1961 Australian Grand Prix

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1961 Australian Grand Prix
Race 5 of 5 in 1961 Australian Drivers' Championship
Race details
Date9 October 1961
Location Mallala Race Circuit, Mallala, South Australia
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 3.38 km (2.1 mi)
Distance 50 laps, 168.95 km (105 mi)
Weather Sunny
Pole position
Driver Cooper-Climax
Time 1'42.0
Fastest lap
Drivers Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bill Patterson Cooper-Climax
Fastest lap Flag of Australia (converted).svg Lex Davison Cooper-Climax
Time 1'44
Podium
First Cooper-Climax
Second
  • Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bib Stillwell
Cooper-Climax
Third Cooper-Climax

The 1961 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula Libre motor race [1] held at the newly completed Mallala Race Circuit in South Australia on 9 October 1961. The race, which was Round 5 of the 1961 Australian Drivers' Championship, had 17 starters. [2]

Contents

The race was the twenty sixth Australian Grand Prix and would be the last to be held in South Australia until the first Formula One World Championship Australian Grand Prix was staged at the new Adelaide Parklands Circuit in 1985. Lex Davison won his fourth and final AGP setting a record for wins that still stands today, having only been equalled by Michael Schumacher. David McKay actually crossed the finish line first but had been assigned a one-minute penalty, for a jumped start, which relegated him to third position behind Davison and Bib Stillwell. [3]

Davison's Australian Grand Prix victory would be the last for a domestically based Australian until Frank Matich won the 1970 AGP at Warwick Farm in Sydney driving a McLaren M10B Formula 5000 car, although British-based Australian Jack Brabham had won the AGP in both 1963 and 1964.

The Ricardian which was driven by John Newmarch in the 1961 Australian Grand Prix. The car is pictured at Mallala in 2012 Repco Ricardian of Mark Scott.jpg
The Ricardian which was driven by John Newmarch in the 1961 Australian Grand Prix. The car is pictured at Mallala in 2012

Classification

Results as follows. [4]

PosNo.DriverEntrant [2] Car / EngineLapsTime
14 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Lex Davison B.S. Stillwell Cooper T51 / Coventry Climax FPF 2.2L501h 29m 01s
26 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bib StillwellB.S. Stillwell Cooper T55 / Coventry Climax FPF 2.5L501h 29m 42s
314 Flag of Australia (converted).svg David McKay Scuderia Veloce Cooper T51 / Coventry Climax FPF 2.5L501h 30m 05s
49 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bill Patterson Bill Patterson Motors P/L Cooper T51 / Coventry Climax FPF 2.5L48
515 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Murray TrenberthM Trenberth Alta / Holden 2.5L46
620 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Eddie ClayE Clay Cooper T23 / Bristol 2.2L45
726 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan JackBriefield Motors Cooper T39 / Coventry Climax FWB 1.5L [5] 48
845 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Trevor EllisT Ellis Austin 8 Special / Austin Supercharged 0.9L [5] 38
916 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mel McEwinM McEwinTornado Mk II / Chevrolet 4.6L [2] 35 [2]
1060 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter WilkinsonP Wilkinson Elfin Steamliner [2] / Ford 1.2L35 [2]
Ret5 Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Youl Scuderia Veloce Cooper T51 / Coventry Climax FPF 2.5L46Exhaustion
Ret8 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Keith RilstoneK RilstoneZephyr Special / Ford 2.3L33 [2]
Ret19 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Doug Whiteford Bill Patterson Motors P/L Cooper T51 / Coventry Climax FPF 2.5L30 [2] Engine
Ret11 Flag of Australia (converted).svg John AmptJ Ampt Cooper T38 / Jaguar 3.8L25 [2]
Ret30 Flag of Australia (converted).svg John NewmarchJ BruggemanRicardian / Holden 2.4L14 [2]
Ret56 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Helene BittnerH BittnerVitesse / Ford 100E 1.2L1 [2] Gearbox [5]
Ret3 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Laurie WhiteheadL WhiteheadAusper T2 / Ford 1.0L [5] 0
DNS2 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Stan Jones Stan Jones Motors Pty Ltd Cooper T51 / Coventry Climax FPF 2.5LEngine
DNS29 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Garrie Cooper Elfin Sports Cars Elfin Formula Junior / Ford 1.1L [2] Gearbox
DNS44 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dud DansieBakewell Bridge MotorsBBM rotary valve special / Holden - Dunstan Rotary Valve

Notes

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References

  1. The Australian Grand Prix, 1961 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 52
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1961 Gold Star Races, members.optusnet.com.au/dandsshaw Archived 1 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 14 March 2013
  3. McKay, Peter (3 January 2005). "Dashing enthusiast of motor sport". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  4. Howard, Graham (1986). "1961". In Howard, Graham (ed.). The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix. Gordon, NSW: R & T Publishing. pp. 268–275. ISBN   0-9588464-0-5.
  5. 1 2 3 4 1961 Australian Grand Prix, www.oldracingcars.com Retrieved on 14 march 2013
Preceded by Australian Grand Prix
1961
Succeeded by