One of Australia’s most historically significant racing machines has received one of the sport’s highest local honours, with the Repco-Brabham BT19 Formula 1 car inducted into the Australian Motorsport Hall of Fame.

The car, which carried Sir Jack Brabham to the 1966 Formula 1 Drivers’ and Constructors’ World Championships, became the 100th member of the Hall of Fame during a ceremony held at the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

It is also the first time a car – rather than an individual – has been inducted into the Hall, which traditionally recognises Australia’s most influential drivers, engineers and figures in motorsport.

The BT19 holds a unique place in Formula 1 history. Brabham’s 1966 championship remains the only time a driver has won the Drivers’ World Championship in a car bearing their own name while also securing the Constructors’ title for their team.

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The achievement came during a landmark year for Australian motorsport. Brabham, working alongside Australian engineer and designer Ron Tauranac, led the Brabham Formula 1 team to the top of the sport with the help of engines produced by Melbourne-based engineering company Repco.

The championship was sealed at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on September 4, 1966, when Brabham accumulated enough points to secure his third and final Drivers’ World Championship. The Brabham team also claimed the Constructors’ title that season, repeating the feat in 1967.

Sir Jack Brabham, who died in 2014, remains one of the most influential figures in Australian motorsport. Across a 23-year racing career he won three Formula 1 world championships – in 1959, 1960 and 1966 – and claimed 14 Grand Prix victories.

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He was also widely respected as both a driver and constructor, building and developing his own racing cars with Tauranac through their company Motor Racing Developments.

The BT19 itself was designed by Tauranac and built by the Brabham organisation. It was powered by the Repco RB620 3.0-litre V8 engine, which was engineered and produced in Melbourne.

Only one example of the BT19 was built, competing during the 1966 and 1967 Formula 1 seasons. Today the car is owned by Repco’s parent company in Australia and is widely regarded as one of the most important machines in motorsport history.

Family members of Sir Jack Brabham and former Repco-Brabham team members attended the Hall of Fame ceremony, held during what would have been Brabham’s centenary year.

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