'Memories of Sir Jack Brabham'

The family and close friends of Sir Jack Brabham gathered at Silverstone to remember the outstanding life and achievements of triple F1 World Champion Sir Jack Brabham, who died in May 2014.

Hosted by the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) and organised by Sir Jack’s youngest son, David, the British Memorial provided those who were unable to attend the Australian State Funeral with a chance to reminisce and pay their respects.

“To have such great names of the sport come here and talk about their experiences of Jack, from a family point of view, it’s the close of the chapter in a sense as we open a new one later on,” said David Brabham. 

"Dad left a huge footprint in the world of motorsport and he left an amazing legacy because he inspired so many people around that time to do what he did; to go out into the unknown to do something special – people like Bruce McLaren and Ron Dennis - and that spirit still lives today with those companies and those people” said David Brabham.

Sir Jack’s widow, Lady Margaret, eldest son Geoff and grandsons Sam, Matthew and Finn were also in attendance for the memorial, held in aid of Kidney Research UK. Sir Jack’s influence is clear to see on the family. The three sons from his first marriage – Geoff, Gary and David – all enjoyed successful motor racing careers themselves and Sir Jack’s legacy now continues through to the third generation of Brabham racers as they begin to forge their own paths in the world of motorsport.

“He achieved so much and he was such a pioneer in motor racing. He changed the pathway for everyone,’’ said Sir Jack’s grandson Sam Brabham, who is now carving out his own career in British Formula Ford and was selected as a BRDC Rising Star in January 2014.

“You hear about all these stories and you look up and see what he’s achieved – it gives you a bit of inspiration. You want to follow in his footsteps, create your own path at the same time, but follow what he did and hopefully achieve something the same – Formula One World Champion wouldn’t be so bad, would it?”

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Over 400 people joined the Brabham family at the Silverstone memorial. Amongst them were Sir Jack’s friends, former racing rivals, and members of the wider international motorsport community who shared their most precious memories of the man and racer, who to this day remains the first and probably last person to win an F1 Drivers’ Championship in a car bearing his own name

With a longstanding love of engineering, Sir Jack helped create some of the most iconic cars in the history of motorsport, some of which had been flown in especially for the event. Eight stunning cars, including a Cooper-Climax T53, the sister car to Sir Jack’s 1960 F1 World Championship winner, provided those in attendance - including Sir Jackie Stewart, Sir Stirling Moss, John Watson, Tony Brooks and John Surtees - an opportunity to marvel at his talents both on and off the circuit.

Sir Jack would eventually go on to win three Drivers’ Championships and two Constructors’ titles across a 30-year F1 history. His success and achievements touched many people’s lives throughout his driving career, none more so than the current crop of Australian drivers who sent their own special video messages in tribute.

Sir Jack touched countless lives in and out of Australia and will be remembered fondly for his skills and achievements both on and off the track. His legacy continues to live on through the many generations of drivers and engineers he has inspired and also through his family, as they embark on the next chapter in the story - Project Brabham, a crowdfunding scheme launched to ‘build and fund sustainable team'.