Brabham
Motor Racing Developments Ltd., commonly known as Brabham (/ˈbræbəm/), was a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team founded in 1960 by Australian driver Jack Brabham and British-Australian designer Ron Tauranac. The team won four FIA Formula One Drivers' and two Constructors' World Championships in its 30-year history, starting out with back-to-back wins of both in 1966 and 1967. Jack Brabham's 1966 Drivers' Championship remains the only such achievement using a car bearing the driver's own name.
| Full name | Motor Racing Developments, Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Base | Chessington (1962–1989) and Milton Keynes (1990–1992), United Kingdom |
| Founder(s) | Jack Brabham Ron Tauranac |
| Noted staff | Bernie Ecclestone Gordon Murray Ron Dennis Charlie Whiting John Judd Herbie Blash |
| Noted drivers | Jack Brabham Dan Gurney Denny Hulme Jochen Rindt Jacky Ickx Silvio Moser Graham Hill Carlos Reutemann Niki Lauda Nelson Piquet Riccardo Patrese Elio de Angelis Derek Warwick Stefano Modena Martin Brundle David Brabham Damon Hill Héctor Rebaque John Watson Carlos Pace |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| First entry | 1962 German Grand Prix |
| Races entered | 403 entries (394 starts) |
| Engines | Climax, Repco, Ford, Alfa Romeo, BMW, Judd, Yamaha |
| Constructors' Championships | 2 (1966, 1967) |
| Drivers' Championships | 4 (1966, 1967, 1981, 1983) |
| Race victories | 35 |
| Podiums | 120 |
| Points | 832 |
| Pole positions | 40 |
| Fastest laps | 41 |
| Final entry | 1992 Hungarian Grand Prix |
In the 1960s, Brabham was the world's largest manufacturer of open-wheel racing cars for sale to customer teams; by 1970 it had built more than 500 cars. During this period, teams using Brabham cars won championships in Formula Two and Formula Three. Brabham cars also competed in the Indianapolis 500 and in Formula 5000 racing. In the 1970s and 1980s, Brabham introduced such innovations as carbon brakes and hydropneumatic suspension, and reintroduced in-race refuelling. Its unique Gordon Murray-designed 'fan car' won its only race before being withdrawn.
The team won two more Formula One Drivers' Championships in the 1980s with Brazilian Nelson Piquet. He won his first championship in 1981 in the ground effect BT49-Ford, and became the first to win a Drivers' Championship with a turbocharged car, in 1983. In 1983 the Brabham BT52, driven by Piquet and Italian Riccardo Patrese, was powered by the BMW M12 straight-4 engine, and powered Brabham to four of the team's thirty-five Grand Prix victories.
British businessman Bernie Ecclestone owned Brabham during most of the 1970s and 1980s, and later became responsible for administering the commercial aspects of Formula One. Ecclestone sold the team in 1988. Its last owner was the Middlebridge Group, a Japanese engineering firm. Midway through the 1992 season, the team collapsed financially as Middlebridge was unable to make repayments against loans provided by Landhurst Leasing. The case was investigated by the United Kingdom Serious Fraud Office. In 2009, an unsuccessful attempt was made by a German organisation to enter the 2010 Formula One season using the Brabham name.