April 2, 1926. Jack Brabham was born on this date near Sydney in Australia. He achieved his first victory in a major race with a Cooper at Monte Carlo in 1959, and in the final race of the season at Sebring in Florida, he secured the championship by pushing his car across the finish line. He successfully defended his title in 1960 with five consecutive wins out of eight races.
In 1966, Brabham became the first and only driver to win the world championship in a car that he owned. “Black Jack” passed away on May 19, 2014.
April 2, 1940. Mike Hailwood was born into the world of automobiles and racing. His father, Stanley, was involved in the sale of cars and motorcycles and had competed in races before the start of the Second World War.
“Mike the Bike” had an illustrious career on motorcycles, winning the prestigious Isle of Man TT fourteen times. He was the world champion in the premier 500cc class from 1962 to 1965, racing for the Italian MV Agusta team.
In 1969, Hailwood and David Hobbs finished third at Le Mans in John Wyer’s Ford GT40. Hailwood also won the 1972 Formula 2 Championship, driving for another motorcycle legend, John Surtees.
Hailwood participated in fifty Formula 1 races, with his best result being a second-place finish behind Emerson Fittipaldi at Monza in 1972.
The man who survived racing at the Isle of Man and one of the most perilous eras of Formula 1 tragically lost his life in a road accident on March 23, 1981, at the age of 40. The crash also claimed the life of his nine-year-old daughter, Michelle.
April 3, 1977. USGP “West.” This was the second Formula 1 race in the port city of Long Beach, located just south of Los Angeles. It was only the third championship grand prix ever held in California, with the first one taking place at Riverside in 1960.
South African Jody Scheckter, who had won the season opener in Argentina driving for Canadian oil tycoon Walter Wolff, was on his way to securing his second victory of the season. However, late in the race, he experienced a slow puncture on his right front tire.
On lap 77 out of 80, Mario Andretti thrilled the local surfing community of Southern California by taking the lead. Niki Lauda in his Ferrari was less than a second behind, but Andretti managed to cross the finish line first and claim his third Formula 1 win. To this day, he remains the only American driver to win his home grand prix. Scheckter finished in third place.
April 7, 1966. Tragedy struck at Le Mans during testing in the rain, resulting in the death of Walt Hansgen. The crash of his Holman & Moddy Ford GT40 Mk2 claimed the life of America’s sports car racing ace from New Jersey.
Earlier in the 1966 season, Hansgen and Mark Donohue finished third in the Daytona 24 Hour race and second in the Sebring 12 Hours.
Hansgen participated in two Formula 1 races. Initially, he took part in the first-ever United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen in 1961. Unfortunately, he had to retire his Cooper Climax on Lap 14 out of 100. Three years later, at the same location, he achieved a fifth-place finish while driving a Lotus Climax.
On April 7, 1968, the motor racing world was deeply saddened by the tragic death of Jim Clark during a Formula 2 race in the rain at Hockenheimring. This incident had a profound impact on the entire racing community. After the race, Chris Amon expressed his dissatisfaction with wet tires to Ferrari engineer Mauro Forghieri, stating that “even Jimmy couldn’t pull away from me.”
To this, Forghieri responded, “Jimmy didn’t finish the race.” It was actually Jimmy’s teammate at Lotus, Graham Hill, who had managed to stay ahead of Amon.
During this race, a promising young English driver named Max Mosley made his Formula 2 debut with the London Racing Team.
Jim Clark is widely recognized as one of the greatest drivers of all time. He secured his first championship title in 1963 while racing for Colin Chapman’s Lotus team, the only team he ever competed for in Formula 1. In 1965, he triumphed at the Indianapolis 500 and clinched his second world championship.