Brabham BT24

Brabham BT24
Category	Formula One
Constructor	Motor Racing Developments
Designer(s)	Ron Tauranac
Predecessor	BT20
Successor	BT26
Technical specifications
Chassis	Fibreglass body on tubular steel spaceframe
Suspension (front)	Double wishbones, coil springs over dampers, anti-roll bar
Suspension (rear)	Double wishbones, twin radius arms, coil springs over dampers, anti-roll bar
Engine	Repco 740, 2,994 cc (182.7 cu in), 90° V8, NA, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted
Transmission	Hewland DG 300, 5-speed manual, ZF differential
Fuel	Esso
Tyres	Goodyear
Competition history
Notable entrants	Brabham Racing Organisation
Notable drivers	Jack Brabham ; Denny Hulme ; Jochen Rindt ; Dan Gurney
Debut	1967 Belgian Grand Prix
Constructors' Championships	1 (1967)
Drivers' Championships	1 (1967); Denny Hulme

Last updated July 31, 2023

The Repco Brabham BT24 was a Formula One racing car design. It was one of three cars used by the Brabham racing team during their championship-winning 1967 Formula One season. Only three BT24 chassis were ever raced.

Concept

Designed by Ron Tauranac, the BT24 was based on the BT23 Formula Two car and was notably light and compact. Tauranac continued to adhere to the space frame chassis, alone of Formula One designers. The BT24 was designed to take the new Repco 740 V-8 engine, which was an all new design entirely built by Repco, unlike the previous years Oldsmobile based 620 series engines. Tauranac had requested that Repco build the engine with in vee exhausts to reduce frontal area and ease the problem of threading exhaust pipes through the rear suspension links. Like the Lotus 49 the BT24 made its first appearance during practice for the Dutch Grand Prix, and in comparison the Brabham seemed almost obsolete, but as the season progressed, its better reliability made it the tortoise to Lotus's hare. Brabham decided to run its proven 1966 cars in the Dutch race (although by this time Jack Brabham's BT19 was equipped with the centre exhaust 740 engine) and the BT24 made its race debut one race later at the Belgian Grand Prix.

With reigning champion Jack Brabham and Denny Hulme at the wheel, the BT24 took 3 wins to Jim Clark's 4 in the Lotus, but with six 2nd places, two 3rds, a 4th and a 5th the Brabham team comfortably took the Constructors' Championship, while Hulme pipped team-owner Brabham to the Drivers' Championship by 5 points.

In addition to its three championship race wins the BT24 also won the prestigious 1967 International Gold Cup at Oulton Park in the hands of Jack Brabham.

Later years

The original two chassis were raced by Brabham and Rindt in the season opening 1968 South African Grand Prix, but with the BT26 ready in time for the next race, these two chassis were sold to local teams and left in South Africa, with Sam Tingle and Basil van Rooyen finishing third and fourth in that year's South African Formula One Championship. Sam Tingle later took part in the 1969 South African Grand Prix, the last World Championship Formula One event for a standard BT24, and continued to race his chassis with some success in local events as late as January 1970, while van Rooyen's car was also raced at various times by Gordon Henderson and Ivor Robertson.

A third BT24 chassis had been built at the end of 1967 but was only used in three races by the Brabham team, twice for Rindt and once for a one-off appearance by Dan Gurney. Kurt Ahrens Jr. hired the car from Brabham and entered the 1968 German Grand Prix, before it was acquired by Frank Williams and modified to take BT26-style wings and a 2.5 litre Cosworth DVW V8 for the 1969 Tasman Series. Piers Courage drove in all seven races, winning at Teretonga Park in New Zealand and finishing second, third and fourth with three retirements in the other races to finish third in the final points standings.

Self-entrant Silvio Moser then acquired the car, having arranged for Williams to switch the engine for a 1968-spec 3.0 litre DFV, as well adding extra fuel tanks on account of the thirstier engine. Silvio raced this unique car in 7 of the 11 rounds of the 1969 Formula One season, his best result coming at Watkins Glen where he finished 6th, and he also used the car in the International Gold Cup and two rounds of the European Hillclimb Championship.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Engine	Tyres	Driver	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Points^†	WCC^†
1967	Brabham Racing Organisation	Repco 740 3.0 V8	G		RSA	MON	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	CAN	ITA	USA	MEX		63 (67)*	1st
				Jack Brabham				Ret	1	4	2	1	2	5	2
				Denny Hulme					2	2	1	2	Ret	3	3
1968	Brabham Racing Organisation	Repco 740 3.0 V8	G		RSA	ESP	MON	BEL	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	CAN	USA	MEX	10**	8th
				Jack Brabham	Ret
				Jochen Rindt	3	Ret	Ret
				Dan Gurney					Ret
	Caltex Racing Team	Repco 740 3.0 V8	D	Kurt Ahrens Jr.								12
1969	Team Gunston	Repco 620 3.0 V8	F		RSA	ESP	MON	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	CAN	USA	MEX		0	NC
	Team Gunston	Repco 620 3.0 V8	F	Sam Tingle	8												0	NC
	Silvio Moser Racing Team	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	Silvio Moser			Ret	Ret	7			Ret	Ret	6	11		49 (51)^{^}	2nd
Source:^[3]

^† Points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six finishers at each round, but only the best placed car for each make was eligible to score points. The best five results from the first six rounds and the best four results from the last five rounds were retained in 1967 and 1969, and five from the first six and five from the last six in 1968.
* 18 points in 1967 were scored using the BT19 and BT20 models.
** Only 4 points were scored in 1968 using the BT24.
^{^} All Brabham-Ford WCC points in 1969 were scored by Brabham BT26 variants.

Related Research Articles

Motor Racing Developments Ltd., commonly known as Brabham, is 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 Drivers' and two Constructors' World Championships in its 30-year Formula One history. Jack Brabham's 1966 FIA Drivers' Championship remains the only such achievement using a car bearing the driver's own name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Brabham</span> Australian racing driver

Sir John Arthur Brabham was an Australian racing driver who was Formula One World Champion in 1959, 1960, and 1966. He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name.

Karl Jochen Rindt was a German-born racing driver who competed with an Austrian license during his career, despite having German and not Austrian citizenship. In 1970, he was killed during practice for the Italian Grand Prix and became the only driver to be posthumously awarded the Formula One World Drivers' Championship.

The 1966 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 2, 1966, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was race 8 of 9 in both the 1966 World Championship of Drivers and the 1966 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The race was the ninth United States Grand Prix. It was the sixth to be held at Watkins Glen. The race was held over 108 laps of the 3.78-kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 408 kilometres.

The 1968 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit Mont-Tremblant in St. Jovite, Quebec, Canada on September 22, 1968. It was race 10 of 12 in both the 1968 World Championship of Drivers and the 1968 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 90-lap race was won by McLaren driver Denny Hulme after starting from sixth position. Hulme's teammate Bruce McLaren finished second and BRM driver Pedro Rodríguez came in third.

The 1969 Gran Premio de Mexico was a Formula One motor race held at the Ciudad Deportiva Magdalena Mixhuca, Mexico City on October 19, 1969, two weeks after the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. It was race 11 of 11 in both the 1969 World Championship of Drivers and the 1969 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 65-lap race was won by McLaren driver Denny Hulme after he started from fourth position. Jacky Ickx finished second for the Brabham team and his teammate Jack Brabham came in third.

The 1970 Formula One season was the 24th season of the FIA's Formula One motor racing. It featured the 21st World Championship of Drivers and the 13th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers. Thirteen races were held between 7 March and 25 October, with the Drivers' Championship won by Jochen Rindt and the Constructors' title by Lotus. Rindt died four races before the end of the season, but had earned enough World Championship points that no other driver managed to surpass his total by the end of the season. It is the only season to date in which the World Drivers' Championship title had been awarded posthumously. Jacky Ickx driving for Ferrari finished the season strongly, but his low 4th-place finish in the penultimate round ensured that Rindt's title lead would stand. In the end, all of Rindt's 45 points came from his five wins in the season.

The 1968 Formula One season was the 22nd season of the FIA's Formula One motor racing. It featured the 19th FIA World Championship, which commenced on 1 January, and ended on 3 November after twelve races, and numerous non-championship races. Graham Hill won the second of his World Championship titles, with Lotus.

The 1967 Formula One season was the 21st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1967 World Championship of Drivers and the 1967 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, contested concurrently over an eleven race series which commenced on 2 January, and ended on 22 October. The season also included a number of non-championship races for Formula One cars. Denny Hulme won the World Championship of Drivers and Brabham-Repco was awarded the International Cup for F1 Manufacturers.

The 1966 Formula One season was the 20th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1966 World Championship of Drivers and the 1966 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers which were contested concurrently over a nine-race series that commenced on 22 May and ended on 23 October. The season saw the "return to power" with the introduction of the '3 litre formula', doubling maximum engine capacity from 1.5 litres. Jack Brabham won the World Championship of Drivers and Brabham-Repco was awarded the International Cup for F1 Manufacturers.

Repco is an Australian automotive engineering/retailer company. Its name is an abbreviation of Replacement Parts Company and was for many years known for reconditioning engines and for specialized manufacturing, for which they gained a high reputation. It is now best known as a retailer of spare parts and motor accessories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus 49</span> Formula One racing car

The Lotus 49 was a Formula One racing car designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe for the 1967 F1 season. It was designed around the Cosworth DFV engine that would power most of the Formula One grid through the 1970s. It was one of the first F1 cars to use a stressed member engine combined with a monocoque to reduce weight, with other teams adopting the concept after its success. It also pioneered the use of aerofoils to generate downforce.

The 18th BRDC International Trophy was a motor race, run to Formula One rules, held on 14 May 1966 at the Silverstone Circuit, England. The race was run over 35 laps of the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, and was won by Australian Jack Brabham in the Brabham-Repco BT19. With no Race of Champions in 1966, the International Trophy formed the first major race of the European season, being run just a week before the start of the FIA World Championship in Monaco. The 1966 season was significant, as changes to the F1 formula had allowed an increase in engine capacity from 1.5L to 3L. This then was the first opportunity for many teams to test their new cars against top-line opposition.

The Brabham BT19 is a Formula One racing car designed by Ron Tauranac for the British Brabham team. The BT19 competed in the 1966 and 1967 Formula One World Championships and was used by Australian driver Jack Brabham to win his third World Championship in 1966. The BT19, which Brabham referred to as his "Old Nail", was the first car bearing its driver's name to win a World Championship race.

Warwick Farm Raceway was a motor racing facility which was in operation from 1960 to 1973. Warwick Farm Raceway hosted numerous major events during its life such as the Australian Grand Prix and rounds of both the Australian Touring Car Championship and the Tasman Series.

The Brabham BT3 is a Formula One racing car. It was the first Formula One design to be produced by Motor Racing Developments for the Brabham Racing Organisation, and debuted at the 1962 German Grand Prix. The Brabham BT3 was the vehicle with which team owner – then two-time World Champion – Jack Brabham, became the first driver ever to score World Championship points in a car bearing his own name, at the 1962 United States Grand Prix. The following year Brabham also became the first driver ever to win a Formula One race at the wheel of an eponymous car, again driving the BT3, at the 1963 Solitude Grand Prix. The BT3 design was modified only slightly to form the Tasman Series-specification Brabham BT4 cars.

The Brabham BT23 was a formula racing car built by Brabham in 1967.

The Repco Brabham BT26 was a Formula One racing car design. A development of the previous BT24, its Repco engines were unreliable, but following a switch to Cosworth DFV engines it scored two World Championship Grand Prix wins and finished runner up in the 1969 World Constructors' Championship.

The Brabham BT11 is a Formula One racing car built in 1964, mainly for use by privateers in grand prix racing, but was also used by the Brabham works team during 1964 and 1965. It was the only competitive car of the period available to privateers, recording eight podium finishes in total. The car's best results came at consecutive events in the United States and Mexico 1965, with Dan Gurney qualifying and finishing second in the latter.

References

↑ Brabham BT24 @ StatsF1
↑ Brabham BT24 @ Ultimatecarpage
↑ Small, Steve (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Guinness. pp. 14, 77, 171, 192, 260, 319 and 382. ISBN 0851127029.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Brabham BT24 @ StatsF1

[2] Brabham BT24 @ Ultimatecarpage

[3] Small, Steve (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Guinness. pp. 14, 77, 171, 192, 260, 319 and 382. ISBN 0851127029.

[1]

[2]

[3]