Jack Brabham met Ron Tauranac when Ron showed up as a customer for Jack’s machine shop in Australia in 1950. Within a year they had more or less joined forces to tackle the local Hawkesbury Hillclimb with a midget track racer. They won, but their victory was disallowed by officials who ruled it wasn’t a “proper” car, forging the first link in their long-running bond.
Eventually Jack went to England, drove for Cooper and won two World Championships. Then he and Ron reunited and formed Motor Racing Developments to build Brabham-badged racecars. That turned out well, and in 1966 Jack became the first and only man to win the F1 World Championship in a car with his name on the nose. The next year they won again with Denny Hulme driving.
Tauranac continued designing Brabhams until Jack sold MRD to Bernie Ecclestone, then went off on his own to build Ralt racing cars, opening another successful chapter of his life as Ralts dominated secondary categories around the world for a number of years.
The story of Ron Tauranac’s accomplishments in motor racing is told here, along with details on all the Brabham and Ralt cars he designed. Have a look and learn more about one of racing’s backstage stars.
