BT19: the story behind Jack Brabham’s Championship-winning car
Words: Andrew Sluys
It’s been 60 years since Jack Brabham did something no one has managed before or since: win the Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship in a car built by his own team, under his own name.
Back on 4 September 1966, at Monza’s famous Autodromo Nazionale, Brabham locked in an unbeatable points lead to claim his third F1 title, behind the wheel of the Repco-Brabham BT19.
His outfit, Brabham Racing Organisation, also walked away with the Constructors’ Championship that year, cementing the BT19’s place as one of motorsport’s most significant machines.
The BT19 was the full package: designed by fellow Australian Ron Tauranac, built by Brabham and Tauranac’s own Motor Racing Developments, and powered by the Repco RB620 3.0-litre SOHC V8. This engine was engineered and built from scratch in Melbourne.
Only one was ever made, and it’s still owned by Repco’s Australian parent company today.
The BT19 headlined this year’s Formula 1 Exhibition in Melbourne, starred at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival, then turned laps at Albert Park during the Australian Grand Prix with Sir Jack’s grandson, Sam Brabham, at the wheel.
In February it became the 100th inductee — and the only car — in the Australian Motorsport Hall of Fame. Alliance Airlines even wrapped one of its new Embraer aircraft in the BT19’s iconic colours to mark the occasion.
Brabham won three F1 titles across his 23-year career (1959, 1960, 1966) and 14 Grand Prix races, making him Australia’s most successful F1 driver. Six decades later, his 1966 championship remains an unmatched piece of Australian motorsport history.
