Brabham BT7
The Brabham BT7 was a Formula 1 racing car that was developed and built by Brabham in 1963 and was used until 1966.
After the initial successes with the BT3 , Ron Tauranac developed a new monoposto racing car for the 1963 Formula 1 season . The basis was the BT3, which was permanently changed in some essential areas. The suspensions were revised and the fragile Colotti-Francis gearbox was replaced with a Hewland 5-speed high-speed gearbox. Brabham built two BT7s, both of which got a new body. To team owner Jack Brabham came Dan Gurney as the new driver into the team.
The BT7 made its debut at the Monaco Grand Prix with Dan Gurney at the wheel. Gurney started the race from sixth on the grid, but retired after damage to the differential. At the next race, the Belgian Grand Prix , Gurney drove the BT7 onto the podium for the first time in third. With further top positions from Gurney and Brabham, the team reached third place in the constructors' championship at the end of the year.
In 1964 the BT7 became one of the fastest cars of the season, but it wasn't particularly stable. Gurney won two world championship races with his successes in France and Mexico , but he and Brabham had many technical defects, which is why only fourth place in the constructors' cup remained at the end of the year. In the factory team, the BT7 was replaced by the BT11 at the end of 1964 , which was originally planned as a customer version of the BT7. In 1965 the two BT7s were sold to Rob Walker , who used the cars for his pilot Jo Siffert .
literature
- David Hodges: A – Z of Grand Prix Cars. 1906-2001. Crowood Press, Marlborough 2001, ISBN 1-86126-339-2 (English).
