Brabham is a third-generation racing driver; he is the son of Geoff Brabham and the grandson of three-time Formula One World Champion Sir Jack Brabham.
Racing career
Early career
Born in Boca Raton, Florida, Brabham and his family moved to Australia in his youth. Much of Brabham's early exposure to racing came via watching his mother's jet ski competitions as he rarely attended his father and grandfather's auto races.[3]
He began kart racing in 2001 at the age of 7, starting in the Australian 'Midget' class. In 2007, he secured the Queensland State 'Rookie' Title, and in 2008, he went on to win both the New South Wales and Queensland State Junior National Light Titles, while also finishing second in the Australian and Melbourne City Titles. A year later, Brabham won the 'Junior Rotax' Young Guns Title, before graduating to Formula Ford racing towards the end of the year. In 2010, he competed in the Australian Formula Ford Championship with the CAMS Rising Star Team before moving to the Victorian State Formula Ford Series and the Australian National Championship with Sonic Motor Racing Services. In the state series, he won eight out of 12 races, including seven in a row, while he scored two wins, two runner-up finishes, and a pole position in the national division.
Road to Indy
For 2012, Brabham joined Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing, to compete in the U.S. F2000 National Championship. Brabham won the title over his teammate Spencer Pigot by seven points, capturing four wins from 11 podium finishes in the fourteen race season. In doing so he won a $350,000 USD scholarship through the Road to Indy to race in the Star Mazda Championship in 2013.
He signed to drive the No. 27 car for Andretti Autosport for the 2013 Star Mazda Championship.[4] Brabham won the championship with two races remaining, capturing a series-record 11th win in his rookie season. Brabham's title secured a scholarship to compete in Indy Lights in 2014.[5]
Brabham remained with Andretti Autosport to challenge for the Indy Lights title in 2014.[6] He won one race and collected four podiums and 10 top-fives in 14 races to finish fourth in the overall standings. Brabham attributed his lower points finish than hoped to his lack of experience, having progressed through three levels of the Road to Indy in as many years, and his difficulties in adjusting to the series' use of Cooper Tires after mainly racing with Firestone. Financial issues prevented him from completing a second season in 2015.[3] He won 18 of 47 career Road to Indy races (approximately 38.3 percent) from 2012 to 2015, the second highest winning percentage in the ladder's history behind Kyle Kirkwood's 62.5 percent as of 2021[update].[7]
In October 2021, Brabham rejoined Andretti's Indy Lights programme for the Chris Griffis Memorial Test at Indianapolis, during which he set the tenth-best time.[8] Three months later, he formally committed to the 2022 Indy Lights season with the team;[9] at 28 years of age, he was the oldest driver in the field.[10] He won the season opener at St. Petersburg after passing teammate Christian Rasmussen, who ran out of fuel, on the penultimate lap.[11]
In November 2014, Brabham competed in the second round of the inaugural Formula E world championship in Putrajaya, Malaysia. He replaced Charles Pic for Andretti Autosport.[12] At age 20 Brabham became the youngest driver to compete in Formula E.[13]
In 2016, Brabham made his Indianapolis 500 debut, driving the No. 61 for Pirtek Team Murray.[14] He qualified 26th and finished 22nd. Although he has not run another IndyCar race as of 2021[update], he remains involved as the driver of IndyCar's two-seater for guests at race weekends.[15]
Stadium Super Trucks
Brabham's Stadium Super Truck racing to a round win at Road America in 2018
In 2015, Brabham made his Stadium Super Trucks debut at Honda Indy Toronto; Brabham, who was at the track working as a driver coach, received the opportunity to race after Paul Tracy became unavailable due to television obligations. He finished sixth and fourth in the weekend's two races.[15][16] Later in the year, he competed at the Gold Coast 600, Valvoline Raceway, and the Sydney 500 events, recording runner-up finishes at Gold Coast and Valvoline.[17][18]
Brabham began racing in the series on a full-time basis in 2016.[19] In June, he swept the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix rounds.[20] He later joined Team Traxxas,[21] driving the No. 83 alongside Sheldon Creed.[22] Brabham scored his third win of the season when he held off Creed at Toronto.[23] He finished second in the 2016 standings, 75 points behind Creed, with three wins and 16 podiums.[24]
Brabham opened the 2019 season by winning the second race of the Circuit of the Americas weekend despite suffering from a foodborne illness the previous night.[38] After winning again at Long Beach when he beat Creed,[39] Brabham went on a three-race string of runner-up finishes; his two second-place runs at Toronto earned him that weekend's overall win.[40] Additional wins came at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Portland International Raceway.[41][42] In the series' Australian return at Gold Coast to end the year, Brabham was involved in last-lap incidents in both races: in the first round, he spun race leader Toby Price in turn 11 that led to Gordon winning, while he dodged contact between Morris and Cole Potts to win the second.[43][44] He finished the year with a series-high six wins and 13 podiums to clinch his second straight title.[45]
While the 2020 campaign did not track standings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Brabham won twice at Adelaide and Road America.[46] The Adelaide victory, which came in the second of three races that weekend, saw him beat Gordon to the finish by .0351 seconds.[47] A third championship came in 2021 as he finished on the podium in all ten races with a sweep of the second Mid-Ohio weekend.[48][49] From the 2019 Gold Coast round and across the next two seasons, Brabham was the fastest driver in every qualifying session until the 2021 season finale at Long Beach where Gordon snapped his streak at five.[50]
Although Brabham did not commit to a full 2022 season due to Indy Lights, he continued to make occasional starts as SST's prize money structure provides him with a sustainable salary.[10] His first race weekend as a part-time SST driver was at Long Beach.[51]
On November 7, 2021, he made his Trans-Am Series debut at Circuit of the Americas a memorable one. While filling in for series regular Chris Dyson, in the No. 20 Ford Mustang, he caught and passed 7-time series champion Ernie Francis Jr. in the final 50 feet of the last lap for the win.[58]
Personal life
Brabham's family is heavily involved in motorsports, with father Geoff being a former CART driver while mother Roseina is a jet ski champion.[59] He has raced against his parents in historic motorsport and jet skis.[10] Grandfather Jack Brabham won three Formula One World Championships, while uncle David has won championships in sports cars and both Geoff and David have both won the 24 Hours of Le Mans.[3]
His fiancé Kimberly Bogle has worked as a racing spokesmodel and is currently a real estate agent. They reside in Indianapolis with their dog Brumby.[60]
Racing record
Karting career summary
Season
Series
Position
2008
NSW Open Sprint Kart Championships - Junior Clubman
5th
NSW Open Sprint Kart Championships - Junior National Light
1st
Queensland Sprint Kart Championships - Junior Clubman
4th
Queensland Sprint Kart Championships - Junior National Light
1st
Australian National Sprint Kart Championship - Junior Clubman
18th
Australian National Sprint Kart Championship - Junior National Light
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) (Races with L indicate a race lap led) (Races with * indicate most race laps led)
* Season in progress. 1 The race was abandoned after Matt Mingay suffered serious injuries in a crash on lap three. 2 Standings were not recorded by the series for the 2020 season.
