Jack Brabham became the first driver to win a World Championship Grand Prix in a car bearing his own name, at Reims in 1966.
Key Facts
- Race date
- 3 July 1966
- Circuit length
- 8.35 km (5.19 mi)
- Race distance
- 400.694 km over 48 laps
- Winner's margin
- 9.5 seconds ahead of Mike Parkes
- Championship round
- Race 3 of 9
- Anniversary
- 60th anniversary of Grand Prix racing
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 1966 French Grand Prix marked the return of Formula One to the Reims circuit after a three-year absence. It also coincided with the 60th anniversary of Grand Prix racing, which had begun at the same venue in 1906, giving the race particular historical weight within the season.
Held on 3 July 1966, the race was won by Australian Jack Brabham driving his own Brabham BT19 fitted with a Repco V8 engine. Brabham led from the front over 48 laps, finishing 9.5 seconds ahead of Ferrari's Mike Parkes, with teammate Denny Hulme third. It was the 16th and final French Grand Prix held on variations of the Reims highway circuit.
Brabham's victory was the first of four consecutive wins that propelled him toward his third World Championship title. His 12 points placed him atop the Drivers' Championship standings. The win also established the Repco-Brabham V8 engine as a competitive force and demonstrated that a constructor-driver combination bearing one man's name could succeed at the highest level.