Classic Brabham raced by Rindt and Ickx
On September 20, 1969, Belgian racing driver Jacky Ickx won the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park, Ontario in this Brabham-Cosworth BT26. It is also the car in which Ickx, the renowned six-times Le Mans-winner, finished 2nd in that same year's Mexican Grand Prix, 3rd in the French, 5th in the Dutch and 6th in the Spanish round of the 1969 World Championship. He also qualified on pole in Canada and shared fastest race lap there with his team chief, Jack Brabham, driving a sister BT26A. Furthermore, in the 11th and final round that year's World Championship, the Mexican GP at Mexico City, Ickx also set fastest race lap after his team leader Jack Brabham had started the race from pole position. At the end of that memorable year Ickx finished second in the Drivers' World Championship standings, beaten only by new World title holder Jackie Stewart, in his Tyrrell-entered Matra.
To add to an already impressive pedigree, this car actually started life as the 1968 Brabham Formula 1 factory team's Repco V8-engined BT26 which was campaigned in four late-season Formula 1 races by the great Austrian racing driver Jochen Rindt.
Charismatic, devil-may-care and always truly spectacular to watch, bluntly-spoken Rindt would regretfully leave Brabham for the rival Lotus team for the 1969 and 1970 Formula 1 seasons. In 1970 he would win for them five World Championship GP races, before losing his life so tragically in an accident at Monza during practice for that year's Italian Grand Prix. His accumulated points total at that time was not caught by his nearest rival – Jacky Ickx (who had himself) left Brabham to drive for Ferrari – and so Jochen Rindt became Formula 1's first (and thankfully thus far the only) posthumous World Champion Driver.
Bonhams will be offering this Ex-Jochen Rindt/Jacky Ickx 1968-69 Brabham-Cosworth BT26 at their upcoming Amelia Island Auction on the 7th March. For more information on this and other vehicles at the sale, click on the link below. Photos courtesy of Bonhams.