1965 Brabham BT14

Upon joining Cooper in the 1950s, Jack Brabham would set about using his engineering mind to help the team revolutionize Formula One and provide him with two of his three World Championships. By the mid-1960s, Brabham was well ensconced in his new role as driver and manufacturer creating machines for just about every category and level of motor racing known to exist. One of those designs that would have the opportunity to take part in more than one category of racing would be the BT14.

Brabham would set to work building his first racing cars for Formula Junior between 1961 and 1962. Brabham's first Formula One chassis would be the BT3 built in 1962. Powered by a Climax V8 engine, the car would give Brabham a couple of 4th place finishes in the final two rounds of the season.

Brabham would follow the BT3 up with the BT7 in 1963. The naming would take place in order of chassis built, and therefore, the new Formula One car for the 1963 season would be the 7th different model chassis built by Brabham and his friend Ron Tauranac (hence the 'B' and 'T') in the name of the model car.

The 1963 and 1964 seasons would see Brabham finish the championship 7th and 8th in the standings respectively. And only in 1963 would Brabham compete with a car that was not a Brabham. So it was clear the Aussie was making some headway as a Formula One manufacturer. In sportscars, Formula 2 and lower formulas of racing, Brabham had already arrived. Such cars, as the BT8 and the BT10, would come to dominate Sportscars and Formula 2. There was a formula in which Brabham hadn't really built a car, however—Formula Libre.

Formula Libre had been in existence since before World War II and would remain ever-present in the years following the war when single classes of racing cars was still hard to come by, especially throughout the world. Therefore, a number of Formula Libre races would spring up all over the world thereby enabling local talent to mix it up with international talent in cars not necessarily matching in category.

Formula Libre racing continued into the 1960s. And, during the 1960s, it was not uncommon to see sportscars battling with single-seater grand prix-type open-wheelers. The phrase at the time was, 'If it went, it entered'. 'Fun for everyone', Formula Libre would be a popular race for spectators as it would afford the opportunity to see driving talent first-hand as a number of talented drivers would often find themselves battling far superior equipment. The racing, too, offered fans the opportunity to see a wide range of categories of racing cars all in one race. And, in 1965, Brabham's company would offer a specific car for Formula Libre racing.

Given that Formula One was limited to 1.5-liter engine displacement between 1961 and 1965, Brabham and Tauranac would have a basis upon which to go by to build a car to Formula Libre specifications.

Right away, it would be obvious what would become known as the BT14 would bear a great deal of similarity to the BT11 used during the 1964 Formula One season by Brabham himself. The cigar-shaped body with the somewhat squared-off nose would be a hallmark of the BT14 as well. Using the same tubular frame, the BT14 would have the same basic shape all the way around. Also, like the BT11, the BT14 would use double-wishbone suspension on the front suspension and a lower wishbone and upper link for the rear. However, all four wheels of the car would sport coil-springs over dampers and an anti-roll bar.

The BT11 would utilize a Hewland 5-speed manual and a 1.5-liter Coventry Climax FWMV V8 engine per the Formula One regulations at the time. The BT14, not encumbered by such regulations, would end up using a 1.6-liter Lotus-Ford twin-cam engine to power the chassis.

Two or three, one of which would be Rodney Bloor, would be willing to make the leap and would replace the engines. Bloor would make the change and would end up entering a couple of non-championship Formula One events during the 1965 season.

In mid-March Bloor would take part in the Race of Champions held at Brands Hatch. A race consisting of more than one heat, Bloor would find his first Formula One event over when the car retired during the second heat.

Then, on the 19th of April, Bloor would take part in the International Trophy Race held during the Easter Monday meeting at Goodwood. This time Bloor would fair much better actually finishing the race in 12th position. Interestingly, finishing right in front of Bloor in 11th place would be John Cardwell. He would be at the wheel of yet another converted BT14.

All-in-all, Brabham records indicate that 10 examples of the BT14 would be built between 1965 and 1966. There is a little confusion with a couple as there remains two with the same chassis number and apparently another that doesn't seem to exist at all.

Sources:
'Brabham BT14 Chassis Number FL-6-65', (http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/'garycr/2001/brabham_bt14/index.htm). Yesterdayracers. http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/'garycr/2001/brabham_bt14/index.htm. Retrieved 20 December 2012.

'Brabham BT11 Climax', (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/66/Brabham-BT11-Climax.html). Ultimatecarpage.com: Powered by Knowledge, Driven by Passion. http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/66/Brabham-BT11-Climax.html. Retrieved 20 December 2012.

'Home: Brabham', (http://www.oldracingcars.com/brabham/). OldRacingCars.com. http://www.oldracingcars.com/brabham/. Retrieved 20 December 2012.

'Biography: Jack Brabham', (http://www.grandprixhistory.org/brab_bio.htm). Dennis David and Family. http://www.grandprixhistory.org/brab_bio.htm. Retrieved 20 December 2012.

Wikipedia contributors, 'Jack Brabham', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 9 December 2012, 23:13 UTC, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jack_Brabham&oldid=527254476 accessed 20 December 2012

By Jeremy McMullen