Three-time world motor-racing champion Sir Jack Brabham rates Michael Schumacher, the current world Formula One champion, as the best racing driver of all time.
Sir Jack will be at Pukekohe on Saturday for a ceremonial lap on behalf of the Bruce McLaren Trust in one of the worksCoopers, with which he won the world title in 1959 and McLaren won his first Grand Prix at Sebring.
The Australian legend, now 78, drove against the great Juan Fangio but rates Schumacher higher.
"I reckon Schumacher's the best there's been so far," said Sir Jack in Auckland yesterday. "Not only because of his driving. Fangio was a good driver, too. But Schumacher's been the driving force behind the Ferrari team.
"He's got a fantastic head on him, more so than Fangio.
"Schumacher's worked hard to bring the Ferrari team up. Fangio was just a driver."
Sir Jack finds little comparison between the motor-racing of his day and the multimillion-dollar business of Formula One.
"Their catering bill for a Grand Prix would be more than we raced on," he said. "It's just become a money race and technology. In my day the cars were exciting to watch, now they look as if they're on a monorail."
Sir Jack's drive at Pukekohe will be part of the V8 Supercar round, sponsored by PlaceMakers, and, while he has never driven one of the latest Supercars, the racing has supplanted Formula One in his affections.
"It's more exciting than Formula One. If I was 50 years younger, I'd certainly be into it."
The Pukekohe V8 round begins tomorrow with practice and two qualifying sessions. There will be a top 10 shootout and a 100km race tomorrow and two 150km races on Sunday.
