Muscle Man: David Brabham
He carries the biggest Aussie name in world motorsport, but Geoff Brabham wasn’t content to be just a famous son. He carved out a remarkable international career over two decades – in Can-Am, Indycars, IMSA and Le Mans – and then returned home to score more wins.
He carries the biggest Aussie name in world motorsport, but Geoff Brabham wasn’t content to be just a famous son. He carved out a remarkable international career over two decades – in Can-Am, Indycars, IMSA sports cars, Le Mans and even stock cars – then returned home to score more wins, including a controversial one at Bathurst
Geoff Brabham may not have made it to Formula One, but he still ranks as one of the most successful Australian drivers to ever grace international motorsport. The eldest son of three-time world champion Sir Jack Brabham won his rst national title – the Australian Formula 2 Championship – in only his second full season of racing before heading to the UK determined to make it to the top. Though something of a
novelty, being arguably the rst high-pro le second-generation racer, he didn’t attract the necessary backing. Brabham saw an opportunity to further his career in America, where racing dynasties did thrive, and stayed there for 17 years, carving out an enviable name for himself. He took out a Can-Am Championship, raced a factory Ford Mustang, won four successive IMSA sports car titles, twice nished top ve in the Indianapolis 500, won two races – both on ovals – in the prestigious IROC series, and contested the inaugural Brickyard 400 NASCAR race. Somehow he also tted in a famous home victory for Peugeot in the Le Mans 24 Hour race before semi-retiring in Australia, where he won the Sandown 500 for Glenn Seton’s Peter Jackson Falcon team, was twice runner-up in the Australian Super Touring Championship for BMW, won the contentious rst 2.0-litre Bathurst 1000, then contested ve Bathurst 1000s in V8 Supercars.
After almost three decades of top-level racing, Geoff characteristically walked away from the sport quietly and turned his attention to developing the third generation of Brabham racers – his son, Matthew, whose ability took him to an Indy 500 start.
“I stood the test of time,” he says of his 28year career. “I hung in there for a long time, so I’m proud of that.”
Geoff, now 67, splits his time between homes on the Gold Coast and Indianapolis, and has recently been lured back into the cockpit of a little Brabham BT35 historic car in the US. It’s the rst Brabham he has ever raced, interestingly. He is also ‘crew chief’ for his wife, Roseina, a former US Jetski champion who last year made a successful return to the sport racing against the men, and keeps a close eye on Matt’s career.