The Brabham BT2 is an

open-wheel An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...

racing car made by Brabham in 1962.

Development

After leaving the Cooper stable in 1961,

Jack Brabham Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver who was Formula One World Champion in , , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name. Brabham was a R ...

joined forces with

Ron Tauranac Ronald Sidney Tauranac (13 January 1925 – 17 July 2020) was a British-Australian engineer and racing car designer, who with Formula One driver Jack Brabham founded the Brabham constructor and racing team in 1962. Following Brabham's retireme ...

to open his own car team. This team was initially called MRD (Motor Racing Developments), but since the sound produced by the pronunciation of the initials was similar to that of a swear word in French, it was decided to change the name to that of its founder. The first car built was the BT2, a single-seater designed to compete in the

Formula Junior Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI (''International Sporting Commission'', the part of the FIA that then regulated motorsports). The class was intended to provide an entry level class ...

category.

Design

Produced in 11 units, the BT2 exploited a tubular steel frame in a spaceframe configuration wrapped in a fiberglass body. The engine used was a Ford-Cosworth 109E derived from the Ford Anglia with 103 hp and managed by a four-speed manual gearbox. The braking system consisted of four disc brakes, while the suspensions were double wishbones with coaxial coil springs and stabilizer bar in the front section and wishbones, double link arms, coil springs, and stabilizer bar in the rear. Subsequently, in 1963, the BT2 was updated and transformed into the BT6, of which 20 additional examples were built. The Ford-Cosworth 109E engine was boosted to .

Racing history

The BT2 was used in 1962 in the Formula Junior championship by drivers such as Frank Gardner and

Jo Schlesser Joseph Schlesser (18 May 1928 – 7 July 1968) was a French Formula One and sports car racing driver. He participated in three World Championship Grands Prix, including the 1968 French Grand Prix in which he was killed. He scored no championship ...

, who achieved excellent results, including the first victory of the English team achieved by Schlesser. In 1963, when the BT6 was deployed, the victories began to arrive numerous thanks to the work of

Denny Hulme Denis Clive Hulme (18 June 1936 – 4 October 1992), commonly known as Denny Hulme, was a New Zealand racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship for the Brabham team. Between his debut at Monaco in 1965 and his f ...

and Jo Schlesser. It was the last season spent by the English team in Formula Junior, as the next car, the BT9, was designed to compete in Formula 3.

References

{{Brabham Open wheel racing cars Brabham racing cars Formula Junior cars