NOTE: Brabham was one of my favorite drivers in the 60's. Always a joy to watch.
Triple Formula One World Champion Sir Jack Brabham is gone....he was 88. According to reports, he passed away peacefully in his Gold Coast, Australia home earlier this morning. Until his death, Brabham held the distinction of being the oldest living Forumula One World Champion.
*********
Triple Formula One World Champion Sir Jack Brabham is gone....he was 88. According to reports, he passed away peacefully in his Gold Coast, Australia home earlier this morning. Until his death, Brabham held the distinction of being the oldest living Forumula One World Champion.
This
icon of motor racing amassed a total of 14 F1 victories and three titles in his
career. He is also the only driver to ever win the World Championship in a car
of his own design and construction (1966). That is a feat that is unlikely to
ever be repeated. His other two triumphs came with the Cooper Racing Team in
1959 and 1960.
The
Australian also participated in four Indy 500's, finishing as high as ninth in
1961. Jack was also the first man ever knighted for his services in motorsport.
The
team he co-founded won 35 races, four driver titles, and two constructor
championships, between their inception in 1962 and their final race in the 1992
Hungarian Grand Prix.
In his homeland of Australia, Jack is a trailblazer, a pioneer,
and holds the crown as the first Aussie to obtain a Formula One title. His
maiden race victory came on the famous Monte Carlo street course, commonly
referred to as Monaco, in 1959.
Sir
Jack Brabham was an astonishing talent behind the wheel, a genius in the role
of constructor, and will be missed by people from all corners of the motorsport
world.
photo credit: © 2014 motorsport.com
text credit: © 2014 Nick DeGroat / motorsport.com
