1961 Australian Drivers' Championship

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1961 Australian Drivers' Championship
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The 1961 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title [1] for drivers of Formula Libre cars. [2] The title was contested over a five race series [3] with the winner awarded the 1961 CAMS Gold Star. [4] It was the fifth Australian Drivers' Championship. [1]

Contents

The series was dominated by Victorian racer Bill Patterson driving a Cooper T51 Climax. [2] Patterson won three of the five races and was second and fourth in the other two. He finished the series 36 points ahead of Lex Davison (Aston Martin DBR4 & Cooper T51 Coventry Climax). Bib Stillwell (Cooper T51 Coventry Climax & Cooper T53 Coventry Climax) placed third in the points standings.

The two races not won by Patterson were Longford, won by British driver Roy Salvadori in a Cooper T51 Coventry Climax and Mallala, won by Davison, also driving a Cooper T51 Coventry Climax .

Calendar

Race [3] Circuit [3] Date [3] Winning driver [3] Car [3] Entrant [3] Report
Bakers Milk International Longford 6 March Roy Salvadori Cooper T51 Coventry Climax Jack Brabham
Craven A Gold Star [5] Mount Panorama, Bathurst 3 April Bill Patterson Cooper T51 Coventry Climax Bill Patterson Motors P/L
Queensland Road Racing Championship [6] Lowood 11 June Bill Patterson Cooper T51 Coventry Climax Bill Patterson Motors P/L
Craven "A" Trophy Caversham 12 August Bill Patterson Cooper T51 Coventry Climax Bill Patterson Motors P/L
Australian Grand Prix Mallala 9 October Lex Davison Cooper T51 Coventry Climax B.S. Stillwell Report

A sixth championship race was originally scheduled to be held Phillip Island on 10 December. [4] Although a "Racing Car Scratch Race" (The Isle of Wight Trophy) was held at the circuit on that date, a contemporary report in Australian Motor Sports magazine does not label this as a "Gold Star" race [7] and it is omitted from 1961 Gold Star championship summaries at "members.optusnet.com.au/dandsshaw" [3] and "www.oldracingcars.com" [8]

Points system

Championship points were awarded on a 12-7-5-3-2-1 basis for the first six places in each race. [4] Points were awarded only to drivers racing under an Australian licence. [9] Ties were determined by the relevant competitors' placings in the Australian Grand Prix. [4]

Championship results

Pos.Driver [3] Car [3] Entrant [3] Lon. [3] Bat. [3] Low. [3] Cav. [3] Mal. [3] Total [3]
1 Bill Patterson Cooper T51 Coventry Climax Bill Patterson Motors Pty. Ltd.12121212351
2 Lex Davison Aston Martin DBR4 & Cooper T51 Coventry Climax Ecurie Australie & B.S. Stillwell3---1215
3 Bib Stillwell Cooper T51 Coventry Climax & T53 Coventry Climax B.S. Stillwell-5--712
4 Stan Jones Cooper T51 Coventry Climax Stan Jones Motors Pty. Ltd.
Moran Motors Pty. Ltd. [6] 		-75--12
5 Alec Mildren Cooper T51 Maserati A.G. Mildren Pty. Ltd.227--11
6John Youl Cooper T51 Coventry Climax J. Youl7----7
=Doug Green Ferrari 500 Reimann Motors---7-7
8 David McKay Cooper T51 Coventry Climax Scuderia Veloce -1--56
9Austin Miller Cooper T51 Coventry Climax A. Miller5----5
=Jack Ayres Cooper Mk V Ford J. Ayres---5-5
11Arnold Glass Cooper T45 Maserati Capitol Motors Pty. Ltd.-31--4
12Bruce Coventry Lotus 18 Ford A.B. Coventry [6] --3--3
=Lionel BeattieRepco Holden SportsL. Beattie---3-3
14Murray Trenberth Alta F2 Holden M. Trenberth----22
15Noel Barnes MG TC SpecialN.F. Barnes [6] --2--2
=Bob AnnearPegasus Holden R. Annear---2-2
17Eddie Clay Cooper T23 Bristol E. Clay----11
18John Roxburgh Cooper T45 Coventry Climax J.B. Roxburgh1----1
=Jim Ward Alta GP-2J Ward---1-1

The opening race at Longford was won by Englishman Roy Salvadori who was not eligible for championship points. [9] First place points for that race were therefore awarded to the second placed driver, Bill Patterson. [9]

Championship name

The championship was referred to by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport in the 1961 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport simply as "The CAMS Gold Star". [4] However historical records published by CAMS use the term "Australian Drivers’ Championship" [1] and that title has been used in this article.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Records, Titles & Awards, 2006 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-4
  2. 1 2 "Gold Star Winners - 1957 - 2009". formula3.com.au. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1961 Gold Star races at members.optusnet.com.au/dandsshaw via web.archive.org Retrieved on 3 June 2013
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 The CAMS Gold Star, 1961 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 50
  5. ↑ Souvenir Programme, Bathurst Gold Star Meeting, Sun. 2nd, Mon. 3rd April 1961, page 5
  6. 1 2 3 4 Official Programme, Lowood, Sunday, 11 June 1961
  7. ↑ A Happy Christmas at Phillip Island, Australian Motor Sports, February 1962, pages 42 & 43
  8. ↑ Australian Gold Star 1961, www.oldracingcars.com Retrieved on 4 June 2013
  9. 1 2 3 Patterson's victory gives him big lead for CAMS Gold Star, Sports Car World (magazine), circa May 1961
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