TeamVodafone give Sir Jack Brabham the grand tour

Australian racing legend Sir Jack Brabham paid a visit to the Brisbane workshop of dominant V8 Supercar outfit TeamVodafone recently where he received a grand tour of the facilities and met with Team Principal Roland Dane.

TeamVodafone were honoured to welcome Brabham, who was the first driver in history to be knighted for his services to motorsport and remains one of racing's most popular personalities.

The triple world champion is the only Formula One driver to have won a world title in a car of his own construction and was also awarded Australian of the Year.

A 'Jack of all trades', he successfully established his own race team and car dealership, Jack Brabham Motors. He also founded Motor Racing Developments with fellow Australian Ron Tauranac, which became the largest manufacturer of customer racing cars in the world.

Brabham said he was extremely impressed with the TeamVodafone garage and believed their workshop matched F1 standard.

"It was a very good team and I can see why they're winning. I was really impressed with the workshop and it's a much bigger engineering effort than I thought it would be," Brabham stated.

"TeamVodafone certainly has the right tools, right machines and the right people. A good team is probably the most important part of motor racing.

"The workshop was very similar to those overseas and I actually had no idea the teams were so big here. Their organisation was excellent and met the standards of F1. I'm sure they will continue to win," he added.

TeamVodafone Engine Engineer Mark McVeigh said it was a pleasure to host Brabham, who he has worked closely with in the past.

"I worked with Sir Jack in England on the Mayflower Variable Engine project and as a consultant to Sir Jack Brabham Engines Co in Australia," said McVeigh, "Sir Jack has kept an eye on my career and visits regularly. I have a look at the projects he is working on from time to time.

"The Team was extremely honoured to have Sir Jack visit the TeamVodafone workshop, he's an absolute legend. No one in the history of Formula one has matched Sir Jack's achievements."

Despite retiring after the 1970 F1 season, Brabham continued his involvement in the motorsport industry through various business interests which included the Engine Developments racing engine manufacturer and several garages.

Today, he is the oldest surviving F1 world champion and maintains his presence in the motorsport world.

TeamVodafone will be back on track for the Falken Tasmania Challenge on November 12-14.

-source: teamvodafone.com.au