1955 South Pacific Championship for racing cars

Last updated
Track map of the Gnoo Blas Motor Racing Circuit (1953-1961) Gnoo Blas map.png
Track map of the Gnoo Blas Motor Racing Circuit (1953-1961)

The 1955 South Pacific Championship for racing cars was a motor race staged at the Gnoo Blas Motor Racing Circuit at Orange in New South Wales, Australia on 31 January 1955. [1] The race, which was a Formula Libre event open to racing cars and stripped sports cars, [2] was contested as a scratch race which also incorporated a handicap award. [3] It was held over 27 laps [1] of the 3¾ mile circuit [4] for a total distance of 100 miles. [1] The race, which was the first South Pacific Championship for racing cars, [1] was won by Englishman Peter Whitehead driving a 3 litre Ferrari. [4]

Contents

The championship meeting, which was conducted by the Australian Sporting Car Club, [2] was the first FIA sanctioned international race meeting to be staged in Australia. [5]

Race results

Peter Whitehead won the championship driving a Ferrari 500, similar to that pictured above. Ferrari 500.jpeg
Peter Whitehead won the championship driving a Ferrari 500, similar to that pictured above.
Position [6] Driver [6] No. [6] Car [6] Laps [1] Remarks
1 Peter Whitehead 2 [1] Ferrari 500 [7] 271h 5m 1s, 93 m.p.h. [8]
2 Jack Brabham 5 Cooper Bristol
3 Tony Gaze 4 Ferrari 500 [7]
4 Jack Murray [9] 56 [9] Allard Cadillac [3] [10]
5Tom Sulman14 [9] Maserati
6Curly Brydon MG TC Special
7G Grieg Alfa Romeo Alvis
?John MacMillan10 Alfa Romeo
?Noel Barnes MG Special
DNF [9] Jack Robinson Jaguar XK120 Special 23 [9]
DNF [9] Dick Cobden [9] Ferrari [9] 2 [9]
DNS Prince Bira Maserati Engine failure in practice [9]
DNS [9] Prince Bira [9] O.S.C.A. [9] Fuel feed problems in preliminary race [9]
DNS [9] Reg Hunt [9] Maserati [9] Brakes [9]
DNS [9] Ian Mountain [9] Peugeot Special [9] Fatal accident in preliminary race [9]

Handicap results

Position [6] Driver [6] No. [6] Car [6] Laps [1]
1 Jack Brabham 5 Cooper Bristol
2 Jack Murray [9] 56 [9] Allard Cadillac [3] [10]
3Tom Sulman Maserati
4 Peter Whitehead 2 [1] Ferrari 500 [7] 27

Notes:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Whitehead wins at Orange, Modern Motor, March 1955, page 29
  2. 1 2 Big races for Orange on 31st, Wheels (magazine), February 1955, page 30
  3. 1 2 3 Orange car races, Australian Motor Sports, January 1955, page 25
  4. 1 2 Sidelights on Orange, Australian Motor Manual, 1 March 1955, pages 41 & 47
  5. ↑ Gnoo Blas Classic, www.gnooblas.com, as archived at web.archive.org
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 South Pacific Road Racing Championships, Australian Motor Sports, February 1955, pages 60 to 64
  7. 1 2 3 John B Blanden, 1952 Ferrari Type 500, Old Racing Cars in Australia, 1979, page 146
  8. ↑ South Pacific Championship, Motor Manual's Motor Racing Year Book No. 6, pages 10 to 13
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Whitehead's Big Win, Cars, April 1955, pages 20 to 23 + pages 61 to 62
  10. 1 2 Race driver, spectator die in crash, Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday, 1 February 1955, page 3
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.