Jack Brabham RIP

Just heard that Jack Brabham died today, he was 88 years old. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-19/jack-brabham-dies/5461332

I just heard that too, found this confirming the passing of Sir Jack Brabham

http://www.theage.com.au/sport/motorsport/sir-jack-brabham-dead-20140519-zrgoj.html

RIP to one great man, the only man to build a Formula One Car, construct the Engine and win the World Championship with that car.

I met him at Sandown many years ago, I shook his hand, he signed my program. Later that day he drove his F1 winning car on the track. I never had a better day than that.

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/mate-reunites-sir-jack-and-race-car/2261912/

The man won an F1 championship in a car he built...I'll never be able to wrap my head around just how awesome that is. Well done, sir, well done.

and his genes worked pretty well too.

In the late 80's, there was a guy around here who autocrossed an early 60's Brabham formula car. I've always thought that it was one of the best looking race cars that I've ever seen.

Godspeed Sir Jack

That's incredible that he built the car all on his own. Hat's off to him. Rest in peace, Sir

A great loss; RIP, Sir Jack.

In addition to his accomplishments in F1, he was also a forerunner in building and selling cars under his own name. Brabham cars were at the pointy end of the grid in F2, FB and some sports car series.

Even Dorsey Schroeder used a Brabham for his first steps in serious road racing.

................. . Death is becoming tedious.

Another thread

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/sir-jack-brabham-passes-away/85717/page1/

The man had a set that even the biggest wheelbarrow would not be able to deal with. When men were MEN!!!!!

RIP.

A great write up

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2014/may/19/jack-brabham-exploits-f1-usa-grand-prix-silverstone

"He was a tough man on the track, and as hard to pass as anyone," says one of his great rivals, Sir Jackie Stewart. Chris Amon recalls an epic battle around Silverstone in 1967. "Jack was throwing everything in the book at me – stones, grass, dirt, everything. I remember he was adjusting his wing mirrors early in the race – and one of them flew off and whistled past my head. Then he seemed to be adjusting the other one – I've never been quite sure whether he was adjusting them or trying to tear them off.

A tribute from Dan Gurney:

It is with great sadness that I received the news that my former Formula boss and team mate, the 3 time 1 World Champion Sir Jack Brabham, passed away in Australia over the weekend. A motor racing giant has left our planet whose combined achievements of F1 World Championship driver and car constructor in all likelihood will never be equaled. Dark haired "Black Jack" was a fierce competitor, an outstanding engineer, a tiger of a driver, an excellent politician and a hands-on creator and visionary, he opened the rear-engine door at Indianapolis and raced there, he was a doer, a true Aussie pioneer!

Jack and I go far back in history together. We raced against each other on the F1 circuit since 1959 driving Coopers, Ferraris, BRMs and Porsches. In 1963 he hired me as his team mate for his newly established Brabham FI team and during the next three years we really got to know each other. We discovered we shared similar traits. We were not only interested in driving racing cars but in building them, improving them, searching for every tiny bit of technical advantage we could find. I see both of us sitting in garages all over the world bent over engines, talking to each other and to our team: Ron Tauraunac, Phil Kerr, Roy Billington, Tim Wall, Nick Gooze and Denis Hulme.

We shared the camaraderie of a closely knit team pursuing a common purpose, the racing tragedies and the glory days of the 1960s bonded us for life.

Since we retired from driving, both in the fall of 1970, we have stayed in touch. I last spoke to Jack a few months ago on the phone, we were looking forward to the golden anniversary of the first World Championship F1 victory for the Brabham marque: The French Grand Prix at Rouen, June 28th, 1964, which I won for the team 50 years ago this summer.

In 1966 we both went our separate ways, I followed the trail he had blazed by trying to build, race and win with my own F I cars. I have been told that only three men in the history of auto racing have managed to do that, Bruce McLaren and I won races but Sir Jack Brabham won World Championships, he will be forever in a class all by himself.

I will miss you Jack! You showed the way!

With gratitude and admiration.

Dan

Dan Gurney Chairman All American Racers, Inc.

(Copied from Autoextremist.com)