The 1960 Season with the T45 Cooper-Climax -- Bruce McLaren Trust - History of motorsport racing legend and founder of McLaren F1 and Can-Am teams Bruce and “Pop” McLaren working on the Cooper before the Ardmore Grand Prix - 1960 Bruce winning the 1960 Argentinian Grand Prix. Here he is being pushed by a very pleased John Cooper. The marque Cooper, from Surbiton in Surrey, is without doubt or exception the most successful entrant in its day on the motor racing scene that Britain has ever produced. The most successful, and probably the least glamorous. From a tiny suburban enterprise, (tiny to start with, at least, and still small by comparison with most of its rivals), backed by no government or industrial giant, and holding to a combination of sensible engineering and patience rather than advanced scientific research, has come a stream of racing cars to sweep the boards successively in Formula 3, Formula 2, and most recently the full Grand Prix Formula 1.

Yet it has all been done with so little fuss and publicity, with cars of – let us admit it – such unexciting appearance, that even today one is apt to speak of the "little" Cooper, relating it subconsciously to the motorcycle-engined 500 of twelve years ago. To put things in perspective, the machine which was responsible for bringing home both Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships in 1959, and bids strongly to do the same this year, has a longer wheelbase than any serious contender yet built under the 2.5 litre Formula. It weighs 9 cwt. (heavier than Lotus, not much lighter than B.R.M.) and is known when suitably geared to reach about 180 mph in a straight line. The Cooper record in big time motor racing is well enough known. Since the first days when John Cooper and his father, Charles, built a 500 cc. special 14 years ago, the score of wins has gone far beyond the point where anyone can keep track of them – and the present Grand Prix car bears even yet a resemblance to the earliest design of all.

Not only is the engine still at the back, but the suspension still follows the same basic layout, independent with wishbone links at front and rear. Essentials but no frills for the pilot of the fastest G.P. car racing today; reading clock-wise, the dials are a fuel pressure gauge, a water temperature gauge, a rev counter, oil pressure and oil temperature gauges and a gauge showing the gearbox oil pressure. Since that time the Cooper line of descent has been progressive, with scarcely a deviation. As Formula 3 came into international being, the Coopers earmarked it, followed it through from the Mk 1 to the Mk 11 against the coming and going of half a dozen opponents, and finally saw it into the ground through their own persistence, when the near-monopoly caused the Formula to dwindle and die and give rise instead to Formula Junior. When the Cooper 500 had reached Mk 2 in 1952, two names hit motor racing simultaneously at the Easter Goodwood meeting. Mike Hawthorn and the front-engined 2 litre Cooper-Bristol – one of the rare departures from family likeness. Outsider or not, the Cooper-Bristol was a timely booster of British morale.

When even its Formula 2 rivals of 2,000 cc. were disposing of 150 b.h.p., Hawthorn and the Cooper electrified crowds all over Britain and Europe by thrusting their 127 horsepower into third and fourth place amongst the 1 ½ litre supercharged and 4 ½ litre unblown cars of Formula 1. But the Cooper-Bristol is a diversion. The champion Grand Prix car of today is descended through the 500s, Mk 7, 8 and 9; the central-seat 1,000cc Cooper-Climax sports car of 1955; and then Cooper’s first attack on Formula 1, the same sports car with a Bristol engine enlarged to 2.2 litres. Its driver and instigator, appropriately, was Jack Brabham. The short cut to Grand Prix was unsuccessful, and for another year the Cooper works went back to climbing the hard way, entering Formula 2 (by then 1 ½ litres) in 1956 with a single overhead camshaft Coventry-Climax engine bored out to 1,460 cc.

in a car logically developed form the earlier rear-engined machines. The real Formula 1 story began in 1957, first with the new twin-overhead camshaft FPF 1 ½ litre engine from Coventry Climax, developing 140 b.h.p. and almost immediately with an enlarged version using cylinder liners and a different crankshaft to obtain 1,960 cc. This was the car which both the Cooper works and Rob Walker’s private stable raced throughout the year until the full 2 ½ litre Climax engine should be ready. The independent entry was the car also that was to sound the first knell of doom for its established Formula 1 rivals when, in spite of its half-litre handicap, Stirling Moss drove it to victory in the Argentine Grand Prix at the very beginning of 1958. By the start of the European season the 1,960 cc. version of the twin-cam Climax engine had been stretched still farther to 2,200 cc. – still down on its rivals by 300 cc.; considerably less powerful, and not always very reliable.

The only other outright win of the year was, in fact, by Trintignant in Walker’s 1.9-litre car at Monaco. Nevertheless, a second, two thirds and two fourth places in the 1958 Grandes Epreuves kept the Cooper name among the up-and-comings. The 1½ litre cars, under no handicap to engine size, took the Formula 2 Constructors’ Championship. Nineteen-fifty-nine was jackpot year for the Cooper, though not consistently and not in both forms – for the Walker equipe went off on a different transmission tack, using a special five-speed Italian gearbox designed by Colotti and a Maserati clutch. The works, on the other hand stuck to the reinforced ERSA-Citroen-Cooper gearbox which had been developed from the days of the single-seater sports car. Most of the troubles that did beset both teams were located in the transmission, brought on by the year’s big development; the full 2,495 cc. Coventry-Climax engine. Simultaneous success and failure attended Cooper at almost every 1959 Grande Epreuve.

At Monaco, Brabham’s works car won after a bearing in Moss’ Colotti gearbox broke to rob him of a runaway lead; in the Dutch G.P. Moss again had the same trouble, giving first place to Bonnier’s B.R.M. with Brabham second; at Rheims for the French G.P. the Coopers could not hold the more powerful Ferraris; at Aintree Brabham beat Moss, who drove a B.R.M. and stopped for tyres and fuel. In the German G.P., on the artificial track at Avus, the Ferraris again ran away while Moss, Brabham and McLaren all had gearbox trouble; the Portuguese G.P. saw Moss winning by a lap with so much in hand that, in spite of an unmodified gearbox, his car ran perfectly, whereas McLaren again had transmission failure; at Monza Moss was first, Brabham third to a Ferrari, and only McLaren retired - this time with a broken piston.

At the very end of the season McLaren had his compensation with a surprise win at Sebring, Florida, where Moss’ gearbox again let him down, Brabham ran out of fuel when leading on the last lap and pushed home to finish fourth (but still World Champion) and Trintignant was second in Rob Walker’s other car with a broken wishbone. The last appearance of the 1959 car before the advent of the current model was in the Argentine G.P which Bruce McLaren won in January of this year. And now the lower, lighter, five-speed gearbox 1960 Cooper has stepped right into its predecessors’ Dunlops, with victories in the Dutch, Belgian, French and British Grands Prix, Brabham taking the four in a row with a car which seems, as we write, to combine speed, road holding and reliability to a rare degree. Reprinted from The Motor 1960 Recent 1960 Cooper T53 - Conceptcarz conceptcarz Chassis Num: F2-5-60 This 1960 Cooper T-53 ran the Grand Prix circuit in 1960 and 1961.

In 1960, driven by Bruce McLaren, races included: Monaco Grand Prix (2nd) Dutch GP Zandvoort (DNF), Belgian GP Spa (2nd), French GP Reims (3rd), British GP Silverstone (4th) Silver City Trophy Bands Hatch (3rd), Portuguese GP Oporto (2nd), Gold Cup Oulton Park (4th), and the US GP at Riverside (3rd). In 1961, driven by Jack Brabham, it participated in the following races: Lombank Trophy Snetterton (1st), Pau GP (DNF), Brussells GP (1st in heats 2,3), Solitude GP Stuttgart (5th), Karlskoga Kannonloppet (DNF), Danish GP Roskilde, Modena GP (5th), Flugplatzennen Zeltweg (2nd). Monoposto This is a 1960 Cooper T-53 Formula One car. A T-53 won the World Championship in 1960 with Sir Jack Brabham driving.

This car was sold to Arthur Owen in 1961 and he used it to win the European hill Climb Championship in 1962. The car is very original including the engine, magnet, brakes and Jack Knight gearbox, as raced in 1960. Monoposto Chassis Num: F2/8/60 After a sluggish racing season in 1959, Cooper wanted to field a car that would compete with the faster Lotus vehicles. This result won the Cooper T53, a more modern vehicle that, despite late entry for the 1960 season, would dominate the Grand Prix circuit with the racing duo of Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren at the helm. After a second place finish at Silverstone on May 14 and another second place finish in Monaco, Brabham would win the Dutch Grand Prix wire-to-wire. Two weeks later, Brabham and McLaren would finish one -two of the Belgian Grand Prix, and first and third at Rheims. Overall, the Cooper team would win five races in 1960.

Although the Cooper T53 would not make a direct impact on American racing in the early 1960s, it was a pioneer amongst rear-engined racecars, and heralded the change that was coming shortly to racing on both sides of the Atlantic. By 1964, rear-engined cars would dominate the racing landscape, and the Cooper T53 was the trendsetter in this regard. During the very early 1950s, Cooper had built a reputation by dominating the Formula 3 class. This had been a profitable venture and the company had wanted to diversify by moving into the Formula 2 class. Their customers had been asking for a Formula 2 car in which they could continue to climb the racing class ladder. Thus, the creation of the Formula 2 Cooper T20 MKI's. The car had proved capable, but more was required to become a serious contender. Hawthorn joined with Maranello in 1953, competing in F1 competition under the Ferrari banner. His career would continue for several years, mostly at the wheel for Ferrari's and Maserati's.

The Cooper T20 was produced beginning in 1952 and was powered by a L6 Bristol engine. The Bristol engine had been chosen because it was viewed as the best available 2-liter unit at the time. The manufacturer, Bristol Aeroplane Company based the six-cylinder engine's design on the pre-war BMW 328. The engine displaced 1971cc with hover-head valves actuated by cross-pushrods. In standard guise it produced nearly 130 horsepower, which was about 40 horsepower less than the competition. The engine was lacking in power in comparison to its competition. Cooper chose to continue with the engine due to its availability, reliability, and parts were in abundance. To compensate for its lack of power, Cooper devised an uncomplicated and lightweight chassis. The resulting car was the Cooper T20, also known as the Cooper-Bristol Mark I (MKI). A prototype was debuted to the public at Hollyfield Road in early 1952. The 1953 World Championship season had run under Formula 2 regulations. At the close of the season, the regulations changed to 2.5-liters in natural aspirated.

Cooper decided to focus on Formula 3, unveiling the newest contender, the Mark VIII 500 in October. The 'curved-tube' concept was unveiled to the public where its streamlined body was hailed as the sleekest Cooper to-date. For the 1957 season, the CSI tried to breath new life into Formula 2 by introducing a new internationally recognized 1500cc naturally-aspirated class. The British Racing Drivers' Club reacted quickly to this new potential by forming a race for this class, making it apart of their British GP meeting at Silverstone. British based Cooper saw an opportunity to create a customer car that would comply with these new regulations. A Climax FWB single-cam powerplant was chosen, with plans for a twin-cam version forthcoming. Cooper began by modifying their tried-and-true Coooper Bobtail to accommodate the FWB engine, a single occupant, and open-wheel racing. The water-cooled four-cylinder engine was mounted in the rear, with the fuel tank situated around the driver's legs. The total fuel capacity was around 12-gallons. The battery was in front of the fuel tank and behind the front-mounted radiator.

A four-speed Citroen-ERSA gearbox was mounted to the engine and powered the rear wheels. The wheels were cast-magnesium and sat inches away from the finned drum brakes. Disc brakes were to appear later, on the production cars. The suspension was comprised of transverse-leaf springs. The body was created from lightweight aluminum. The completed car, sharing a similar design to the Mark X 500s, weighed less than 700 pounds. The inaugural outing for the prototype car, dubbed the T41 F2 Mark I, was at Silverstone where Roy Salvadori easily qualified on pole. The Lotus 11 provided some competition during the race, but not enough to keep the Cooper from capturing the victory. Jack Brabham would later take over the duties of driving the prototype car. His first race in the car resulted in a third place finish. Customer orders began coming in for the capable F2 car. Rob Walker was the first to place an order and was given a loaner car to race while he waited. A few more Mark I cars followed before the T43 Mark II's were built during the close of 1956.

Thought they followed much of the design of the T41, there were differences such as a later wheelbase and a slightly restyled exterior shell. The twin-cam Climax FPF dry-sump engine now rested in the place of the since-cam unit. The four-cylinder unit displaced 1475cc, had five main-bearing crankshaft, twin-choke SU DU6 carburetors, and produced just over 140 horsepower. The Cooper T43 was in competition from 1957 through 1960. During that time it would be outfitted with Bristol, Climax, and OSCA engines. It was the first Cooper car to score a World Championship win. Sir Stirling Moss was driving Robert Walker's T43 at Buenos Aires in 1958, when the victory was gained. The victory was historic, but with only ten cars on the grid, the race was not as competitive as some other GP events. Roy Salvadori drove the Cooper T43 car at Aintree, Nurburginr, and Pescara during the 1957 season.

His best finish was at Aintree where he managed a fifth place finish after starting 14th on the grid. For the 1958 season, the T45 Mark III was introduced. The biggest change was the front coil springs and wishbone setup which replaced the transverse leaf unit. Another improvement was with the engines positioning, which was lowered a couple of inches in the engine bay. This allowed better access to the overall gear ratios which now could be changed in a matter of minutes. One of the major highlight for the T45's racing career came at the 1958 Monaco race where it was driven by Maurice Trintignant to a victory, capturing a victory for the Rob Walker Racing Team and for Cooper, and becoming the first rear-engined car to win a major European race. This victory, coupled with Moss's accomplishment at Buenos Aires, introduced new potential for the 'engine in the wrong place/cart before the horse' setup. There were advantages to the mid engine layout; with the engine in the rear there was no need for a driveshaft to run under the drivers seat. This allowed the driver to sit lower to the ground, increasing the center of gravity, and improving the handling.

The frontal area was reduced, since it did not have to be as large. Cornering was improved, aerodynamics were better, and performance was optimal. This, plus a smaller car with fewer components meant less weight. In 1959, Brabham, along with the Cooper factory team, would become the first to win the Formula One World Championship in a rear-engined car. By 1960, many Formula 1 teams would follow Coopers lead by switching to mid-engined layout. One of the first to do so was BRM. Jack Brabham, Stirling Moss, and Bruce McLaren each scored victories in 1959 with their Cooper cars. Brabham won at Monaco and the British GP. Moss had qualified on the pole at Monaco, but was forced to retire due to gearbox problems, leaving the spot open for Brabham. Gearbox issues would plague the cars throughout the season. Stirling Moss won the Portuguese and Italian GP. Bruce McLaren won the United States Grand Prix at Sebring. He gained another record that day, crowned as the youngest Grand Prix winner to ever win a race. At the tender age of twenty-two, that record still persists to this day.

Brabham would be crowned with the seasons Drivers' Title, partly due to better reliability, and Cooper with the Constructors' Title. In 1960, Brabham brought one of the Championship-winning Cooper T53 'Lowline' cars to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for testing. The car was mocked by the other teams, but it ran as high as third, though it finished in ninth place. Within a few years, the Indy cars were being powered by engines that sat behind the driver. 1965 was the first year a rear-engined car took the Indy 500 checkered flag. It was a Lotus driven by Jim Clark; since that time every car that has achieved victory at Indy has been powered by a rear-engined vehicle. Cooper and Lotus convinced Coventry Climax to create a 2.5-liter engine which could be used to contest the 1959 season. The engines had humble beginnings, being derived from a fire-pump engine. In a short four months, the engine had been created and made its inaugural racing debut in the back of a Walker Cooper car. The Climax engine was lightweight, yet powerful.

By now, the latest Cooper cars were being introduced, the T51 Mark IV cars which were to run in Formula 1 and Formula 2 competition. Power was from the 2.5-liter Climax FWA engine and the nestled comfortably in the curved tube frame. The frame was created by curved tubes; nearly every tue making up the frame had a curve. This was another interesting part of the car, as curved tubes generally has less rigidity as a straight one. However, the ingenuity and talents of Owen Maddock had allowed for the design to be possible, with each tube positioned to increase the strength of the frame. Coopers impressive season for 1959, with eight victories out of the 13 F1 races, had them excited for the 1960 season. The next iteration was the T53, which had coil springs instead of the leaf springs of the T51. The bodywork was improved which gave the car better aerodynamics. The T53 was a solid performer, providing Brabham with five consecutive wins by mid-season. the mid-engined layout revolutionized F1, with most marque's adapting the style for the 1960 and 1961 season.

Ferrari was one of the last to change. 1960 was the final year for the 2.5-liter regulations. Cooper and Brabham claimed their second World Championship. Except for a victory by Stirling Moss in a Lotus at Monaco, and a Phil Hill victory at Monza in a Ferrari, all races were won by Cooper. The British had boycotted the Italian race at Monza since the circuit was using banked turns. By Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2007 The Cars: Cooper THE CARS Membership The 1959 Season with the T45 Cooper-Climax 1959 was a notable year for several events. One was the appearance of Bruce on the major records sheets when he won the United States Grand Prix for Coopers at Sebring and finishing sixth in the World Championship. Another was the emergence of an unknown, Denny Hulme. Bruce was still classified as a New Zealand driver in the early part of the year (he was not to join the Cooper works team until the European season), Bruce won the racing Gold star, a suitable ending to a full year of highly successful racing in both Europe and New Zealand. The New Zealand series saw Bruce helped by Jack Brabham.

Below are photos of Bruce's 1959 year in New Zealand before heading to Europe. Bruce and his father "Pop" McLaren with the 1959 T45 Cooper Climax Bruce & Jack Brabham looking over the 1959 T45 Cooper Climax Bruce and Jack Brabham with the 1959 T45 Cooper Climax Bruce driving the T45 Cooper in the 1959 International GP at Ardmore, New Zealand. Bruce finished third behind Jack Brabham and Stirling Moss The winnerï¿½s podium at the 6th International GP 1959, Ardmore, New Zealand.

Bruce McLaren 3rd place, Jack Brabham 2nd place and Stirling Moss 1st place Bruce driving to victory at the 1959 Waimate 50 race in New Zealand Bruce on the winnerï¿½s podium at the Waimate 50 race in 1959 Bruce accepting the winnerï¿½s trophy at the Teretonga International GP, New Zealand in 1959 After a successful season Bruce returned to the UK on the 14th March 1959 to compete in the Formula 1 series after being classified by the International Automobile Federation as a "Grade A" driver for 1960. Eventual winner Bruce McLaren fights his Cooper Climax through the S turns on the Sebring 5.2 mile circuit. Following Bruce through the tricky turns are Jack Brabham (car #8) and Phil Hill (car #5). Sebring ï¿½ US Grand Prix ï¿½ by winning this race Bruce became the youngest driver ever to win a Grand Prix at the age of 22 years and 104 days.

The 1960 Season with the T45 Cooper-Climax Bruce before the Ardmore Grand Prix - 1960 Bruce and ï¿½Popï¿½ McLaren working on the Cooper before the Ardmore Grand Prix - 1960 Bruce winning the 1960 Argentinian Grand Prix. Here he is being pushed by a very pleased John Cooper. History of the Famous Cooper Cars Reprinted from The Motor 1960 The marque Cooper, from Surbiton in Surrey, is without doubt or exception the most successful entrant in its day on the motor racing scene that Britain has ever produced. The most successful, and probably the least glamorous. From a tiny suburban enterprise, (tiny to start with, at least, and still small by comparison with most of its rivals), backed by no government or industrial giant, and holding to a combination of sensible engineering and patience rather than advanced scientific research, has come a stream of racing cars to sweep the boards successively in Formula 3, Formula 2, and most recently the full Grand Prix Formula 1.

Yet it has all been done with so little fuss and publicity, with cars of ï¿½ let us admit it ï¿½ such unexciting appearance, that even today one is apt to speak of the "little" Cooper, relating it subconsciously to the motorcycle-engined 500 of twelve years ago. To put things in perspective, the machine which was responsible for bringing home both Driversï¿½ and Constructorsï¿½ Championships in 1959, and bids strongly to do the same this year, has a longer wheelbase than any serious contender yet built under the 2.5 litre Formula. It weighs 9 cwt. (heavier than Lotus, not much lighter than B.R.M.) and is known when suitably geared to reach about 180 mph in a straight line. The Cooper record in big time motor racing is well enough known. Since the first days when John Cooper and his father, Charles, built a 500 cc. special 14 years ago, the score of wins has gone far beyond the point where anyone can keep track of them ï¿½ and the present Grand Prix car bears even yet a resemblance to the earliest design of all.

Not only is the engine still at the back, but the suspension still follows the same basic layout, independent with wishbone links at front and rear. Essentials but no frills for the pilot of the fastest G.P. car racing today; reading clock-wise, the dials are a fuel pressure gauge, a water temperature gauge, a rev counter, oil pressure and oil temperature gauges and a gauge showing the gearbox oil pressure. Since that time the Cooper line of descent has been progressive, with scarcely a deviation. As Formula 3 came into international being, the Coopers earmarked it, followed it through from the Mk 1 to the Mk 11 against the coming and going of half a dozen opponents, and finally saw it into the ground through their own persistence, when the near-monopoly caused the Formula to dwindle and die and give rise instead to Formula Junior. When the Cooper 500 had reached Mk 2 in 1952, two names hit motor racing simultaneously at the Easter Goodwood meeting. Mike Hawthorn and the front-engined 2 litre Cooper-Bristol ï¿½ one of the rare departures from family likeness. Outsider or not, the Cooper-Bristol was a timely booster of British morale.

When even its Formula 2 rivals of 2,000 cc. were disposing of 150 b.h.p., Hawthorn and the Cooper electrified crowds all over Britain and Europe by thrusting their 127 horsepower into third and fourth place amongst the 1 ï¿½ litre supercharged and 4 ï¿½ litre unblown cars of Formula 1. But the Cooper-Bristol is a diversion. The champion Grand Prix car of today is descended through the 500s, Mk 7, 8 and 9; the central-seat 1,000cc Cooper-Climax sports car of 1955; and then Cooperï¿½s first attack on Formula 1, the same sports car with a Bristol engine enlarged to 2.2 litres. Its driver and instigator, appropriately, was Jack Brabham. The short cut to Grand Prix was unsuccessful, and for another year the Cooper works went back to climbing the hard way, entering Formula 2 (by then 1 ï¿½ litres) in 1956 with a single overhead camshaft Coventry-Climax engine bored out to 1,460 cc.

in a car logically developed form the earlier rear-engined machines. The real Formula 1 story began in 1957, first with the new twin-overhead camshaft FPF 1 ï¿½ litre engine from Coventry Climax, developing 140 b.h.p. and almost immediately with an enlarged version using cylinder liners and a different crankshaft to obtain 1,960 cc. This was the car which both the Cooper works and Rob Walkerï¿½s private stable raced throughout the year until the full 2 ï¿½ litre Climax engine should be ready. The independent entry was the car also that was to sound the first knell of doom for its established Formula 1 rivals when, in spite of its half-litre handicap, Stirling Moss drove it to victory in the Argentine Grand Prix at the very beginning of 1958. By the start of the European season the 1,960 cc. version of the twin-cam Climax engine had been stretched still farther to 2,200 cc. ï¿½ still down on its rivals by 300 cc.; considerably less powerful, and not always very reliable.

The only other outright win of the year was, in fact, by Trintignant in Walkerï¿½s 1.9-litre car at Monaco. Nevertheless, a second, two thirds and two fourth places in the 1958 Grandes Epreuves kept the Cooper name among the up-and-comings. The 1ï¿½ litre cars, under no handicap to engine size, took the Formula 2 Constructorsï¿½ Championship. Nineteen-fifty-nine was jackpot year for the Cooper, though not consistently and not in both forms ï¿½ for the Walker equipe went off on a different transmission tack, using a special five-speed Italian gearbox designed by Colotti and a Maserati clutch. The works, on the other hand stuck to the reinforced ERSA-Citroen-Cooper gearbox which had been developed from the days of the single-seater sports car. Most of the troubles that did beset both teams were located in the transmission, brought on by the yearï¿½s big development; the full 2,495 cc. Coventry-Climax engine. Simultaneous success and failure attended Cooper at almost every 1959 Grande Epreuve.

At Monaco, Brabhamï¿½s works car won after a bearing in Mossï¿½ Colotti gearbox broke to rob him of a runaway lead; in the Dutch G.P. Moss again had the same trouble, giving first place to Bonnierï¿½s B.R.M. with Brabham second; at Rheims for the French G.P. the Coopers could not hold the more powerful Ferraris; at Aintree Brabham beat Moss, who drove a B.R.M. and stopped for tyres and fuel. In the German G.P., on the artificial track at Avus, the Ferraris again ran away while Moss, Brabham and McLaren all had gearbox trouble; the Portuguese G.P. saw Moss winning by a lap with so much in hand that, in spite of an unmodified gearbox, his car ran perfectly, whereas McLaren again had transmission failure; at Monza Moss was first, Brabham third to a Ferrari, and only McLaren retired - this time with a broken piston.

At the very end of the season McLaren had his compensation with a surprise win at Sebring, Florida, where Mossï¿½ gearbox again let him down, Brabham ran out of fuel when leading on the last lap and pushed home to finish fourth (but still World Champion) and Trintignant was second in Rob Walkerï¿½s other car with a broken wishbone. The last appearance of the 1959 car before the advent of the current model was in the Argentine G.P which Bruce McLaren won in January of this year. And now the lower, lighter, five-speed gearbox 1960 Cooper has stepped right into its predecessorsï¿½ Dunlops, with victories in the Dutch, Belgian, French and British Grands Prix, Brabham taking the four in a row with a car which seems, as we write, to combine speed, road holding and reliability to a rare degree. Auto Racing Highlights from 1960 Lotus Le Mans 24-Hour Race Two Belgians sharing the wheel of a Ferrari won the 24 Hours at Le Mans, held on June 25-26.

Olivier Gendebein and Paul Frere covered 2,619 miles at an average speed of 109.128 m.p.h. The pair took the lead early in the race and held it from them on, finishing about 25 miles ahead of the second place Ferrari driven by Ricardo Rodriguez and Andre Pilette. NASCAR The 1960 NASCAR season began with the Daytona 500 on February 14. The race was won by Junior Johnson, who averaged 127.4 m.p.h. in a Chevrolet owned by Ray Fox. Junior Johnson (in white, without a hat) celebrates his Daytona 500 win with car owner Ray Fox (to his immediate right) and some of his crew members. Rex White (below), an offseason garage owner, finished in the top 10 in 34 races to win the Grand National Driving Championship, as well as a NASCAR record total of $45,055 in prize money.

Pikes Peak Climb The annual Independence Day Pikes Peak Climb was dominated in 1960 by the Unser brothers, who took two first places and a second in the 12-1/2-mile event. Bobby Unser, in a Pontiac Special, took the championship, for the third year in a row, in the record time of 13 minutes 28.5 seconds. Al Unser finished right behind his brother in the championship class. Lou Unser, in a stock Pontiac, finished first in the stock-car class in 15 minutes 36.6 seconds. Bobby Unser at the 1960 Pikes Peak Climb. Road America 500 Italian car maker Maserati gained considerable prestige in U.S. sports-car racing when two of its cars finished first and fourth in the Road America 500 at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on September 11. The winning car, driven by Dave Causey and Luke Stear, finished the required 125 laps in 6 hours 14 minutes 55 seconds, averaging 80.021 m.p.h.

The second place car, a Ferrari driven by Auggie Pabst and Bill Wuesthoff, was just 39 seconds behind them. Sebring The annual 12-hour Grand Prix of Endurance at Sebring, Florida, on March 25, was boycotted by the Porsche official team cars, but Porsches still took first and second. Olivier Gendebein and Hans Hermann teamed up in a 1.6 Porsche to win the event by covering 196 laps in the alloted time. Second place went to a Porsche driven by Bob Holbert, Roy Schecter, and Howard Fowler. Targa Florio The 44th Annual Targa Florio world championship event for sports cars was run over a hilly, twisting, 45-mile road course near Palermo, Sicily, on May 8. It was won by a Porsche driven by Joakim Bonnier and Hans Hermann, who completed the required ten laps in 7 hours 33 minutes 8 seconds. In second place, six minutes behind the winner, was a Ferrari driven by Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Trips.

The car left the road, while Tripp was driving, and it took the men four minutes to make needed repairs. Vanderbilt Cup After a lapse of 22 years, the Vanderbilt Cup race was revived at Roosevelt Raceway on Long Island, New York, on June 18-19. The event, restricted to the tiny Formula Junior cars, was won by 37-year-old amateur Harry Carter, driving an Italian Stanguellini. Cornelius Vanderbilt IV presents the Vanderbilt Cup to Harry Carter. Watkins Glen In the Formula Libre Grand Prix event held at Watkins Glen, New York, on October 9, Stirling Moss crossed the finish line 7 seconds ahead of the 1960 World Driver Champion Jack Brabham to win the event in the record time of 2 minutes 10.2 seconds. Moss was driving a Lotus Formula I car owned by Rob Walker; Brabham was driving a Cooper. In the Sports-Car Grand Prix, held two weeks later, Augie Pabst drove a Scarab to victory, averaging 88.8 m.p.h., a new record. Roger Penske, driving a Porsche, was second.

Drivers with most consecutive Formula One race wins Drivers with most consecutive Formula One race wins The F1 drivers to win the most consecutive races. Top 5 / Top 10 18 May 2016, 15:43 IST Nico Rosberg at the Chinese GP Nico Rosberg ‘s streak of winning consecutive F1 races has come to an end at the Spanish GP. The two Mercedes drivers collided in the first lap itself and retired from the race. Nico is the sole driver in this list who is yet to win the World Championship. He is in elite company with the likes of multiple World Champions and F1 greats - Sebastian Vettel , Alberto Ascari, and Michael Schumacher. With a straight run-away win in the Russian GP last fortnight, he moved to 2nd tied with Alberto Ascari and Michael Schumacher. In a very competitive sport like F1, Winning a race is a feat in itself with so many factors like the car, track conditions, strategy, reliability etc playing its part. To win five or more times on a trot is a rare feat. Since its inception in 1950, Formula One has seen extended periods of dominance by multiple drivers and their respective teams.

Be it the Ferrari of old and early 2000s, Red Bull of 2010s or the current Mercedes team, winning 5 or more consecutive F1 races by the same driver has only been done on ten occasions. Here are the drivers occupying the top five places in the all-time F1 consecutive wins list #4 Jack Brabham (Cooper-Climax, 1960 season, 5 wins) Jack Brabham before a race Having won the title by famously pushing his car over the line, Jack Brabham defended his title in style by winning five races in a row in the 1960 season. At Porto, his last win in the streak also earned him the title. The feat could have been longer if he had not boycotted the penultimate race at Monza. Page 1 of 10 Next 50 Years of Technical Development in Formula One Atlas F1 Presents: 50 years of technical milestones, 50 years of innovation and experimentation in machinary and technology. 50 years which have made Formula One 'the Pinacle of Motor Racing' Point of Reference: 17 African nations are granted independence, John F.

Kennedy is elected as America's president, the French author Albert Camus dies in a car crash, the film Ben Hur wins 11 Oscars and the Australian Formula One driver Jack Brabham succeeds in defending his World Championship title... The 1960s began as the 1950s had ended: with Australian Jack Brabham winning the World Championship. His Cooper Climax, thanks to its mid-engine design, continued to dictate the pace. The successful Type T53 was powered by a 240 hp four-cylinder unit which could pull the 440 kg vehicle to nearly 300 km/h. Formula One saw a traditional front-engined old-timer win for the last time, when the British teams stayed away from the Italian Grand Prix because they feared the dreaded steep curves of Monza. American Phil Hill snatched victory at the wheel of his Ferrari 246, a historic win which granted him a place among the all-time greats. 1960 was a season which highlighted the dangerous nature of Grand Prix racing in the early years. Two drivers died during the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa and two more were seriously injured.

The highly talented Chris Bristow lost control of his Cooper and did not survive the subsequent terrible cartwheeling. The second tragedy was the death of Alan Stacey. The Lotus driver left the track because a bird flew into his face at top speed - full-visor helmets did not come into use until eight years later... In order to reduce the dangers, the maximum engine capacity of the vehicles was brought from 2.5 litres down to 1.5 litres at the start of the 1961 season. At the same time, the oil suppliers succeeded in their campaign to enforce the use of standard fuels. The CSI, the sports department of the FIA in those days, stipulated that cars be tanked with commercial grade petrol with an octane rating of no more than 100. At the same time, the chemical engineers were working intensively at the Shell Research Centre in Thornton, England, on the development of the BRM eight-cylinder engine, which would not have to wait much longer for success. 1961, however, was the year of Scuderia Ferrari.

The Tipo 156, with its legendary shark's nose, was powered by a 190 hp engine, and neither Climax nor Porsche could keep up with it. The air-cooled four-cylinder unit from Germany developed a mere 160 hp, and the Climax engines even less. Thanks to the power of their six-cylinder cars, Ferrari drivers Phil Hill, Wolfgang von Trips and Richie Ginther ran rings around the competition. In Belgium, where the local star Olivier Gendebein complemented the trio, the Scuderia even managed to secure a triumphant quadruple win. Only in Monaco and on the North Circuit of the Nurburgring was Ferrari forced to give way: on these two superbly challenging tracks, Stirling Moss succeeded in tricking his way to victory over the Reds in his Lotus-Climax. Phil Hill, the front-engine veteran, was the first American to become World Champion, although tears were shed in his hour of victory. At Monza, von Trips - who was right at the top of the rankings after wins in Zandvoort and Aintree - started in pole position for the first time. But the good starting position brought no joy to the German.

After a bad start he collided with the young Scottish star Jim Clark and lost his life in the resulting accident. In 1962, Ferrari stood in the shade of the British competition. Climax and BRM began to use an eight-cylinder engine from the start of the season. This was the era during which the carburettor engine was ousted once and for all. Despite the switch-over from aviation fuel to commercial grade petrol, 1962 was already experiencing the speeds of 1960. The injection engines were unstoppable. There had also been a revolution in the chassis building field: Lotus boss Colin Chapman, one of Formula One's pioneering engineers, presented his famous Lotus 25 in 1962. It was the first single-seater ever to be made using the Monocoque construction method. Instead of the traditional tubular frame, riveted light metal boxes were employed. The result was a highly torsion resistant chassis which offered relatively good protection for the driver. The driver no longer sat in the cockpit - he lay almost completely flat on his back. What's more, the tiny steering wheels common now in Formula One were also introduced at that time.

Only Ferrari retained the big wooden steering wheels for one more year which, looking back, were reminiscent of something from the Tale of the Ancient Mariner... The BRM driver Graham Hill became World Champion in 1962: he won in Holland, Germany, Italy and South Africa. Right up until the last race in South Africa, Hill fought for the World Championship against Jim Clark, who was forced to give up in the final race on account of an engine defect. But Formula One was still stuck deep in the Middle Ages of Grand Prix racing. It's hard to imagine the events that took place during training on the North Circuit of the Nurburgring. Carel Godin de Beaufort, a Dutchman through and through, had an 8 mm camera mounted on the back of his aged four-cylinder Porsche. On the Fuchsrohre section of the track, where the cars approached the 300 km/h barrier as they drove downhill, the improvised struts holding the camera broke. Graham Hill and Bruce McLaren - later founders of the Super Team - skated over the remnants and spun off into the undergrowth (there were no crash barriers back then). Miraculously, no-one was injured.

By the end of the 1.5 litre formula in 1965 (the remaining World Championship titles went to Jim Clark and Ferrari driver John Surtees), the power of the engines had risen to 220 hp. The small capacity didn't deter the engine builders from employing large numbers of cylinders: Ferrari and Honda had 12-cylinder cars on the starting grid, and Climax even constructed a 16-cylinder engine. The English power pack was rumoured to develop 225 hp, but the cam-shafted boxer never got as far as racing. But then a 16-cylinder car did appear, built by BRM, in the second half of the 1960s, as the new 3 litre formula came into play in 1966. The unit developed 400 hp and made such an infernal noise that ear-witnesses are still talking about it today! Despite this, ex-Cooper-driver Jack Brabham beat off all comers at the seat of his Brabham Repco.

Based on an Oldsmobile aluminium block and developing 320 hp at 7500 rpm, the Australian eight-cylinder vehicle was the weakest and yet the most reliable of all the engines. On 4th June 1967, one of the truly historic days of Grand Prix racing, the famous DFV type Ford V8 engine made its debut at Zandvoort. Jim Clark drove the car straight to victory and the unit subsequently developed into an unbeatable series-winner, remaining victorious until the advent of the turbos. Despite this, the 1967 DFV came too late to prevent the Brabham Repco team from achieving another triumph. This time the win went to Jack Brabham's teammate Denis Hulme, who was free from the stall management spoon-feeding of his boss and competitors. 1968 proved unforgettable too. Not just because the great Jim Clark was killed in a Formula Two race on the Hockenheimring; nor was it only on account of the unsuccessful experiments that were conducted with four-wheel-drive cars; neither was it that sponsorship stickers appeared on the cars for the first time. In 1968, Formula One cars grew wings!

Their first appearance was as little stumps at the front and back of the vehicle, at Spa-Francorchamps. The aerodynamics engineers soon conquered new ground, though, and within a few weeks, huge wings had materialised, initially on filigree struts at the back, and then similar constructions at the front. But back then it was still impossible to calculate the forces exerted on the surfaces by the wind when driving, and the delicate struts kept breaking. Graham Hill gathered the most points that season and became Champion for the second time. * * * In 1969 two serious accidents occurred on the picturesque city circuit of Montjuich in Barcelona. The rear wings on the Lotus-Fords of both Hill and Jochen Rindt broke off. The CSI was beyond pardoning anybody. The monstrous wings were banned for the Grand Prix weekend in Monaco. One of the loudest protests came from Ken Tyrrell, team manager of Matra-Ford. Without wings, he said, the cars could not be driven. He was wrong: his driver Jackie Stewart won the Championship without his monster fins!

1960 Cooper Climax T51 1960 Cooper Climax T51 Price: SOLD Mileage: n/a The T51 was a Formula One and Formula Two car built by the Cooper Car Company for the 1959 Formula One season. It earned a significant place in motor racing history when Jack Brabham drove a T51 to become the first driver to win the world championship with a rear-engined car. The T51 was raced in several configurations by various entrants until 1963 and in all no less than 38 drivers were entered to drive T51s in Grand Prix races. This is an ex John Surtees car fitted with a 2.5 Climax FPF engine, and subsequently raced successfully in Historic Grand Prix events by Willie Green, Stirling Moss and Nigel Bancroft. In immaculate condition throughout, having benefited from a nut and bolt restoration in 2007 and a more recent engine and transmission rebuild. Complete with a very detailed history file, including period programmes, photos and race results. Ready to race and eligible for prestigious events worldwide.

Cooper-Climax – Cooper Car Company & Coventry Climax Contact us “The chief aim of any manufacturer of racing cars is to build a vehicle likely to win honour and prestige for the country of origin as well as for the individual constructor. It is for this reason that we use power units of British manufacture in all our works cars. During our long association with the Coventry firm, they have regularly prepared our engines in seemingly impossibly short periods of time between Grand Prix races. This sort of service is all too often associated with Continental manufacturers, and British enthusiasts owe much to Mr. Lee and his associated who run the Coventry-Climax racing department so reliably” Charles & John Cooper, 1959 John Cooper with his son Mike “John Cooper was one of the most profoundly influential characters in motor racing history – and, importantly, he was also one of the nicest. That’s a much-demeaned word these days, but in the case of genial, pipe-smoking, warm-hearted, straight-as-a-gun-barrel John Cooper I choose it with painstaking care.

John’s death on Christmas Eve – at the age of 77 – truly ends an era which saw him and his peers – all great, but very different, men – build Britain’s pre-eminence in our sport worldwide. This again might seem an old fashioned sentiment, but it was a plain objective in the 1940s when the story of ‘modern’ racing really kicked off – and British motor sporting prestige was virtually zero. Now nearly all the leading characters in that drama of the 1950s and early ’60s are gone – John Cooper having been the last surviving truly great Formula 1 team principal from those formative years. How many were they, this driven band? Barely more than ten, for sure… While Tony Vandervell’s Vanwall team scored the first all-British win in a World Championship Grand Prix and then took the first all-British Formula 1 World title with their 1958 Constructors’ Championship – it was the Cooper Car Company which picked up that coveted cudgel.

Urged on by his customer Rob Walker, and by his drivers Roy Salvadori and Jack Brabham, it was under John Cooper’s direction that his tiny Surbiton works team propelled Sir Jack Brabham to the shrewd Australian’s first two Drivers’ Championship crowns in 1959 and 1960, won back-to-back Formula 1 Constructors’ World Championship titles those same two years, revolutionised racing car design by proving that engine-behind-driver was the technology of the future…and then, just as the cherry on the cake, John fathered the Mini Cooper saloon car programme – to create the iconic production car of the swinging ’60s… John Cooper was that great rarity within the motor racing world, a leading personality with no enemies, and few serious detractors. He was classically regarded as being a straight dealer – perhaps lacking the hard commercial edge of his rugged father, Charles, perhaps devoid of a harsh killer instinct in business. Yet he is remembered with almost unalloyed affection and respect. He was born on July 17, 1923, in Kingston, Surrey.

His father Charles ran a modest garage in nearby Surbiton, maintaining – amongst other customer’s cars – the unique racing Wolseley ‘Viper’ campaigned at Brooklands Track by Kaye Don. John grew up surrounded by exciting machinery. John’s boyhood bosom pal was Eric Brandon, equally bedazzled by cars and motorcycles. Eric once recalled their formative years in Surbiton like this: “When there was a crash on the Kingston Bypass, you’d see the ambulance whizz by, with a police car pulling out to follow it from the station opposite Cooper’s Garage, and Charlie Cooper cranking up his breakdown truck in hot pursuit. While he was gone, John and I would be pinching petrol from his pumps for our motorcycles…”. Aged 15, John left Surbiton County School to become an apprentice toolmaker. After RAF service as an instrument maker 1944-45, he and Eric were determined to go motor racing and in 1946 – with Charlie’s tacit approval – they built themselves a single-seater racing car for the new 500cc ‘poor man’s motor racing’ Formula.

They took two scrap Fiat 500 front-ends, welded them back-to-back to provide an all-independently suspended chassis, then added a 500cc JAP single-cylinder motorcycle engine behind the driver’s seat, to chain-drive conveniently to the back axle. This first racing Cooper single-seater was very successful, they built a second for Brandon in 1947 and to fulfil demand for replicas in 1948 Charles and John Cooper founded The Cooper Car Company Ltd to build a batch of 12 500s for sale. One of their first customers was 18-year old Stirling Moss…after a few more years, another would be young Bernie Ecclestone… Business boomed. The Cooper Car Co quickly became the world’s largest manufacturer of specialist racing cars, blazing the trail that Lotus, Lola, March, Reynard and so many more have followed to this day. John Cooper provided enthusiasm and drive, father Charles firm financial control (and restraint). While Charlie carolled “Why change it when we’re winnin’?”– son John would add the confidential (and crucial) aside “I’ll arrange it, just don’t tell Dad…”.

He also proved himself a most capable racing driver – major victories at Monza, twice at Rouen, and more. In 1952 he scored the first 100mph 500cc race win, at Grenzlandring on the Dutch/German border, and at AVUS, Berlin, in 1953 he drove his streamlined works car, had to push-start it unaided after a first-lap collision, and sensationally overtook the entire field to win brilliantly! Avuncular, pipe-smoking, good bloke he might be – but John Cooper could also Tiger when he wanted to… Into the early 1950s, he diversified into front-engined sports and single-seater racing cars. Mike Hawthorn of course originally burst to prominence in a 1952 F2 Cooper-Bristol, and racing Coopers from the tiniest ’500′ to the heftiest Cooper-Jaguar sports excelled worldwide. For 1955 John Cooper and his tiny team – most of whom were as much his friends as his employees – devised a rear-engined sports car using a proprietary Coventry Climax fire pump engine.

This ‘Bobtail’ Cooper-Climax was another dominant success, and from it Cooper created a rear-engined 1500cc Formula 2 car for 1956-57, easily enlarged to attack F1. Urged on by Roy Salvadori, Rob Walker had an enlarged 2-litre hybrid F2/F1 car specially made for the 1957 Monaco Grand Prix. Jack Brabham pushed it home 6th, after running 3rd. On twisty circuits, these rear-engined Coopers could plainly challenge the front-engined F1 establishment. Moss then drove Rob’s baby Cooper to score the first-ever World Championship F1 victory for a rear-engined car, in the 1958 Argentine GP, and at Monaco a second Walker Cooper won, driven by Maurice Trintignant. Into 1959 John Cooper – ever persuasive and engaging – talked Coventry Climax into building full-sized 2 ½-litre engines for his works drivers – Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren.

Under his team direction they promptly won the 1959 and ’60 F1 World Championship titles and by 1962 every F1 car designer put the engine where Cooper had led – behind the driver. Meanwhile, John Cooper had competed against Mini designer Alec Issigonis in hill-climbs 1946-47, and after the Mini’s sensational launch loaned one at Monza to Fiat’s ex-Ferrari chief designer Aurelio Lampredi – who returned it grinning from ear to ear: “This is the car of the future…”, the great man declared, “If it wasn’t so ugly, I’d shoot myself!”. John would recall: “I put it to George Harriman, BMC’s new boss, that he should market a tuned version. They gave me a car and I asked Ginger Devlin to tune it…”. Michael ‘Ginger’ Devlin’s basic description of life within the team defines John’s role; “Charlie Cooper used to sack me on a weekly basis, but John always took me back…”.

John and ‘Ginger’ tuned the Mini’s engine, added disc brakes and a remote-gearchange, profoundly impressing Harriman who instantly offered John £2 per car royalty. They shook hands – there was never a formal contract – and the ‘Mini-Cooper’ was born. It dominated its racing and rally classes virtually throughout the 1960s, won multiple Championships and four consecutive Monte Carlo Rallies, 1964-67 – only to be controversially disqualified in ’66. “Drive a Mini Cooper – the most fun you can have with your clothes on!” was one enduring claim, “If your tyres survive more than 2000 miles you’ve driven it like a wimp!” was another… The extrovert showman in John Cooper relished every moment of his fame, until May 1963 when he was badly hurt as his new ‘Twinny-Mini’ prototype crashed. “The publicity killed the twin-Mini idea stone dead”, he would explain, “…a pity – four-wheel drive, years before the Audi Quattro…”. Though soon back in harness it was many months before he was fully fit.

His men believe he was never the same while Cooper Cars continued racing… In fact their fortunes had sagged after 1960. Their uncomplicated practicality was overtaken by more sophisticated – and later better-funded rival teams. To be so upstaged after having shown the way would leave most real racers soured and bitter. But John Cooper was a better man than that. His outlook was quite the contrary – to his dying day he thought the world of ‘Chunky’ Chapman’s designs, yet might add “Perhaps I built safer cars…”. Still far from fit when Charlie Cooper died in October 1964, John missed The Old Man desperately. He sold out to the Chipstead Motor Group in April 1965 but continued to co-direct the F1 team (with Roy Salvadori) into 1968, before it closed in May 1969. Retiring then to the Sussex coast, John founded the garage business which still bears his name in Ferring, near Worthing. The Mini Cooper’s enduring appeal did not extend to Donald Stokes of British Leyland: “He wondered why BL, with 100,000 employees, needed me.

Stokes asked me what I did. I said I won races and once a fortnight I dropped by to wind up Issigonis… He objected to paying me a royalty”. And Stokes killed the Mini Cooper. But John’s idea would not lie down… He was delighted into the 1990s when first Rover Japan, and later the parent company, backed development of a new generation of Mini Coopers – first using tuning kits, later selling complete cars. BMW enthusiastically embraced the project, and just before his death John expressed his delight when son Michael drove the prototype new BMW Mini Cooper. Above all, John Cooper was a lifelong car nut. He loved fast cars, and he loved racing, and he loved talking about it all with like-minded people. He was very gregarious, but scratch the surface and he was also a worrier, and when there was nothing to worry about he’d invent something – until some other excitement or fun would divert his thoughts. Perhaps the most telling epitaph for John Cooper’s approach comes from a former works manager, who told a former AUTOSPORT Assistant Editor in the 1950s “I love working for Charlie and John.

They pay bugger-all, but you’d never have as much fun anywhere else. Nobody has as good a time as us chaps at Cooper’s…” By Doug Nye Grand Prix Cars - Cooper-Climax T51 Grand Prix Cars 240 bhp at 6,750 rpm 55 in front, 53 in rear Notes: Dry weight was 1,545lbs. Dunlop tires 1932, Englebert tires 1933-35. 5.50 x 18 front, 5.50 x 18 rear. Top speed was in excess of 140 mph. What World War II temporarily put on the shelf was to eventually come back 20 years later: Charles Coopers rear-engined cars which set the trend for cars that are with us to this day. There were quite a few rear-engined racers before the Cooper such as the 1923 Benz Tropfenwagen, which also broke new ground in aerodynamics, and of course the incredible 1930s Auto-Union A to C-type cars designed by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche.

The truth is that these cars were incredibly hard to drive. With 500+ bhp, narrow tyres and a swing-axle rear suspension made handling so hard to cope with that the whole concept of these cars was compromised. New rules in 1938 reduced engine capacity and therefore power, while new chief engineer Dr. Robert Eberan von Eberhorst changed the rear suspension design to incorporate a De Dion rear axle and the cars finally came good. But it was too late, the war was at the door and the rear-engined concept lay ignored for years, one of the few exceptions being the 1955 transverse-engined but pathetic Bugatti 251. Changes to the regulations conspired to allow for the introduction of smaller, lighter and simpler cars, just the type that could be built by a specialist manufacturer like Cooper or "Garage-Owners" as Ferrari would call them later in a moment of frustration. These new rules involved the banning of alcohol fuel in exchange for AvGas and the reduction in minimum race distance to 300 km from 500 km. While the cars produced less power on AvGas they required less of it and with the shorter races fuel tankage was further reduced.

Charles Cooper was a between the wars racing mechanic who lately started producing lower-class racecars with his enthusiastic son John. Cooper cars dominated 500cc F3 class for years and gradually the Cooper company made its way up to forefront of motorsport, Formula 1. Its Bobtail rear-engined sportscar was modified by Jack Brabham and entered in the 1955 British GP. It wasnt to achieve great success but it was a sign of times to come. The first victory was achieved against great odds, in Argentina during the 1958 season when Moss, with worn-out tires, ran non-stop in a little 1.96 liter Cooper-Climax T-45 to defeat the mighty 2.4-liter Ferrari 246s. It was the first victory for a rear-engined car since Formula 1 was created. By the end of 1958 Vanwall had pulled out of racing and Stirling Moss was left unemployed. He joined private entrant Rob Walkers team to drive Cooper-produced cars. The Works team was lead by Australian driver-engineer Jack Brabham and a New Zealand youngster named Bruce McLaren as second driver.

The car was fitted with full 2.5-liter Climax FWA engine. What was exceptional about the car was not only its engine position but its curved tube frame. Almost every tube making up the frame was curved and every engineer will tell you thats not the right way to do it. Tubes should be straight so that they could be loaded only longitudinally. Curved tubes inevitably have to be loaded on flexion, which compromises rigidity of the frame. However, the big tube chassis was designed intelligently by Owen Maddock and it was to prove remarkably successful. What is so clever about mounting engine at the wrong side? Theres no need for driveshaft to pass under drivers seat so driver could seat lower. This plus the fact that the front bodywork did not need clear the engine made for a much smaller frontal area improving aerodynamics while the center of gravity is situated lower which improves cornering. No driveshaft and a smaller car means substantial weight saving. The real question is why it took so long to finally take that step The weak spot on cars was the gearbox.

The Works cars were fitted with modified Citroen gearboxes with castings reinforced to endure high loads applied by the powerful 2.5-liter Climax engine. However, although performance did not suffer, they did not prove to be a success. Mosss dark blue Walker car was fitted with a tailor-made gearbox by Italian specialist Valerio Colotti. It may have been more promising but due to low manufacturing standards Colotti gearboxes were to prove very unreliable. The first 1959 World Championship race took place at Monaco. Jack Brabham won after Moss qualified on pole, led and retired due to broken gearbox. The pattern for the rest of the season was set. Brabham and Moss both won 2 races but Brabham took the crown due to better reliability. The last race of the season was won by Bruce McLaren who remained for the next 20 odd years the youngest winner of a World Championship GP, being 22 years 3 months old at the time. Cooper thus won the first ever World Championship for manufacturers beating Ferrari and BRM. For 1960 a new car was designed, the T53, with coil springs in place of the leaf springs employed on T51.

The new car also had better aerodynamics thanks to lower bodywork. The T53 would prove extremely successful with Brabham taking 5 consecutive wins by mid-season.

Question: Who drove a Cooper-Climax to win five consecutive Grand Prix in the world championship of 1960?
Answer: JACK BRABHAM