Silverstone to commemorate Sir Jack Brabham in historic 50th Grand Prix parades
David Brabham leads tributes to the late Sir Jack Brabham at the British Grand Prix
Photo by: XPB Images
This year’s Formula One Santander British Grand Prix (04-06 July) will be the 50th Grand Prix to be held at Silverstone Circuit. To mark the occasion, fans attending this year’s event will be treated to three special commemorative parades, featuring British Grand Prix winning cars and drivers that have provided unforgettable moments in the circuit’s illustrious history.
The three parades – one scheduled for each day of the three-day event – will transfer spectators and drivers back to a bygone era, as a host of British Formula One legends are to be reunited with the cars they drove to British Grand Prix victory.
David Brabham, son of the late Sir Jack Brabham, is the latest driver to confirm his support and will be driving in all three parades. David, a Le Mans 24 Hours winner in 2009, will drive his legendary father’s Cooper Climax T53 from 1960, the same model as the car Sir Jack drove to victory at the 1960 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, and to World Championship glory at the end of the year.
David’s participation in the parades will be a touching tribute to his late father, a much-loved and popular figure in the Formula One paddock. Sir Jack Brabham was born in Australia and started out as a Royal Australian Air Force flight mechanic before he ran his own engineering firm and started racing midget cars. He moved to the UK to continue his racing and became part of the Cooper team, building and racing their cars. He contributed to the design of the Cooper cars that he won the 1959 and 1960 Formula One World Championships in, before establishing his own Brabham marque in 1961. He then went on to win the World Championship for the third time in 1966, becoming the first and only driver to win the Formula 1® World Championship in a car of his own manufacture.
Speaking about his involvement in the parade and driving his father’s Cooper Climax T53, David Brabham commented: “It will be a great honour for me to drive one of my father's historic and iconic 1960 Coopers in the 50th Grand Prix parades. Jack had tremendous success at Silverstone and he was a Vice President of the BRDC for many years, so it’s an event I will be really looking forward to.”
Joining David Brabham in the parades will be three-times Formula One World Champion and two-times British Grand Prix winner Sir Jackie Stewart, who has already been announced to drive his 1969 British Grand Prix winning Matra MS80 in front of the British fans.
The 2014 Formula One Santander British Grand Prix will be the 50th Grand Prix to be held at Silverstone since Luigi Villoresi won the first ever event on 02 October 1948, two years before the inauguration of the FIA Formula One World Championship in 1950.
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