Sir Jack Brabham to be honoured at Motorclassica

Events
 | 16 Apr 2012

Motorclassica 2012 will celebrate the career of Australian motor sport legend Sir Jack Brabham.

Sir Jack himself will be around the Melbourne show throughout the weekend, from 26-28 October, and will be joined by contemporaries, collaborators and the drivers of his championship-winning race cars.

Motorclassica’s lavish setting at the Royal Exhibition Building will also feature a stunning collection of  “Black” Jack’s cars from his first Midget Speedcar, to the 1966 Repco Brabham and the 1959 and 1960 WDC-winning Coopers.

Winning his first World Championship more than 50 years ago, Sir Jack’s biggest achievement was uniquely taking the World Championship at the wheel of a car bearing his name, the 1966 V8 Repco Brabham.

Brabham started racing after a friend persuaded him to watch an open-wheel Midget Speedcar race in Australia. By 1948 he had built his own car and started racing, winning the third event he entered.

In 1955 he moved to Europe, making his Grand Prix debut at Aintree. Success soon followed and by 1959 Brabham had won his first World Championship race at the season-opening Monaco Grand Prix. A year later he had taken both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships for Cooper.

He was also instrumental in helping Cooper establish the pioneering “Driver to Europe” scholarship scheme, helping bring talents such as Bruce McLaren to a world audience.

Paul Mathers, event director for Motorclassica, said: "This will be the most important and significant international display of Sir Jack Brabham’s cars ever curated, and presented at a time when the man himself has recently been named as an Australian National Living Treasure."