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| Category | Formula One | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Brabham | ||||||||
| Designers | John Baldwin (Technical Director) Sergio Rinland (Chief Designer) Paul Rosche(Chief Engine Designer (BMW)) | ||||||||
| Predecessor | BT55 | ||||||||
| Successor | BT58 | ||||||||
| Technical specifications[1] | |||||||||
| Chassis | Carbon fibre andKevlar compositemonocoque | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Pullrod double wishbone | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Pushrod double wishbone | ||||||||
| Axle track | Front: 1,778 mm (70.0 in) Rear: 1,651 mm (65.0 in) | ||||||||
| Wheelbase | 2,832 mm (111.5 in) | ||||||||
| Engine | BMW M12/13, 1,499 cc (91.5 cu in),Straight 4,turbo (4.0 Bar limited),mid-engine,longitudinally mounted | ||||||||
| Transmission | Brabham / Weismann 6-speedmanual | ||||||||
| Weight | 545 kg (1,202 lb) | ||||||||
| Fuel | Castrol | ||||||||
| Tyres | Goodyear | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | Motor Racing Developments | ||||||||
| Notable drivers | 7. Riccardo Patrese7. Stefano Modena8. Andrea de Cesaris | ||||||||
| Debut | 1987 Brazilian Grand Prix | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
TheBrabham BT56 was aFormula One car designed byJohn Baldwin andSergio Rinland and raced by theBrabham team in the1987 Formula One World Championship. It was driven byAndrea de Cesaris,Riccardo Patrese andStefano Modena; both de Cesaris and Patrese scored a 3rd place driving the BT56.
After a disappointing1986 season with theBT55, the team reverted to a more conventional design in 1987. Long time Brabham designerGordon Murray had moved toMcLaren leaving the BT56 as the first Brabham car not designed by Murray since the Ralph Bellamy designedBrabham BT37 that raced in the1972 and1973 seasons.
The car was powered by thestraight 4turbochargedBMW engine and raced onGoodyear tyres. Brabham finished 8th in the 1987 Constructors' Championship with 10 points scored. This was the last Formula One Car until2000 to useBMW engines, not counting theMegatron-badged engines used byArrows in1988.
This was the last Brabham to use a turbocharged engine. It was also the last Brabham designed while longtime ownerBernie Ecclestone ran the team: he sold the team forUS$5 million to Swiss businessmanWalter Brun at the end of 1988 after buying it in 1972 for US$120,000 from the team's co-founderRon Tauranac.
The BT56 was not a very competitive car; although it was quicker than some others (Patrese ran as high as second before retiring at the San Marino Grand Prix that year) it was nowhere near as competitive as theWilliams,McLaren,Ferrari orLotus cars that year.
It was also a very unreliable car; they had 7 finishes combined out of 16 races. Patrese had a third place inMexico, although earlier in the season he had been unlucky to lose second place at theSan Marino Grand Prix with alternator failure.
De Cesaris only finished one race, a third place atBelgium. Although he had a bad reputation for crashing, most of his retirements were due to mechanical failures. Some[who?] suspected that this was down to his questionable temperament and his harsh treatment of the car.
Brabham finished 8th in the 1987 Constructors' Championship with 10 points scored.
Brabham would skip Formula One for the1988 season, and would return in1989 with thenaturally aspiratedJuddV8 poweredBrabham BT58.
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Pts. | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Motor Racing Developments | BMW M12/13 S4tc | G | BRA | SMR | BEL | MON | DET | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | AUT | ITA | POR | ESP | MEX | JPN | AUS | 10 | 8th | |
| Riccardo Patrese | Ret | 9 | Ret | Ret | 9 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 5 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 13 | 3 | 11 | |||||||
| Stefano Modena | Ret | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Andrea de Cesaris | Ret | Ret | 3† | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 8† |
† Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
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