Geoff Brabham

Geoff Brabham (March 20 of 1952, Sydney, Australia) is an Australian speed racing driver who achieved in sport prototypes, cars and single-seaters. He is the son of Jack Brabham, triple champion of Formula 1, and brother of David Brabham, winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, father of the young driver Matthew Brabham, which competes in the Indy Lights.

Brabham was champion of the CanAm 1981 and third in 1980. He then competed in the single-seater championship CART from 1981 to 1994. There I have obtained nine podiums. , and finished fourth in the Indianapolis 500 Miles of 1983 and fifth in 1981. His best championship result was eighth in 1982, 1984 and 1987. He then competed in the IMSA GT Championship, where he had 26 victories and four consecutive titles between 1988 and 1991. Some time later, he finished second in the Australian Supertourism Championship of 1995 and 1997. He also triumphed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans of 1993 and the 1000 km of Bathurst of Superturismo of 1997.

Starts, CanAm and CART
Brabham contested the Australian Formula Ford in 1974, finishing third. In 1975 he was champion of Australian Formula 2, with three victories and podiums in all five races. The pilot competed three years in British Formula 3.

Unable to continue his aspiration to enter Formula 1, the Australian moved to the United States in 1979, where he spent much of his professional career. That year he was champion of the Formula Super Vee, with five victories in eight races. He was also third in the USAC Mini-Indy, and competed in two CanAm races.

VDS signed Brabham to compete in the 1980 CanAm. He won one victory and three podiums, making him third in the championship behind Patrick Tambay and Al Holbert. In 1981 he achieved two victories and eight podiums, so he won the title against Teo Fabi and Holbert. On the other hand, he debuted in the CART by finishing ninth in two of three appearances, finishing fifth in his first appearance in the Indianapolis 500] with the Kraco team, and finishing third. at the [[Australian Grand Prix of Formula Pacific.

In 1982, the pilot became a Bignotti-Cotter starter on CART. He had a third place finish in Michigan 2, a fourth place finish in Pocono and other four top 10, so he reached the eighth place in the championship. In 1983, he finished fourth in the Indianapolis 500 Mile, ran five other CART races, and five in the IMSA GT Championship.

Brabham returned to ownership for CART 1984, back on the Kraco team. He got two second places in Long Beach and Portland, a third and two fifths, so he finished eighth in the final classifier.

In 1985, the Australian joined the CART Galles team. That year he achieved only three scoring results (one second, one fourth and one sixth), and suffered seven dropouts. Thus, it was 15th in the general table. In 1986 he finished third at Long Beach, but scored only four runs out of 17, finishing 12th in the championship.

The driver improved his performance on CART 1987, finishing second at Pocono and Road America, third at Miami, and scoring in eight races with Galles. Thus, he closed the year in eighth position. He then returned to Indianapolis in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, and 1994 with Penske, Truesports, and Menard, without achieving outstanding results.

IMSA GT and Le Mans Championship
Brabham had contested spot races in the IMSA GT Championship for Zakspeed and Electramotive. His first victory was in Miami 1987 with an official Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo. In 1988, he became titular driver of the official Nissan team in the tournament. He won nine races, earning the championship in the GTP class against John Nielsen, Price Cobb and James Weaver.

He again dominated the GTP class of the 1989 IMSA GT Championship with nine wins, most of them alongside Chip Robinson. Thus, he defended the title against Robinson and Cobb of Jaguar. The Australian claimed the third title with Nissan in 1990, taking four wins and ten podiums. He also contested the 1989 and 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans with Nissan, but dropped out in both editions.

Brabham won only one event in 1991, the 12 Hours of Sebring, but his ten podiums allowed him to win his fourth consecutive crown. In 1992 he had two wins and eight podiums, but this time he was surpassed by Juan Manuel Fangio II and Davy Jones in the standings.

In 1993, Brabham again ran the 24 Hours of Le Mans, achieving absolute victory with an official Peugeot 905, accompanying Christophe Bouchut and Éric Hélary. In 1994 he competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona of the IMSA GT Championship, in this case with a Spice. He returned to the Daytona 24 Hours for the last time in 1995 in an official Porsche WSC-95.

Stock cars and passenger cars
Parallel to his activity in the IMSA GT Championship, Brabham ran the stock car tournament International Race of Champions from 1989 to 1994. He achieved two wins and a fifth place; in 1992 and 1992 he was sixth in the championship, and in 1991 he was seventh. In 1994 he competed in his only race in the NASCAR Cup Series, the inaugural edition of the Brickyard 400, where he collided with a Ford.

Starting in 1993, Brabham also began racing in passenger cars in Australia. That year, he won the Sandown 500 km with a  Ford Falcon and finished fourth in the Bathurst 1000 km with a Holden Commodore. In 1994, he abandoned 500 km from Sandown with a Holden Commodore.

The driver began participating in the Australian Superturism Championship 1995 with an official BMW 3 Series from Paul Morris' team. He had five wins and 13 podiums in 16 races, finishing runner-up behind Morris and tying on points with third, Brad Jones. He also finished second in the Surfers Paradise Grand Prix and sixth in  Adelaide, which were non-scoring races.

In 1996, Brabham finished fourth overall behind Jones, Morris and Greg Murphy, with one win and four podiums, as well as a win at Melbourne. The driver was runner-up in 1997 behind Morris, after earning three wins and 12 podiums in 16 races. That same year, he won the 1000 km of Bathurst Superturismo, also with an official BMW 3 Series by Paul Morris, counting as his seatmate his brother David Brabham.

From 1998 to 2001, Brabham competed in the two endurance races of the V8 Supercars. In 1998 he raced alongside Tony Longhurst in a Ford Falcon, finishing eighth in Bathurst's 1,000km. In 1999 he was a seatmate of Neal Bates, also with a Ford Falcon, finishing tenth at Bathurst.

The driver raced alongside Mark Larkham in the Queensland 500 km of the 2000 V8 Supercars, and alongside Cameron McConville in the Bathurst 1000 km, having to quit in both cases. In 2001 he accompanied Steven Ellery in his Ford Falcon, finishing sixth in Queensland and seventh in Bathurst.