Jack Brabham

Sir John Arthur "Jack" Brabham (born 2 April 1926 in Hurstville, died 19 May 2014 in Gold Coast) was an Australian racing driver and the first Australian World Champion who competed in Formula One from 1952 onwards, becoming World Champion in 1955 and 1956 . A Royal Australian Air Force flight mechanic during the war, he ran a small engineering workshop before starting racing midget cars in 1948. Success in Australian and New Zealand championships saw him entered for Ecurie Australie in the 1952 Australian Grand Prix, driving an Alta-HWM. However, the car was woefully uncompetitive, and he failed to qualify for the race.