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  Brabham BT3 Climax      

  Article Image gallery (30) F1-1-62 Specifications  
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Country of origin:Great Britain
Produced in:1962
Numbers built:1
Designed by:Ron Tauranac for Motor Racing Developments
Successor:Brabham BT7 Climax
Author:Wouter Melissen
Last updated:April 02, 2014
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Click here to download printer friendly versionFinished in a striking turquoise with a gold stripe, the Brabham BT3 Climax was ready by early August of 1962, in time for the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. This would be the very first start for a Grand Prix driver in a car wearing his own name. Unfortunately, the debut of Brabham as a manufacturer proved to be a bitter disappointment. Jack Brabham qualified a lowly 24th and was forced to retire halfway through the race with broken throttle cable.

For various reasons, Brabham sat out the next round in Italy but returned with the BT3 for the final two rounds of the World Championship. At Watkins Glen, the experienced Australian managed to convert a fifth place on the grid to fourth at the finish. For the season finale, the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami, Brabham managed to grab third on the grid and then matched his result in the United States Grand Prix by crossing the line in fourth.

In anticipation of the new-for-1963 BT7, Brabham continued to campaign the unique BT3 in the opening rounds of the next season. In its third and final outing of the year, Brabham finished fifth in the Italian Grand Prix. With the BT7, an evolution of the BT3 design, Dan Gurney would eventually score Brabham's first Grand Prix win in 1964. The one-off BT3 was briefly raced by Ian Raby with a BRM engine and also briefly saw use in hill climbs, powered by a Chevrolet V8.

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  Article Image gallery (30) F1-1-62 Specifications