The car that Sir Jack Brabham drove to a unique feat in the history of the Formula 1 World Championship will be trackside at Mount Panorama for this year’s Repco Bathurst 1000.
The Repco-Brabham BT19, driven by Sir Jack during the 1966 Grand Prix season, will form part of the ‘Repco in Motorsport’ exhibition at the National Motor Racing Museum as the company continues to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
Owned by Repco, the BT19 is the only one of its type ever built and holds a rare place in F1’s history books.
Brabham’s victory in the 1966 French Grand Prix at Reims was the first for a driver aboard a car bearing his own name. The triumph was the first of four straight wins that helped secure his third Drivers’ World Championship and Brabham’s first Constructors’ World Championship.
Brabham’s feat of winning both titles with his own team has never been repeated and is unlikely to ever be matched.
It had a short racing life following that 1966 season. In 1967 it contested just three Grands Prix (two with Brabham and one with eventual champion Denny Hulme) and a handful of non-championship races in the hands of another Australian, Frank Gardner.
The car remained under Brabham’s ownership until 1976, when Repco purchased the vehicle and commissioned a full restoration. A corporate buyout in the 1980s saw the car pass to ACL, before being purchased back by Repco in 2004.
The BT19 is the second car to be announced for the ‘Repco in Motorsport’ exhibition, joining the restored Chevrolet Monte Carlo that Kim Jane raced to victory in the last local NASCAR races before the pin was pulled by Bob Jane on local competition.
More cars will be revealed in the lead up to this year’s Repco Bathurst 1000, held on October 6-9, 2022.