With 26 Formula 1 Grand Prix victories to their name, the partnership between Goodyear and Brabham was a good one – and being rekindled as the two companies collaborate on a road and race car project that sees the Brabham BT62 make its racing debut at Brands Hatch on the November 9 in the Britcar ‘Into the Night’ race.
Brands Hatch is the very circuit where Jack Brabham took his Brabham-Repco BT19 to British Grand Prix glory 53 years earlier.
Jack Brabham won the 1966 F1 World Championship in a Goodyear shod Brabham-Repco, the iconic BT19 – a historic moment as it marked the first, and never to be repeated, title for a driver in a car of his own construction and bearing his own name.
Denny Hulme made it a back-to-back championship success for Brabham and Goodyear in 1967, before Brabham stars such as Carlos Reutemann, Niki Lauda and Carlos Pace wore the iconic Goodyear cap on the top step of the podium in the seventies. In 1981, Nelson Piquet clinched the World Championship at the final round in Las Vegas after switching his Brabham to Goodyear mid-season.
David Brabham, son of Sir Jack Brabham and Director of Brabham Automotive says: “Goodyear and Brabham’s combined successes in motor sport are iconic. The partnership historically brought an incredible amount of success in Formula 1 and Endurance Racing and we look to continue this winning legacy through Brabham Automotive, the BT62 and future car variants. The continued commitment shown by Goodyear globally in motorsport means it is perfect timing for the two marques to join forces as we continue our road to Le Mans.”
Spearheading the return of the Brabham and Goodyear story is the Brabham BT62. This is an unrestricted, thoroughbred track car that is limited to a production run of just 70 vehicles. Weighing in at 972 kg (dry) and with 522 kW from its 5,4-litre V8 engine it offers performance that has already shattered GT3-class lap records.
With some 1 200 kgs of downforce, a motor sport derived tyre development program is crucial as Brabham continues to have a performance-based approach to their track and road ambitions.
Dan Marks, Commercial Director at Brabham Automotive says: “Goodyear and Brabham enjoyed success together over four decades in F1. To reignite this technical collaboration is exciting. We have chosen to work with Goodyear as they have the tyre technology to support our goal of achieving the highest levels of performance on both the road and track.”
In addition to supplying Goodyear Racing tyres for the track only BT62, the car is also available with Brabham’s road compliant conversion option, which will include tyres from the Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport range that was launched earlier this year.
It combines Goodyear’s racing experience and award-winning road tyre technology to provide superior grip and handling. It has already been declared an outright test winner, topping the first-ever Ultra Ultra High Performance (UUHP) tyre test conducted by Tyre Reviews.
The Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport range’s performance is enhanced using a high-friction compound, providing exceptional lateral grip and traction. This compound technology is closely related to Goodyear’s FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) tyres that will be used in the 2019/20 season. The track-only version of the BT62 will be fitted with similar Goodyear Racing tyres to the WEC cars.