In 1989, after a year of absence from the World Championship, the British team Motor Racing Developments, which fields the Brabham single-seaters, returned to Formula 1 with the BT58, a car that proved to be fairly satisfactory and even capable of securing a podium finish, along with other respectable results. At the end of the season, the British team came under the full management of Middlebridge Group Limited, a Japanese engineering company owned by billionaire Koji Nakauchi, following the arrest of Joachim Lüthi for tax fraud. Lüthi had previously purchased the team from Swiss businessman Walter Brun.
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| BRABHAM BT59, Stefano Modena Spa-Francorchamps, Belgian GP 1990 |
The 1990 season for the British team, which maintained its English base in Chessington as its operational headquarters, began with the 1989 BT58, still driven by Italian Stefano Modena as the lead driver, but this time joined by Swiss driver Gregor Foitek. In the first race of the season, held in the United States on the Phoenix street circuit, Modena finished fifth after qualifying tenth, bringing a fair amount of optimism to the team, which was already working on the new BT59.
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| BRABHAM BT58, Stefano Modena Phoenix, United States GP 1990 |
The new car made its debut upon return from the overseas trip, at the San Marino Grand Prix held at the Imola circuit. On this occasion, the second driver was also replaced, with the second car being entrusted to debutant Australian David Brabham, the youngest son of Jack Brabham, the team’s founder and the only driver in Formula 1 history to win a world championship driving a car built by his own team, in 1966 behind the wheel of the Brabham BT19 powered by a Repco 620 V8 engine.
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| BRABHAM BT59, David Brabham Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexican GP 1990 |
The BT59 was once again designed by Argentine engineer Sergio Rinland, assisted by German Hans Fouche. The two engineers developed the previous car with only minor updates, due to the team’s limited financial resources. The BT59 retained the same design lines as the BT58, although it was slightly lighter despite having a longer wheelbase. Aesthetically, it kept the white-and-blue livery from the previous season, although blue became the dominant color, essentially the reverse of the 1989 color scheme. The rear end of the BT58 remained completely unchanged, still powered by the Judd EV V8 engine paired with the old six-speed manual Brabham/Hewland gearbox, while waiting for Rinland to complete the new transverse gearbox, which was introduced on the BT59 at the French Grand Prix.
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| BRABHAM BT59, Stefano Modena Suzuka, Japanese GP 1990 |
The results of the new car were very poor, with the underwhelming David Brabham collecting only DNQs and retirements, while Modena’s best result was a seventh place. The only 2 points Brabham scored during the season were the ones earned by Modena in the first race, driving the old BT58, while the BT59 Judd failed to score any points. During the Japanese Grand Prix, the new car for the 1991 season was already presented, essentially the same BT59, but fitted with the new Yamaha OX99 V12 engine, and already being tested on track by Martin Brundle.
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