Our new ‘Racing Rarities’ puzzle: Unknown figure with a Formula 1 record

Mostly drawn from the archives of our photo partners XPB and Grand Prix Photo, every week from Tuesday we present a little piece of motorsport history. Tell us who you can recognise (Example: Jo Siffert, Monza, 1970) and join in the guessing game for the honour of it – there’s nothing to be won. Send your answer to: mathias.brunner@speedweek.com. The closing date for entries is midnight on Sunday of the current week.

Entry is free of charge. The competition is open to anyone aged 18 or over. Employees of the participating companies are excluded. The judges’ decision is final.

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For the new puzzle: This driver holds a Formula 1 record, but is unknown to most GP fans.

Our clue for the final task was: ‘This driver learnt the hard way here, but subsequently pulled himself out of the situation with dignity.’ It shows the Australian Warwick Brown in practice for the 1976 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen.

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Der Australier Warwick Brown im Training zum USA-GP 1976 in Watkins Glen

Foto: Grand Prix Photo

Warwick Brown (born on Christmas Eve 1949 in Sydney) made a name for himself in Australian single-seater racing. He was a late bloomer – he didn’t drive his first race until he was 19, straight into Formula 3.

By the mid-1970s, he had blossomed into a winning driver – in 1975 he won the Tasman Series in a Lola.

After two years in the US Formula 5000 (finishing seventh overall on two occasions), he returned to his homeland and, once again with his favourite car manufacturer Lola, won the national championship in 1977 and 1978, then known as the Rothmans International Series, but essentially nothing other than the long-standing, popular Formula 5000.

In 1978, he finished runner-up overall in the Can-Am Series, albeit at a time when this once-glorious championship was on its last legs. The title was won by Alan Jones, who went on to become Formula 1 champion two years later.

Brown would have secured victories and titles earlier, but a serious accident in Surfers Paradise, resulting in severe leg fractures, set him back – three months in hospital.

In his only Formula 1 outing, at Watkins Glen in the USA in 1976, he put in a creditable performance. Despite having poor equipment, Brown secured 23rd on the grid (ahead of Brett Lunger, Arturo Merzario, Henri Pescarolo and Otto Stuppacher). During the race, the Australian struggled with gearbox and brake problems, but Warwick refused to give up; in the end, he finished 14th, five laps down.

In 1979, Warwick Brown hung up his helmet and began a new career as a business jet pilot, whilst also managing his shares in various hotels.