On This Day

Sunday 25th October 1970

49 years ago

Australian Jack Brabham, three times Formula One champion (1959, 1960, and 1966) and founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor, announced his retirement. Brabham was a Royal Australian Air Force flight mechanic and ran a small engineering workshop before he started racing midget cars in 1948. His successes with midgets in Australian and New Zealand road racing events led to his going to the United Kingdom to further his racing career. There he became part of the Cooper Car Company's racing team, building as well as racing cars. He contributed to the design of the mid-engined cars that Cooper introduced to Formula One and the Indianapolis 500, and won the Formula One world championship in 1959 and 1960. In 1962 he established his own Brabham marque with fellow Australian Ron Tauranac, which became the largest manufacturer of customer racing cars in the world in the 1960s. In 1966 Brabham became the first – and still the only – man to win the Formula One world championship driving one of his own cars. He was the last surviving World Champion of the 1950s. On retirement Brabham moved back to Australia where he bought a farm and maintained business interests, which included the Engine Developments racing engine manufacturer and several garages. Brabham made his last public appearance on 18 May 2014, appearing with one of the cars he built. He died at his home on the Gold Coast on 19 May 2014, aged 88, following a lengthy battle with kidney or liver disease. He was eating breakfast with his wife, Margaret, when he died. In a statement on the family's website, Brabham's son David confirmed his father's death. "It's a very sad day for all of us," David Brabham stated. "My father passed away peacefully at home at the age of 88 this morning. He lived an incredible life, achieving more than anyone would ever dream of and he will continue to live on through the astounding legacy he leaves behind."