Huge Historic Grand Prix Zandvoort Crowd Celebrate Sir Jack

In the first European tribute held outside the UK, tens of thousands of fans applauded the remarkable lifetime achievements of triple Formula 1 World Champion, legendary driver and engineer Sir Jack Brabham at the Historic Grand Prix Zandvoort this weekend.

Jack's son, multiple Le Mans 24 Hours winner David Brabham reminded Dutch fans of ‘Black Jack’s’ endearing sense of humour by recreating his father’s tongue-in-cheek walk onto the 1966 Formula 1 grid at Zandvoort. Complete with false beard and walking stick, David hobbled down the pit lane before completing demonstration laps in a 1967 Brabham BT24 to the delight of the 30,000 strong Sunday crowd, with over 50,000 people attending the three day event.

The re-enactment topped off a fantastic weekend of racing nostalgia, the highlight of which included a stunning parade around the streets of Zandvoort on Saturday evening. Once again driving Ron Maydon’s Brabham BT24, David led the parade of over 100 cars from the track and through the town, where the streets were lined with thousands more spectators.

A double Dutch Grand Prix victor, Sir Jack won here in 1960 and 1966 - two of his championship-winning years - while David returned to Zandvoort for the first time since his 1988 Opel Lotus outing.

David commented: “A big thanks to Circuit Park Zandvoort, the Historic Grand Prix organisers and of course the fans for such a great weekend. It was very special to drive the Brabham BT24 around the streets of Zandvoort, where 48 years ago my father and his Brabham team would have been based before they came out to the track and of course went on to win the race. A huge crowd turned out and got right behind the parade and it made for a fantastic atmosphere.

"We had a good bit of fun today re-enacting dad’s famous walk onto the 1966 Formula 1 grid, with a false beard and walking cane, which was really well received by everyone. It’s been so nice to see so many people in Europe who clearly remember dad and what he achieved.”

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