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Jack Brabham: A champion in his own construction

Jack Brabham won the Formula 1 world title in 1966 in a car he built himself. His son, David Brabham, speaks to Jarek Zaba about Jack’s achievement. A 2 Degrees West production.

Australian driver Jack Brabham was a pioneer in the 1960s, winning an Formula 1 world title in1966 in a car he built himself – a remarkable feat that has never been matched.

His son, David Brabham, speaks to Jarek Zaba about Jack’s incredible journey – from racing in his native Australia - to starting an F1 revolution and becoming the first person knighted forservices to motorsport. A 2 Degrees West production.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fascinated by sporting history. We take you to the events that have shaped the sports world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes, you become a fan in the stands as we take you back in time to examine memorable victories and agonising defeats from all over the world. You’ll hear from people who have achieved sporting immortality, or those who were there as incredible sporting moments unfolded.

Recent episodes explore the forgotten football Women’s World Cup, the plasterer who fought a boxing legend, international football’s biggest ever beating and the man who swam the Amazon river. We look at the lives of some of the most famous F1 drivers, tennis players and athletes as well as people who’ve had ground-breaking impact in their chosen sporting field, including: the most decorated Paralympian, the woman who was the number 1 squash player in the world for nine years, and the first figure skater to wear a hijab. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the tennis player who escaped the Nazis, how a man finally beat a horse in a race, and how the FIFA computer game was created.

(Photo: Jack Brabham racing in 1966. Credit: Rainer Schlegelmilch/Getty Images)

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11 minutes

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Next Saturday 04:50GMT

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  • Next Saturday 04:50GMT
  • Sun 3 Aug 2025 00:50GMT

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