Jack Brabham's Worst Nightmare

first championship. Racing for the Cooper Car Company, Jack only needed to finish ahead of his two closest rivals to secure an F one crown. On the final lap of the race, Jack was in the lead, his closest title threat, Tony Brooks, was on his heels pushing up the grid, and then every driver's worst nightmare became Jack Brabham's reality. He ran out of fuel. Hi, I'm Tony Armstrong and this is the ballroom where we celebrate the winners, losers

and the weird stuff between. Jack Brabham loved engines. He learned to drive at twelve years old and was working on cars and studying mechanical engineering by fifteen. Three years later, he was a flight mechanic in the Air Force during World War Two. After that, he ran a small repair shop behind his grandfather's house. But even then, becoming a racing driver wasn't on his radar. The first time a friend took him to a speed car race, he thought

the whole thing was pretty wild. To be fair, those tiny cars flying around the dirt track were death traps. Back in the day, safety was kind of an afterthought, I guess, But eventually Jack started to see things differently. Jack's mate, Johnny, was a driver himself. Jack went to watch him race a few times until one day when Johnny asked if he wanted to build a new car together. Jack agreed and the pair got to work. About five

months later, the custom built speed car was finished. Initially it was Johnny behind the wheel until his wife convinced him to give the dangerous sport away. Now he was Jack, with the car and no driver. There was only one thing to do but hop in the driver's seat. Jack may have been an expert mechanic, but he was still a novice driver. Knowing his way around an engine surely helped, though, because he managed his first win in just his third race.

From there, Jack never looked back. He continued winning, stepping up to bigger and tougher competitions until speeders just weren't challenging enough. Jack moved on to hill climbing. Yep, that's still a motorsport, and that gave him a taste for road racing. He competed around Australia and New Zealand before being lured to Europe were a career in Formula one Beckond Jack Brabham made his F one debut in nineteen

fifty five, racing for British team Cooper. It took him a while to adjust, so he also spent time in Formula two honing his racecraft on Europe's challenging circuits, but by nineteen fifty nine Jack had become a serious contender for the F one Drivers Championship. He started the season strongly, winning at Monaco, one of the world's hardest races. He placed second and third in the next two before winning

the British Grand Prix. Jack could have had the championship wrapped up early if it wasn't for the Germany and Portugal GPS he was forced to retire from both. Third place at Monza got him back on track, but the season was still up for grabs in the last Grand Prix of nineteen fifty nine in the USA. It was an unusual three months between races until the season finale, but the first ever Grand Prix in the United States was worth waiting for. Three men were still in contention

for an F one championship. Jack Brabham with a five and a half point lead ahead of Sterling Moss and Tony Brooks two and a half points behind him. The weekend wasn't off to a good start for Jack. He crashed his Cooper in practice and spent the whole night fixing the car. In qualifying, Sterling Moss got pole position, Jack was second and Tony Brooks fourth. To claim the championship, Jack had to either finish first or at least ahead

of Moss and Brooks. Moss had to place first or second in front of Jack, and for Brooks it was do or die. He'd need to win and rely on other results. Race day arrived, starting on pole, saw Moss set the pace early, leading the grid. Brooks was the first challenger to falter. He collided with the Ferrari on lap one and dropped way behind. He never recovered. Jack's job just got a little easier. Meanwhile, Moss was flying

at least for the first six laps. He made contact with two other cars, which saw him enter the pits. A mechanical failure meant he had to retire. The championship was Jack's for the taking. With cars retiring one by one, Jack stormed ahead, but he still had to contend with his Cooper teammate Bruce McLaren. The pair battled for the lead, but surprisingly kept things pretty civil. It all came down to the final lap. Jack had got into the race with a light fuel load, giving the Cooper a small

advantage in speed and acceleration. But no strategy in Formula One comes without a risk. As Jack pushed for the win, his car suddenly began to sputter and rapidly slowed down. Running out of fuel is perhaps the most embarrassing way for a driver to bow out of a race, but that's exactly the scenario Jack Brabham was now facing in Florida. His car came to a complete stop short of the

finish line as his competitors flew past him. With Moss and Brooks out of the picture, Jack had the championship in the bag, but now he was fighting for his own pride. Jack got out of the car and began to push. It was pure grit and determination. He pushed his coup at the last few hundred meters down the track and rolled over the finish line. Jack had finished the race in fourth place and won his first Formula One drivers Championship. He collapsed beside his car, exhausted. Jack

Brabham was a world champion. Jack went on to win two more F one crowns, the third being one in a car of his own making. His success helps solidify rear engines as the norm in Formula One, forever changing motor racing as we know it. Sir Jack Brabham, a world champion and AUSSI champion. Thanks for hanging out in the ballroom. I'm Tony Armstrong and you've been listening to an iHeart production. See you next time for another story from the wonderful world of sport. Catcha