The Brabham BT23 was a

formula racing Formula racing, also known as open-wheel racing in North America, is any of several forms of open-wheeled single-seater motorsport. A "formula", first devised by FIA for its post–World War II single-seater races, is a set of regulations for ...

car built by

Brabham Motor Racing Developments Ltd., commonly known as Brabham ( ), was a British race car, racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. It was founded in 1960 by the Australian driver Jack Brabham and the British-Australian designer Ron Ta ...

in 1967.

Development

The BT23 was designed as a

Formula 2 Formula Two (F2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009 to 2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name returned aga ...

racing car and most of the vehicles of this type were also used in this racing series. There was also a Tasman version and some BT23s were converted for Formula One by private drivers.

Design

The car was equipped with a tubular chassis in space-frame configuration, while the engine that equipped it was a

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

Cosworth FVA Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream automotive industries ...

, a 4-cylinder in-line of 1,598 cm³ capable of delivering a maximum power of , which droves the rear wheels through a F.T.200

Hewland Hewland is a British engineering company, founded in 1957 by Mike Hewland, which specialises in racing-car gearboxes. Hewland currently employ 130 people at their Maidenhead facility and have diversified into a variety of markets being particul ...

five-speed

manual gearbox A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canadian English, Canada, British English, the United Kingdom and American English, the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed ...

. The suspension consisted of double wishbones, coaxial coil springs, and a stabilizer bar in the front section and inverted lower wishbones, trailing arms, coil springs, and stabilizer bars in the rear section. The braking system consisted of four disc brakes. The car had a space frame, which was reinforced by load-bearing plates in the Tasman version. Jochen Rindt dominated the 1967 and 1968 Formula 2 seasons with the BT23 at will. He won nine rounds out of 15 in 1967, but, being an A driver, did not score points for the European Drivers' Championship.

Racing history

Top drivers including Derek Bell, Kurt Ahrens,

Piers Courage Piers Raymond Courage (27 May 1942 – 21 June 1970) was a British racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Courage participated in 29 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix for Lotus, Parnell and Frank Williams, debuting a ...

Peter Gethin Peter Kenneth Gethin (21 February 1940 – 5 December 2011) was a British racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Gethin won the 1971 Italian Grand Prix with BRM. Born and raised in Surrey, Gethin starte ...

, and

Robin Widdows Robin Michael Widdows (born 27 May 1942 in Cowley, Middlesex) is a British former racing driver from England. He participated in Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Three and sportscars including Le Mans. Widdows began his career with an MG Mi ...

piloted the BT23. In 1969, motorcycle racer

Bill Ivy William David Ivy (27 August 1942 – 12 July 1969) was an English professional Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Grand Prix motorcycle racer from Maidstone, Kent. He died during practice for a race in East Germany. The early years Ivy started ra ...

started his Formula 2 career in a BT23.

Jochen Rindt Karl Jochen Rindt (; 18 April 1942 – 5 September 1970) was a racing driver, who competed under the Austrian flag in Formula One from to . Rindt won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Lotus, and remains the only driver to ...

found considerable success in it, winning 9 out of the 15 races in 1967. A BT23 also saw service in Australian open wheel racing with

Alec Mildren Racing Alec Graham Mildren (19 August 1915 – 28 August 1998) was active in Australian motor racing as a driver from 1938 to 1961, and subsequently as the owner of Alec Mildren Racing. Racing career Mildren began his racing career in an Austin in 193 ...

having one (painted in Mildren's traditional yellow) for their drivers Frank Gardner and Kevin Bartlett. At first the BT23D was powered by a 2.5L

Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British manufacturer of forklift trucks, fire pumps, racing engines, and other speciality engines. History Pre WWI The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, a joint venture by Jens Stroyer and Pelham Lee. In 1 ...

engine. However, as team boss

Alec Mildren Alec Graham Mildren (19 August 1915 – 28 August 1998) was active in Australian motor racing as a driver from 1938 to 1961, and subsequently as the owner of Alec Mildren Racing. Racing career Mildren began his racing career in an Austin in 193 ...

was also the official Australian importer for

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

, he was able to obtain via the

Autodelta Autodelta SpA was the name of Alfa Romeo's competition department. Established in 1961 as Auto-Delta by Carlo Chiti and Lodovico Chizzola, former Alfa Romeo and Ferrari engineers, the company was officially made a department of Alfa Romeo on Mar ...

the same V8 engine as used in the Alfa Romeo T33/2 Daytona endurance racing

sports car A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as Automobile handling, handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and Auto racing, racing capability. Sports cars originated in ...

. Bartlett won the

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

Australian Drivers' Championship The Australian Drivers' Championship is a motor racing championship contested annually since 1957 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category. This category was determined by the Confederation of Australia ...

s in the Brabham BT23D Alfa Romeo taking 3 wins (

Lakeside Lakeside or Lake Side may refer to: Places Australia * Lakeside College, Pakenham, Victoria * Lakeside Joondalup shopping centre Joondalup, Western Australia * Lakeside, near Reservoir, Victoria * Lakeside International Raceway, Pine Rivers, ...

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and Warwick Farm) and 1 second ( Mallala) in the 6 race series.Australian Gold Star 1968 @ oldracingcars.com
/ref> The car also contested the

Tasman Series The Tasman Series (formally the Tasman Championship for Drivers)Tasman Championship for Drivers, CAMS Manual of Motor Sport with National Competition Rules 1974, pages 80 to 83 was a motor racing competition held annually from 1964 to 1975 ove ...

with Frank Gardner finishing 4th (with the Lotus 49T-

Graham Hill Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver, rower and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "Mr. Monaco", Hill won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles ...

) in

including finishing 2nd in the

New Zealand Grand Prix The New Zealand Grand Prix, sometimes known as the New Zealand International Grand Prix, is an annual motor racing event held in New Zealand. First held in 1950 New Zealand Grand Prix, 1950, it is best known for hosting rounds of the Tasman Seri ...

Pukekohe Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. The town is located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. The hills of Puke ...

, and Kevin Bartlett finishing 9th (contesting only the Australian rounds of the series) in

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

with the car now dubbed the BT23E. The Coventry Climax engine in the Mildren run Brabham produced approximately while the Alfa Romeo V8 produced approximately .

Formula One World Championship results

* The entries in the 1967 and 1969 German Grands Prix were in the Formula 2 class and were therefore ineligible for World Championship points or classification.

Formula One Non-Championship results

References

{{F1 cars 1969 Open wheel racing cars Brabham racing cars Formula Two cars