Repco
Parent Genuine Parts Company | | |
Website | repco |
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Formula One World Championship career | |
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First entry | 1966 Monaco Grand Prix |
Last entry | 1969 South African Grand Prix |
Races entered | 33 |
Chassis | Brabham, LDS |
Constructors' Championships | 2 (1966, 1967) |
Drivers' Championships | 2 (1966, 1967) |
Race victories | 8 |
Podiums | 25 |
Points | 126 |
Pole positions | 7 |
Fastest laps | 4 |
Repco is an Australian
The company gained fame for developing the engines that powered the
Repco currently runs a series of stores across Australia and New Zealand specialising in the sale of parts and aftermarket accessories.
History
Repco was founded by Geoff Russell in 1922 and first traded under the name Automotive Grinding Company, from premises in Collingwood, Victoria.[1][2]
Repco was listed on the
In September 2001 Repco was purchased by a
Sponsorships
Since 2021, the company has held the naming rights to the Bathurst 1000 and Supercars Championship.[10] It previously sponsored Garry Rogers Motorsport and Dick Johnson Racing and the 1979 Round Australia Trial.[11][12] In 2024, Repco became the title sponsor of the D1NZ National Drifting Championship, a sanctioned championship under Motorsport New Zealand, the official FIA appointed governing body of motor-racing in New Zealand.[13]
Repco V8 engine
In 1964 the Australian/New Zealand
In 1963 the international motor racing body, the FIA, announced that the maximum engine capacity for the Formula One category would be doubled to three litres to start from the 1966 season. Despite calls for a "return to power" having been made, few teams were prepared as the main engine supplier in the UK, Coventry Climax, decided to get out of race engine building.[14]
Jack Brabham used his friendship with engineer Phil Irving at Repco. He proposed they design and build a 3 L version of the 2.5 L engine by using a longer stroke flat-plane crankshaft.
The Repco board agreed to his proposal in light of the expected rival 2.75 L
The first advantage of this Repco 620 V8 was its compact size and lightness, which allowed it to be bolted into an existing 1.5-litre Formula One chassis. With no more than 310 bhp (231 kW), the Repco was by far the least powerful of the new 3-litre engines, but unlike the others it was frugal, light and compact.[15] Also unlike the others, it was reliable and due to low weight and power, the strain on chassis, suspension, brakes and tyres was low.[16]
This engine being based on British/American
Four world titles for the single-camshaft 16-valve
In 1966, the Repco engine was good enough to score three poles for Jack Brabham. In his one-off
The 2,995.58 cc V8 Repco had a bore and stroke of 3.50 × 2.375" (88.9 × 60.3 mm). Initially it gave about 285 bhp (213 kW; 289 PS). A test-bed figure of 315 bhp (235 kW; 319 PS) at 7,800 rpm with 230 lb⋅ft (310 N⋅m) torque at 6,500 rpm was obtained. In race trim, about 299 bhp (223 kW; 303 PS) was available. In 1967, the bore and stroke remained unaltered. In that year, 330 bhp (246 kW; 335 PS) bhp at 8,500 rpm was often quoted. A test-bed figure of 327 bhp (244 kW; 332 PS) at 8,300 rpm was recorded. For 1968, a 32-valve version with 400 bhp (298 kW; 406 PS) at 9,500 rpm was planned. Only about 380 bhp (283 kW; 385 PS) at 9,000 rpm was achieved.
In 1967 the competition had made progress. Repco produced a new version of the engine, the 700 series, this time with a Repco designed block. Brabham scored two poles early in the year, but then the new
The double-camshaft 32-valve
The new Ford engine, which was made available to other teams in 1968 also, convinced Brabham that more power was needed. With hindsight Brabham commented that the single cam motor's reliability may have been enough to supplant the more powerful Cosworths as late as the 1968 season. A new version of the Repco V8, with gear-driven double-overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder, was produced for 1968 to maintain its competitiveness. A figure of 400 bhp (298 kW; 406 PS) at 9,500 rpm was targeted but only about 380 bhp (283 kW; 385 PS) at 9,000 rpm was achieved. The season was a disaster as it proved very unreliable due to insurmountable valve gear unreliability. There was also a 4.2-litre derivative for the Indianapolis 500. Jochen Rindt, who had moved to Brabham at the wrong time, managed to score two poles and two podiums that year, while Brabham himself collected only two points. The Repco project had always been hindered by the lengthy lines of communication between the UK and Australia, which made correcting problems very difficult. Repco, having spent far more money than originally envisaged and having sold very few customer versions of its engine, stopped the project.
For 1969, the works Brabham team and most of the private Brabham entries also used the ubiquitous Cosworth powerplant. A pair of older Brabham-Repcos were entered in the season opening 1969 South African Grand Prix by local drivers Sam Tingle and Peter de Klerk, but no points were scored on the engine marque's last appearance in the world championship.
Also, LDS fitted with Repcos were used in the South African Grand Prix in the late 1960s, as well as in the national F1 series there.
Other racing
Repco had been involved in Australian motor racing many years prior to the association with Brabham. Most famous had been development of the engine of the series of Maybach Specials in the 1950s to various wins including the 1954 New Zealand Grand Prix.
The Brabham-Repco project was initially aimed at the
Brabham-Repco's were also prepared and entered in the 1968 and 1969 Indianapolis 500. In 1969, Peter Revson finished fifth in such a car. He also won a USAC race in the same year.
Further versions of the V8 engine were produced, including a 4.3-litre variant for sports car racing and a turbo-charged version intended for
The sports car engine (increased in size to 5.0 litres) was, however, dominant domestically, powering cars to several wins in the Australian Sports Car Championship and its predecessor the Australian Tourist Trophy, most notably powering the Matich sports cars built and raced by Frank Matich, and Elfin Sports Cars built and raced by Garrie Cooper.
Repco Brabham racing cars
When Jack Brabham began building racing cars in England he named his cars Repco Brabhams,[18] the result of a sponsorship deal between Brabham and Repco.[19] This name was applied regardless of the engine used,[20] and the arrangement existed through to the end of the 1960s.[21] The agreement saw Repco's international marketing of its automotive parts and service equipment supported by Brabham's racing achievements.[20]
Repco-Holden Formula 5000 engine
Repco also developed and built the Repco-Holden Formula 5000 engine for
The engine was then used extensively in racing vehicles including cars competing in the
By 1976, power for the 5.0 L Repco-Holden V8 was rated at approximately 500 bhp (373 kW; 507 PS). This compared to approximately 520 bhp (388 kW; 527 PS) for the other main engine in the Australian Formula 5000 and Sports Sedans categories, the 5.0 L Chevrolet V8.
Due to the success of the Repco-Holden V8,
The list of Repco-Holden's Formula 5000 engine race, championship and series wins includes:
- McLaren M10B[24]
- Matich A50
- Matich A53
Australian Drivers' Championship
- 1972 – Frank Matich, Matich A50
- 1973 – John McCormack, Elfin MR5
- 1975 – John McCormack, Elfin MR6
- 1973 – John McCormack, Elfin MR5
- 1974 – John McCormack, Elfin MR5
Australian Sports Car Championship
- Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV
- 1976 – Stuart Kostera, Elfin MS7
- 1974 – John McCormack, Chrysler Charger
International Cup for F1 Manufacturers – results
World Championship of Drivers – results
Year | Team | Driver | # of GPs | WC |
---|---|---|---|---|
1966 | Brabham-Repco | Jack Brabham | 9 | World Champion |
Brabham-Repco | Denny Hulme | 7 | 4th | |
1967 | Brabham-Repco | Denny Hulme | 11 | World Champion |
Brabham-Repco | Jack Brabham | 11 | 2nd | |
Brabham-Repco | Guy Ligier | 5 | ||
1968 | Brabham-Repco | Jochen Rindt | 12 | 12th |
Brabham-Repco | Jack Brabham | 11 | 23rd | |
Brabham-Repco | Silvio Moser | 4 | 23rd | |
Brabham-Repco | Dan Gurney | 1 | ||
Brabham-Repco | Dave Charlton | 1 | ||
Brabham-Repco | John Love | 1 | ||
Brabham-Repco | Kurt Ahrens Jr. | 1 | ||
LDS-Repco | Sam Tingle | 1 | ||
1969 | Brabham-Repco | Peter de Klerk | 1 | |
Brabham-Repco | Sam Tingle | 1 |
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position) (results in italics indicate fastest lap)
References
- ^ Repco celebrates first half century Truck & Bus Transportation April 1972 p. 127
- ^ a b Repco Heritage Repco
- Daily Telegraph1 September 1937 p. 18
- Canberra Times24 September 1988 p. 14
- Sydney Morning Herald17 October 2003
- ^ Repco Admission to Official List and Redemption of Notes Repco 14 November 2003
- ^ Repco takes private road to repair The Age 12 December 2006
- ^ Repco Corporation Limited: Removal from Official List Australian Securities Exchange 3 May 2007
- ^ $14b US giant Genuine Parts Co eyes Metcash auto business to go with Repco Australian Financial Review 17 May 2015
- ^ Repco Supercars Championship Auto Action 10 September 2020
- ^ Repco Reliability Trial Aug 79 Navy News 1 June 1979 p. 16
- ^ Reliability Trial to Start Hamersley News 12 October 1978 p. 23
- ^ [1] D1NZ Drifting 2024: Repco Signs as Naming Rights Partner 5 December 2023
- ^ Setright, L.J.K. "Lotus: The Golden Mean", in Northey, Tom, ed. World of Automobiles (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 11, p. 1232.
- ^ Fearnley, Paul (May 2006) "The powerhouse that Jack built" Motorsport p. 36
- ^ "Engine Repco - Stats F1". Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ Pinder, Simon (1995) Mr Repco Brabham Frank Hallam pp. 20–23 Pinder Publications
- ^ Pedr Davis, The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, pp. 401–402
- ^ Alan Henry, Brabham - The Grand Prix Cars, 1985, p. 53
- ^ a b Graham Howard, Made in Australia - The Repco Brabham V8s, Australian Motor Racing Year 1983/84, p. 34
- ^ David Hodges, A-Z of Formula Racing Cars, 1990, p. 32
- ^ Repco advertisement, "Guide to the Gold Star, Supplement to Racing Car News, August 1972, p. xvi
- ^ 1970 Tasman Series Archived 7 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from sergent.com.au on 13 September 2009
- ^ A triumph for Repco engine Canberra Times 1 December 1970 p. 14