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WINNING THE CHAMPIONSHIP AT THE FIRST ATTEMPT! The Story of Repco in Formula One

Aidan Millward

19,280 views

Someone said on Facebook yesterday that Red Bull Ford is the first time that a rookie engine maker has won in their first year. But I don't think so.

Because Cosworth won races in F1 in 1967, their first year, and the year before that: Was Repco.

Jack Brabham needed engines after Coventry-Climax decided to not continue into the three litre era. So he asked some guys in Australia if they'd make him something and they said yes- Using some surplus engine blocks from the United States. Which is in America.

And in the first year of the 'return to power', Brabham was a three time champion, Repco had won at the first attempt and Jack became the first person and so far ONLY person to win the championship in a car that has his own name on it.

Enjoy! And remember to like and subscribe for more!

Photos in intro and outro (by order of appearance)

Zuma Press/Alamy Stock Photo
Independent Photo Agency/Alamy Stock Photo
Avuspeed Motorsport/Alamy Stock Photo
James Moy/Alamy Stock Photo
PA Images/Alamy Stock Photo
Zuma Press/Alamy Stock Photo
DPA Picture Alliance/Alamy Stock Photo
Associated Press/Alamy Stock Photo

Assetto Corsa Car Models by RSS and VRC:
https://racesimstudio.com/
https://www.virtual-racing-cars.com/

Paints from Overtake (Formerly Race Department)

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20 Comments

@DamoFreo 1 day ago

I used to work at Repcos head office about a decade ago. They still had one of the engines in a cabinet in the boardroom, would look at it nearly everyday.

@barneyward6448 1 day ago

Those Brabham cars are some of the most gorgeous designs from that era of F1.

@ScottbreaksIT 1 day ago

Thanks for another epic bit of motorsport history...

@rooboy1au 13 hours ago

Phil Irving is a legendary Australian engineer, also working for Velocette and Vincent motorcycles during his career.

@SwimmingFish10 1 day ago

Thank you for another video on F1 history.

@FredsRandomFinds 1 day ago

7:05 the Buick 5 stud engine was eventually sold to Rover and morphed into the Rover V8 along with being used in many other cars like TVR and Ginetta?

@cowcocky 1 day ago

I really enjoyed this episode. As an Aussie it’s also great to see how Brabham was able to look at a problem and find a simple solution where others wouldn’t have even thought possible.

@WagnerianoItaliano 1 day ago

Sadly, in the ultra-corporate and gatekept environment of today's F1, the Repco story feels really like a tale from a the middle ages. And i wonder: how far Bruce McLaren and his brand new team could have gone with such a solid and effective engine? The M2B was a far more cutting edge design than the Brabhams BT19/20, let down by inadequate powerplants.

@roberthill2219 1 day ago (edited)

Kind of surprised that you didn't mention that the Oldsmobile 215 was sold by General Motors to BMC and went on to become the Rover V8...
If you want to talk about a missed opportunity, BMC and later Leyland really missed the boat on this one....

@AdamMGTF 1 day ago

I’d love to have seen f1 live before the v6 era.
Nothing about that has anything to do with the racing.
It has everything to do with why I don’t pay to watch it.

@barryb6829 3 hours ago (edited)

The Tasman Series was 4 races in New Zealand and 4 races in Australia over the months of January and February every summer from the early 1960's. Went from F1 cars through F5000 and Formula Atlantic/Pacific to the Toyota Racing Series in more recent times. Now we see future F1 drivers instead of current F1 superstars, but it allowed us to witness the best ever without leaving our shores in the sixties. The Tasman is the ocean between Australia and New Zealand.

@powerskurf 1 day ago

Awesomw shot of him with the Beard Thats GOLD ! as they say down here, love your work Mate !

@ryanmcconkey282 1 day ago

Top points for the hot fuzz reference

@moreheff 1 day ago

Just looing at how beautiful those old cars are made me all misty eyed...............

@readie10145 1 day ago (edited)

I find it funny how Repco started taking in your licence plate to get your models just to give you the same parts.

I spoke up about this in 2017.

@ianwynne764 1 day ago

Hello Aidan: When I was a kid, I had poster of the 1966 car on the back of my bedroom door. Well done.

@michaellakinloch5371 1 day ago

It's a great story, and I remember it all playing out in those days, really hooked me on F1. A side-story: Howden Ganley was working for McLaren in the team's early days, and he suggested that they should modify an American stock block V8 with new heads etc. to go F1 racing. Bruce McLaren had used American V8s in sports cars, so it was a serious consideration, but he had done development work for Ford on their LeMans programme, and in return Ford provided smaller (but not lighter) versions of their Indy engine. Which did not work. The first McLaren F1 win would not come until they too used a DFV. What might have been . . .