(CNN) -- Australian motor racing legend Jack Brabham -- a three-time Formula One world champion and the only driver to win the title in a car bearing his name -- has died aged 88. Over the course of a 15-year Formula One career beginning in 1955, Brabham won three drivers' world championships, becoming the first Australian to win the title despite coming late to the sport. The first two titles, in 1959 and 1960, were earned as a driver for the Cooper team. The third and most notable occurred in 1966, when, at 40-years-old, he won racing for Brabham, the successful car manufacturer and racing team he founded.

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