Brabham

Brabham

Full name	Motor Racing Developments, Ltd.
Base	Chessington (1962–1989) and Milton Keynes (1990–1992), United Kingdom
Founder(s)	Jack Brabham Ron Tauranac
Noted staff	Bernie Ecclestone Gordon Murray Ron Dennis Charlie Whiting John Judd Herbie Blash
Noted drivers	Jack Brabham Dan Gurney Denny Hulme Jochen Rindt Jacky Ickx Silvio Moser Graham Hill Carlos Reutemann Niki Lauda Nelson Piquet Riccardo Patrese Elio de Angelis Derek Warwick Stefano Modena Martin Brundle David Brabham Damon Hill Héctor Rebaque John Watson Carlos Pace
Formula One World Championship career
First entry	1962 German Grand Prix
Races entered	403 entries (394 starts)
Engines	Climax, Repco, Ford, Alfa Romeo, BMW, Judd, Yamaha
Constructors' Championships	2 (1966, 1967)
Drivers' Championships	4 (1966, 1967, 1981, 1983)
Race victories	35
Podiums	120
Points	832
Pole positions	40
Fastest laps	41[a]
Final entry	1992 Hungarian Grand Prix

Motor Racing Developments Ltd., commonly known as Brabham (/ˈbræbəm/), was a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team founded in 1960 by Australian driver Jack Brabham and British-Australian designer Ron Tauranac. The team won four FIA Formula One Drivers' and two Constructors' World Championships in its 30-year history, starting out with back-to-back wins of both in 1966 and 1967. Jack Brabham's 1966 Drivers' Championship remains the only such achievement using a car bearing the driver's own name.

In the 1960s, Brabham was the world's largest manufacturer of open-wheel racing cars for sale to customer teams; by 1970 it had built more than 500 cars. During this period, teams using Brabham cars won championships in Formula Two and Formula Three. Brabham cars also competed in the Indianapolis 500 and in Formula 5000 racing. In the 1970s and 1980s, Brabham introduced such innovations as carbon brakes and hydropneumatic suspension, and reintroduced in-race refuelling. Its unique Gordon Murray-designed 'fan car' won its only race before being withdrawn.

The team won two more Formula One Drivers' Championships in the 1980s with Brazilian Nelson Piquet. He won his first championship in 1981 in the ground effect BT49-Ford, and became the first to win a Drivers' Championship with a turbocharged car, in 1983. In 1983 the Brabham BT52, driven by Piquet and Italian Riccardo Patrese, was powered by the BMW M12 straight-4 engine, and powered Brabham to four of the team's thirty-five Grand Prix victories.

British businessman Bernie Ecclestone owned Brabham during most of the 1970s and 1980s, and later became responsible for administering the commercial aspects of Formula One. Ecclestone sold the team in 1988. Its last owner was the Middlebridge Group, a Japanese engineering firm. Midway through the 1992 season, the team collapsed financially as Middlebridge was unable to make repayments against loans provided by Landhurst Leasing. The case was investigated by the United Kingdom Serious Fraud Office. In 2009, an unsuccessful attempt was made by a German organisation to enter the 2010 Formula One season using the Brabham name.
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