HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK BRABHAM

Brabham's racing career began in 1948, racing Midget Speedcars and winning the Australian Speedcar Championship that year. Further success in Speedcars and hillclimbs followed, until he made a switch to road racing in 1953. It was also at this time that Brabham started his association with Cooper Car Company of the UK, initially running a Cooper-Bristol carrying the RedeX "advertising" that saw him clash with CAMS.

Racing to numerous victories in Australia and New Zealand brought him to the attention of overseas teams and race organisers, who persuaded him to try his luck in European competition. Brabham made the move to the UK in 1955, running a largely self-funded effort, but the association with Cooper continued, where he established a close friendship with Charlie and John Cooper, thanks to his ability to make their open wheel racers go fast!

Brabham's international GP debut was at the 1955 British Grand Prix, where he retired with a mechanical problem. The mid-engined Cooper Brabham drove in that race proved competitive in other races and won the non-championship Australian Grand Prix that year, beating out the likes of Reg Hunt, Doug Whiteford and Stan Jones. Brabham sold it soon after to fund a return to the UK for a more serious crack at the GP circuit in 1956.

Driving in F1 and F2, as well as sportscars, Brabham had mixed results over the next few years, before the switch to 2.5-litre engines - still with Cooper - in 1959 saw Jack record his first race win, at the season-opening Monaco Grand Prix.

A dramatic finish to the 1959 saw Brabham push his Cooper over the line at the United States Grand Prix after running out of fuel on the last lap. This showed Brabham's determination to ensure his first championship, but ultimately wasn't necessary, as his main championship rivals that year, Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks, either failed to finish, or didn't place high enough in the finishing order.

The association with fellow Aussie Ron Tauranac started in that first championship year, and blossomed in the decade that followed.

The 1960 season saw Brabham win five straight races, despite the competition having faster cars. Brabham had also made up his mind during this season to strike out on his own after initially considering purchasing Cooper in a joint venture with fellow racer, Roy Salvadori. By the end of the 1960 season, Brabham had an unassailable championship lead in a year where Cooper also win the constructors' title.

The 1961 season saw the Coopers, now with Coventry Climax 1.5-litre engines, outclassed and Brabham finished the championship in 11th place. In 1962, Brabham left Cooper to race under his own team - Brabham Racing Organisation - using engines developed by Motor Racing Devlopments Ltd., the company he and Tauranac set up.

Success was elusive in the early years, despite the engineering skill of both Brabham and Tauranac. It wasn't until 1966, when a three litre formula was applied to F1, that the team's fortunes turned around. The new formula suited the Brabham cars and the 8-cylinder engines co-developed with Repco (and based on an Oldsmobile V8 block) much better, as evidenced by Brabham winning his first race since 1960 at the French Grand Prix, at the same time becoming the first driver to win a race in a car of his own construction.

Three more wins followed to see Brabham make history as the first, and so far only, driver to win an F1 World Championship in a car of his own construction. Brabham continued as a driver into the 1967 season, scoring two race wins and four podiums, but ultimately finished second in the championship that year behind his team mate, New Zealand's Denny Hulme.

In his 40s by now, Brabham continued racing in the 1968, '69 and '70 F1 seasons, and despite a disastrous '68 season, continued to greet the podium in his final two years of F1 competition, including a win in the 1970 season-opener in South Africa. Brabham also raced sportscars in 1970, winning the Paris 1,000km race.

Retired from driving, and with his share of the Brabham race team sold to Tauranac, Brabham returned to Australia in 1971, where he ran a number of businesses, including car dealerships and engine-building firms.

In 1976, Brabham and Stirling Moss joined forces as a 'dream team' to contest that year's Bathurst 1000 enduro in an L34 Torana. However, a startline shunt severely damaged the Torana and, despite getting it back on track later, the car suffered terminal engine failure after only 37 laps

Two years later, Brabham's achievements were recognised when he became the first post-war race driver to be knighted for his services to motorsport.

In 1999, the 73-year-old Brabham drove at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and returned to the UK a year later to take part in the Goodwood Revival, where he was injured in an accident.

For the past decade, ill-health has been a constant problem for the F1 champ, including kidney disease, failing eyesight and hearing. This hasn't stopped him from attending events like the Phillip Island Classic, Australian F1 Grand Prix, and travelling to Bahrain in 2010 to join fellow past legends in marking 60 years of the Formula One World Championship.

In 2012, Brabham was on hand for the unveiling of the Sydney Motorsport Park's 'Brabham Circuit' that was re-named in his honour. More recently, in December, 2013, the Victorian Historic Racing Register opened a special area in their clubrooms devoted to Brabham's racing achievements, featuring numerous trophies and other memorabilia, as well as his 1966-championship-winning Brabham BT19 racer. Jack himself was in attendance to open the 'Sir Jack Brabham Annexe'.

Brabham's sons: Geoff, Gary and David, have continued the racing tradition, with the third generation, Sam, also looking to follow in his famous grandfather's footsteps.

Happy Birthday, Sir Jack Brabham!