Australian Grand Prix that became the Tasman Series. The top European Formula One teams and drivers raced the European winters in Australia and New Zealand from 1963 to 1969 playing host to a golden age for racing in the region for which the Australian Grand Prix (and the New Zealand Grand Prix) became jewels of the summer. The popularity of the Tasman formulae was directly responsible for 1966's "return to power" in Formula One, and having spent years developing with Repco the Brabham cars and eventually the Oldsmobile-based Repco V8s in the Tasman series gave Jack Brabham the opportunity to unexpectedly dominate Formula
1966 Formula One season from the season opening Monaco Grand Prix (won by Jackie Stewart in his BRM), Brabham with their Oldsmobile based Repco engine caught the rest of the teams on the hop with its speed and reliability. "Black Jack" finished fourth in Belgium, before winning his first race since the 1960 Portuguese Grand Prix by winning the French Grand Prix at Reims (the last time the Reims-Gueux circuit was used in Formula One). He then won the next three Grands Prix in Britain, Holland and Germany to make it four wins in succession and virtually secure his third championship win (only a