Sir Jack Brabham – Patron of the Lotus Sydney Tasman Revival 2010

[slide]

Sir Jack Brabham has accepted the HSRCA’s invitation to be the Patron of our biggest and most important race meeting.  Sir Jack was invited some time ago but his health has not been good and he asked for time to consider our request.  We are delighted that he can make it and appreciate the personal effort that his visit will require.

Sir Jack and Lady Brabham will arrive in Sydney early on the morning of Sunday 28^th November and spend the day at Eastern Creek.

Everything that can be written about Sir Jack Brabham has appeared in print many times, but in the context of the Tasman era it is worth reiterating that he won three F1 World Drivers’ Championships (1959, 1960 and 1966) and is the only man to have won the World Championship in a car bearing his name.  That is a record likely stand for all time.

In 1959 he became the first man to win the World Championship in a rear-engined car and no one has ever won in a front-engined car since.  The only drivers to have won more World Championships than Jack are Fangio, Prost and Schumacher.  (There have 31 Champions over 50 years – Sir Jack is the oldest surviving World Champion).  He also introduced European-style formula cars to Indianapolis and this, more than anything, spelled the end of the outdated Indy roadster.  He paved the way for future Indy winners including Jim Clark and Graham Hill in similar cars.

There is no way one can compare drivers from different eras as the sport/business has changed so much.  However, one clear difference is that F1 drivers in the 1960s drove just about anything with four wheels and Jack was successful in Formula 2, sports cars and sedans.  At his unforgettable 70^th birthday party put on by the HSRCA at the (then ANA Hotel in Sydney) when asked how cars had changed, Jack said, “In my day we had to steer, accelerate, brake AND change gears!’

One of the most popular features of the Tasman Revival is the attendance of the men we call the Legends – the drivers from the period we celebrate.  What a wonderful opportunity to see them all together again, this time with our World Champion amongst them.  Don’t miss it!