Sir Jack Brabham � World Class

Now that we are well into the 2010 Formula 1 season, it's easy to forget that 50 years ago, Australian Sir Jack Brabham, AO, OBE won his second consecutive F1 World Driver�s Championship, driving a rear-engined Cooper T53 to success in 1960.

Sir Jack Brabham - detail

Pen&ink and Prismacolor pencils on white archival stock

� Paul Chenard 2009

Available as a limited edition

Sir Brabham started racing in 1948, racing open-wheeled midgets on dirt tracks. He competed successfully at various levels and series thoughout Australia, and in 1955, made his move to European racing, basing himself in the United Kingdom.

He quickly hooked up with the Cooper Car Company, working with them as both a mechanic and driver. This successful alliance lead to his first F1 World Driver�s Championship in 1959, and his second in 1960.

1960 Cooper T53

Prismacolor pencils on white archival stock

� Paul Chenard 2009

After driving for Cooper for 1961, Brabham set out on his own, teaming up with New Zealander Ron Tauranac, to build and race his own cars. Their cars had limited success for a few years.

 

1964 BT11

Prismacolor pencils on gray archival stock

� Paul Chenard 2008

The FIA brought in new rules for 1966, including a change to 3-litre engines. Brabham convinced the Australian engineering company Repco to develop a competition V-8 engine for his BT19 F1 racecar, designed by Tauranac.

1966 BT19

Pencils on white archival stock

� Paul Chenard 2006
Available as a limited edition

The results were stunning, with Brabham winning four races, and the F1 World Driver�s Championship for the third time. He also took the F1 Constructors Championship, the only driver to have done it. He was also the first of only three drivers to have won a Championship race in a car of his own construction.
At the end of the season, the Queen appointed him an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
The following year, he again took the F1 Constructors Championship, with his driver/teammate Denny Hulme taking the F1 World Driver�s Championship.
He retired from Formula 1 in 1970. His three sons Geoff, Gary and David have all gone into successful professional racing careers.

1971 McLaren M8F Team cars unpublished photo �

Jennifer Revson�s stories on her brother Peter�s 1971 Can-Am Championship-winning McLaren M8F has generated enormous interest and support from the world over. Many have also sent information that confirms Jennifer�s expos�.

Mr. Barry C. Smyth sent along a very interesting photo from back in the day. He was Gulf Oil Corporation's Motor Sports Sponsorship Public Relations representative until the company ceased all US racing involvement in 1973. After that he ran their various Corporate Advertising Programs.

Here is his note:

Jennifer,

Per our conversation of 4/17/2010, attached is the B and W photo of the 1971 McLaren team shot at Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. As you can see your brother, Peter along with his team mate Denny Hulme are posed standing in their cars #7 and #5, respectively. Each car's mechanics stand behind their car. The Gulf Oil PR/McLaren Team coach is in the background.

This photo was taken at my request to be used as potential promotional material. We never used it. To the best of my knowledge this is the only copy.

As you can see, as mentioned in one of the recent disclaimer articles, there are marked differences between the cars. No. 7 has a much smaller air intake opening than no. 5. That could reflect the different driving styles of Peter and Denny. Also, you'll notice the air ducks at the rear quarters are different. No. 7 is more a scoop and no. 5 is an aircraft type "no drag" air intake (NACA duct).

The Edmonton event was 3rd to the last in the '71 CAN AM Series, Laguna Seca and Riverside the last respectively. The only changes to the cars in the last two races were slightly wider rear wheels.

Barry C. Smyth

Making 3D out of 2D �

The Lotus 49 was another of a long line of brilliant Colin Chapman (and Maurice Phillipe) designs, being the first Formula 1 racecar to successfully use the motor as a stress-bearing structural member.

Jim Clark won 4 races in 1967 driving the Lotus 49, and the first race of the 1968 season before being tragically killed in an F2 race in Hockenheim.

I decided to illustrate a "faux" 1967 Silverstone poster, done in the old mid '60s British style.

In the sketch, Clark leads 2nd place finisher Denny Hulme in his Brabham BT24, followed by 3rd place Chris Amon in his Ferrari 312 F1.

As an experiment, I wanted to render a normally 2D sketch into 3D. To create the 3D illusion, I had to illustrate the cars in parts, and then assemble the parts onto the illustrated background.

For example, the Clark Lotus 49 is built from 9 separate illustrations, cut out, and assembled in layers to create a "trompe l'oeil". The 3 cars are done like that, and positioned into their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd race finishing order. The "Silverstone" text is also cut out paper ...

Prismacolor pencils on individual coloured papers, cut out and layered onto background

� Paul Chenard 2010

Marc Hogenkamp Collection

Commissions are available.

Bruce McLaren's Last Season ...

"The Last Season" is an excellent book featuring an overview of Bruce McLaren's racing career, but mostly focusing on the 1969 (his last season of racing) Can-Am.



















The book also highlights the other drivers participating in Can-Am: Denis Hulme, Peter Revson, Lothar Motschenbacher, Mario Andretti, John Surtees, Dan Gurney, George Eaton, Chuck Parsons, John Cordts, Sir Jack Brabham ...

It's written by Jeanne Beeching and was published in 1972. Well worth looking for ...