VIDEO: Repco-Brabham, The Fantastic Year (1966)

by VM Staff

Found on the Super100MPH YouTube channel, this wonderful 28 min clip from the Golden Age of Motorsport Volume 3 DVD (available from www.dukevideo.com) tracking the immediate and early Formula 1 success of the Brabham BT19-Repco, which, in the late Sir Jack’s hands, won four of the season’s nine GPs and the World Championship in the first year of the 3-liter normally aspirated F1 engine formula.

Repco was (and is) an Australian parts manufacturer and supplier, and this film was apparently produced by them, the company having made history by winning the 1966 (and later 1967) World Championship(s) with a Repco racing engine designed and manufactured in Australia.

Underpowered compared to its V-12 (Maserati, Ferrari) and H-16 (BRM) 3-liter rivals, the Repco V8’s weight, packaging and reliability advantages were soon eclipsed by similar advantages of the potent Ford-Cosworth V8 unveiled in ’67. After a disastrous 1968 season, the F1 project was terminated and the Brabham Racing Organization joined the Cosworth customer queue.

Repco (an abbreviation for Replacement Parts Company), founded in 1922, remains Australia and New Zealand’s largest auto parts and car accessories retailer, with more than 400 retail outlets.