The BT5, unlike many other cars built in 1963, had the advantage
of wind tunnel testing. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to help much.
Tauranac recalls: "The Rootes Group ran a quarter-scale model in a wind
tunnel for us... by putting the model in the tunnel at least we were able
to get a drag figure for the body shape we intended to use, even if we didn’t
know enough at the time to make much use of it."
"What we didn’t realize at first, when we completed the BT-5 and
started testing it, was that the back end was lifting, causing the car to
oversteer severely on fast corners, which we found we were unable to correct
by making the usual suspension adjustments... One of the BT5s was bought by
a Canadian driver and he went over the top of the banking at Monza in it,
and I often wonder whether it was because the back end became light."
Sir Jack didn’t have much time for the sports car circuit the year the
BT5 came out. He sold the first BT5 to Ian Walker racing, and it was raced
by Frank Gardner. Gardner took class wins at Snetterton, Silverstone, Mallory
Park, and took a second at its first Aintree meet. Walker notes that he and
his team used a spoiler to address the rear-end lifting problem in time for
what was perhaps the car’s best known race, which took place in September
of 1963.
Said Walker, "We put a tail on the car, before Ron [Tauranac], at the
Reims race." Frank Gardner ran the car in second position during a race
that should have been dominated by bigger, more powerful cars.
Bob Lee’s example is chassis number one; it was originally called the
Brabham SC1. After a complete restoration, Mr. Lee’s car made its debut
in Chichester, England at the 2001 Goodwood Festival of Speed. The car is
a thoroughly genuine example, right down to its original gearbox. With continued
development, HMSA racer Bob Lee expects to give the General Racing crowds
a jolly good show.
