primotipo…

I ‘spose the reason for the lack of high speed butt shots like this is a shortage of vantage points for photographers to capture the incredible distortion of Goodyears upon their ‘Melmags’ and suspension geometry and componentry doing their job, or not!…

Carlos Reutemann is hustling his Brabham BT37 through one of Osterreichring’s very fast sweepers on his way to a DNF with fuel injection dramas on lap 14 of the 1972 Austrian Grand Prix. He started the car an excellent fifth on the grid.  The race was won from pole by Emerson Fittipaldi’s Lotus 72D Ford on his way to his first title.

This design was the first in the ‘Bernie Brabham Regime’…

Ecclestone bought Motor Racing Developments from Ron Tauranac at the end of 1971.

The BT37 was Ralph Bellamy’s re-work of Ron’s ’71 BT34 ‘Lobster Claw’ with conventional front radiator and narrower tracks front and rear. It wasn’t the marques greatest car, Gordon Murray’s arrival was the precursor to a decade of Brabhams befitting the great name created by Ron and Jack, from his 1973 BT42.

BT37 was a typical ‘kit car’ of the era: aluminium monocoque chassis, Ford Cosworth 3-litre DFV V8, Hewland FGA400 five speed transaxle and a host of other bits and pieces provided by sub-contractors based in England’s Thames Valley and surrounds.

Carlos and Graham Hill raced the two BT37s built in 1972, the cars best result was Carlos’ fourth in the Canadian Grand Prix.

Credits…

Rainer Schlegelmilch

Tailpiece…

Carlos ahead of Chris Amon’s Matra MS120C 15th in the ‘Lobster Claw’ one-off Brabham BT34 Ford, upon which the BT37 was based, South African GP, March 1972 DNF. The Ferrari 312B2s of Andretti, fourth and Ickx eighth are further back…

Finito…