Johnny Brise

Dartford, Kent

103 (1954-1961)
145 (1954)
163 (1955)
228 (1955)
1 (1956)
3 (1956)
7 (1956)
17 (1956)
22 (1956)
23 (1956)
38 (1956)
42 (1956)

b. 1926 d. 1980

Of the many new drivers attracted to the sport when it was launched in 1954, Johnny Brise was one of the very few that had any prior racing experience. It was a big advantage, in terms of both race craft and car preparation. He began with a highly tuned Ford Model 68 Coupe before acquiring one of the cars shipped to England by the visiting American team in 1955, which he had noticed were fitted with certain after-market performance parts. His first final was at Oxford in March 1955, with many more following. He won the 1956 World Championship and the first ever National Points Championship the same year.

For 1959 he built the car that forever dispelled the idea that stock cars were ‘stock’. It consisted of a large Mercedes chassis, a Ford truck rear axle mounted on custom made radius arms, a front axle from a Fordson War Office Type 2 military truck, a custom made propshaft, Jaguar gearbox, and an ‘as new’ Oldsmobile Rocket engine. It took him to victory in the 1959 and 1960 World Finals. Having won everything on offer, including 48 finals, in 1961 he retired from stock car racing to concentrate on sons Tony and Tim's karting careers. Tony went on to race F1 Grand Prix.