60th celebrations

We are tremendously proud to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Sir Jack Brabham’s 3rd Driver’s Championship and 1st Constructor's title. For us at Brabham, Sir Jack’s 1966 season exemplifies the Brabham spirit, vision, innovation and fearless attitude that has set the standard for the company and the family alike.

As time goes on it becomes only clearer that his achievement of designing, driving and winning in his own car is a moment in Formula 1 that will never be repeated, and should rightfully be celebrated.

We are overwhelmingly excited to share our celebrations and memories of Sir Jack with Brabham fans globally and new fans alike.

How It All Started

Brabham’s story begins with Sir Jack, whose passion for mechanics grew during WWII while building aircraft. After winning multiple Australian Championships in the late 1940s and early 1950s, he moved to the UK in 1955 and joined Formula One with Cooper, securing the 1959 and 1960 Drivers’ Championships.

In 1960, Sir Jack and fellow Australian Ron Tauranac founded the Brabham Racing Organisation. The team quickly achieved success, culminating in Sir Jack’s 1966 Drivers’ Championship, making him the first and only driver to win a Formula One title in a car bearing his own name, a record that still stands.

1959 Cooper T51 Sebring pushing the car across the line.jpeg

GPL 67 Repco Brabham Engine Silverstone.jpg

REPCO V8

The Brabham-Repco RB620 was designed to be a light, reliable V8 that became iconic for its simplicity, serviceability and the success it delivered in 1966. Based on the F85 Oldsmobile alloy block, it incorporated revised castings, a magnesium chaincase, and a flat Laystall crank for a smoother performance. The most dependable for its era, it earned a grand reputation in long-distance racing.

The F1 TEAM

Brabham boasts four Formula 1 Drivers’ Championships and
two Formula 1 Constructors’ Championships from 1962 to 1992.

It remains one of the sport’s most successful teams and currently ranks seventh in all-time Grand Prix victories behind other greats Ferrari, McLaren and Lotus.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP WINNING F1 CAR

In 1966, Brabham won the Constructors’ Championship with the Brabham BT19. Designed by Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac, the car embodied their pragmatic focus on creating a winning car that was reliable and adaptable over raw power. Donning the famous Australian green and gold, the BT19 delivered Grand Prix victories in France, Britain, and the Netherlands, earning international acclaim for its elegance, beauty and durability over a race distance.

BT19

Achievements

Jack Brabham: first driver to win a GP in a car of his own name

Only driver to win F1 World Championship in his own car

Brabham won Constructors’ Championship same year

Goodyear’s first F1 World
Championship victory

1966: The Year that Changed Formula 1

The 1966 Formula 1 season brought sweeping engineering changes, with engine capacity doubling from 1.5L to 3.0L, ultimately reshaping the sport.

While major manufacturers chose outright power with V12 engines, Brabham, Tauranac, and Repco chose a lightweight V8, that married adaptability with reliability and the strategy paid off. Brabham secured its first Constructors’ title that year and Sir Jack claimed his third Drivers’ Championship since 1959. His remarkable achievement solidified his name in history by becoming, and still remaining, the only driver to win the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship in a car bearing his own name. A hallmark of engineering ingenuity, belief and excellence.