1929 Australian Grand Prix

The 1929 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Phillip Island circuit in Victoria, Australia on 18 March 1929.[1] The race, which was organised by the Victorian Light Car Club,[1] had 27 entries[1] and 22 starters.[2] It is recognised by the Motorsport Australia as the second Australian Grand Prix.[3]

1929 Australian Grand Prix
Race details
Date 18 March 1929
Location Phillip Island, Victoria
Course Temporary road circuit
Course length 10.6 km (6.5 miles)
Distance 31 laps, 332 km (206 miles)
Podium
First
Bugatti
Second
  • Australia Reg Brearley
 Bugatti
Third
  • Australia Bill Lowe
 Lombard

The race was won by Arthur Terdich driving a Bugatti Type 37A.[1]

Classes

Cars competed in four classes:[1]

  • Class A: Under 900cc[1]
  • Class B: 901cc - 1100cc[1]
  • Class C: 1101cc - 1500cc[1]
  • Class D: 1501cc - 2000cc[1]

Race format

Class B cars started the race first followed by the Class A entries thirty seconds later.[1] Class C cars started next, the first group four minutes after the Class A cars and the remainder thirty seconds after that.[1] The Class D cars were the last to start,[1] thirty seconds after the Class C cars.[4]

The winner of the Grand Prix was to be the entry, irrespective of class, which made the fastest time for the race.[1]

Classification
Arthur Terdich driving a Bugatti Type 37A to victory in the race
The Bugatti Type 37 of Reg Brearley contesting the race. Brearley placed second.
Bill Lowe placed third driving a Lombard AL3
Pos.[2] No.[1] Class[1] Driver[1][2] Car[1] Entrant[1] Laps Time[1]
1 19 C Arthur Terdich Bugatti Type 37A s/c A. Terdich 31 3h 14m 22 1/5 s
2 18 C Reg Brearley Bugatti Type 37 R. Rearley 31 3h 29m 43s
3 12 B Bill Lowe[5] Lombard AL3[6] W. H. Lowe 31 3h 31m 55 3/5 s
4 28 D Harry Jenkins Bugatti Type 30 H. Jenkins 31 3h 43m 48s
5 20 C John Bernadou Bugatti Type 23 Brescia[7] A. W. Bernadou 31 3h 49m 14 3/5 s
6 11 B Barney Dentry Sénéchal G. Dentry 31 3h 51m 16 1/5 s
7 25 D Cyril Dickason Austin 12 A. Waite 31 4h 1m 16s
8 3 A Wally Robertson Austin 7 W. R. M. Robertson 31 4h 12m 1 1/2 s
9 26 D John McCutcheon Morris Cowley J. O. McCutcheon 31 4h 17m 6 1/5 s
10 1 A Noel Langton Austin 7 N. Langdon 31 4h 24m 55 2/5 s
NC[4] 6 A Ken Wallace-Crabbe Austin 7 K. Wallace-Crabbe  ?
Ret 14 B Bill Williamson Riley Nine[8] Riley Distributors 23[9]
Ret 23 C Albert Edwards Alvis A. Edwards 21[4]
Ret 2 A Clarrie May Austin 7 s/c A. Waite 20[4]
Ret 10 B Harold Drake Richmond Fiat 509 H. Drake Richmond 20[1]
Ret 27 D Ernie King Th. Schneider E. H. King 17[10]
Ret 5 A Ron Gardner Triumph Super 7 R. Gardner 13[1]
Ret 16 C John Goodall Aston Martin J. Goodall 5[4]
Ret 15 B W Albert "Ab" Terdich Sénéchal W. A. Terdich 4[4]
Ret 22 C Bill Thompson Bugatti Type 37 W. Thompson 2[9]
Ret 8 A Ken McKinney Austin 7 K. McKinney 1[1]
Ret 4 A Robert Baker Morris Minor R. Baker 1[1]
DNS[11] 9 B George Saville Amilcar G. Saville
  • Wallace-Crabbe failed to complete the race distance within the prescribed time limit.[4]

Notes
  • Average speed of winning car: 61.7 miles an hour[12]

References
  1. John Blanden, A History of Australian Grand Prix 1928–1939, pages 25 to 42
  2. John Blanden, A History of Australian Grand Prix 1928–1939, pages 185 to 192
  3. Australian Grand Prix, 2020 Motorsport Australia Manual, motorsport.org.au, as archived at web.archive.org
  4. Australian Grand Prix - The 50-race history, pages 28 to 34
  5. Car 12 was entered for John Cleaver to drive but was actually driven in the race by Bill Lowe, as outlined on page 29 of A History of Australian Grand Prix 1928–1939
  6. John B. Blanden, Historic Racing Cars in Australia, 1979, page 191
  7. Australian Grand Prix - The 50-race history, page 30 indicates that the Bernadou Bugatti was a Type 23
  8. The Herald, Monday 18 March 1929, Page 2 A. J. Terdich (Bugatti) Wins 200 Miles Road Race, as archived at trove.nla.gov.au
  9. Australian Grand Prix - 80 Races, page 41
  10. Th. Schneider, Ernest King and the 1929 Australian Grand Prix, 15/11/2014, thschneider.wordpress.com, as archived at web.archive.org
  11. A History of Australian Grand Prix 1928–1939, page 190 lists Saville's Amilcar as a retirement but page 31 states that the car "had problems during practice and did not start the race".
  12. Light Car Road Race, The Argus, Tuesday, 19 March 1929, Page 9, as archived at trove.nla.gov.au
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