT59/Y | BT60 Indianapolis 500/USAC: BT12 | BT25 | BT32 Formula Two: BT10 | BT11/A | BT16 | BT18 | BT23 | BT23C | BT30 | BT36 | BT38 | BT40 | Formula Atlantic: BT23F/G | BT29 | BT35A/B | BT38B | BT40 Formula Three: BT9 | BT15 | BT16A | BT18A | BT21 | BT21B | BT21X | BT28 | BT35C | BT38C | BT41 Formula Junior: BT1 | BT2 | BT6 Other single seaters: BT4 | BT7A | BT14 | BT18B | BT21A | BT21C | BT22 | BT23A | BT23B | BT23D | BT23E | BT30X | BT31 | BT35X | BT36X | BT43 Sportscars: BT5 | BT8A | BT17 |
[edit] Notes
<references/>
[edit] References
- Brabham, Jack, Nye, Doug (2004). The Jack Brabham Story. Motorbooks International. ISBN 0-7603-1590-6.
- Collings, Timothy (2004). The Piranha Club. Virgin Books. ISBN 0-7535-0965-2.
- Drackett, Phil (1985). Brabham — Story of a racing team. Arthur Baker Ltd. ISBN 0-213-16915-0.
- Henry, Alan (1985). Brabham, the Grand Prix Cars. Osprey. ISBN 0-905138-36-8.
- Drackett, Phil (1985). Brabham — Story of a racing team. Arthur Baker Ltd. ISBN 0-213-16915-0.
- Fearnley, Paul. "The powerhouse that Jack built", Motorsport, May 2006, p. 41.
- Hodges, David (1990). A-Z of Formula Racing Cars 1945-1990. Bay View books. ISBN 1-901432-17-3.
- Lawrence, Mike (1999). Brabham+Ralt+Honda: The Ron Tauranac story. Motor Racing Publications. ISBN 1-899870-35-0.
- Roebuck, Nigel (1986). Grand Prix Greats. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 0-85059-792-7.
- Scarlett, Michael. "Team Building", Motorsport, May 2006, p. 43.
Facts which are not otherwise footnoted have been taken from the following sources:
- Official Formula 1 Website. Archive: Results for 1962 – 1992 seasons www.formula1.com Retrieved 27 April 2006
- Henry, Alan (May 1999) "The House that Jack Built" Motorsport p.40 Article summarising the history of the team from 1962 to 1992.ca:Brabham
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