1959 Australian Drivers' Championship

The 1959 Australian Drivers Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Formula Libre cars. The championship winner was awarded the 1959 CAMS Gold Star.

The series was won by Victorian racer Len Lukey driving his Cooper T45 Climax and in the opening round of the series his own much modified Cooper T23 which was known as the Lukey-Bristol. Lukey was one of only a few drivers who attempted to complete the gruelling twelve race schedule, the longest in ADC history. Lukey finished just two points ahead of his season long rival, Alec Mildren from the ACT[1] (Cooper-Climax). Stan Jones was third in the championship, using four different cars over the course of the series. Race victories were shared around with Mildren taking three wins. Lukey, Jones and Bill Patterson each took two wins, with single victories going to Jack Brabham, Bib Stillwell and New Zealand Maserati 250F racer Ross Jensen.

Calendar

The title, which was the third Australian Drivers' Championship,[2] was contested over a twelve race series.[3][4]

Race Date[4] Race[5] Circuit Location Winner
1 26 January South Pacific Championship Gnoo Blas Motor Racing Circuit Orange, New South Wales Jack Brabham*
2 22 February Victorian Trophy Fisherman's Bend Melbourne, Victoria Alec Mildren
3 2 March Australian Grand Prix Longford Circuit Longford, Tasmania Stan Jones
4 28 March South Australian Trophy Port Wakefield Circuit Port Wakefield, South Australia Stan Jones
5 30 March Bathurst 100 Mount Panorama Circuit Bathurst, New South Wales Ross Jensen*
6 14 June Lowood Trophy Lowood Airfield Circuit Lowood, Queensland Alec Mildren
7 30 August Queensland Centenary Road Race Championship Lowood Airfield Circuit Lowood, Queensland Alec Mildren
8 4 October New South Wales Road Race Championship Mount Panorama Circuit Bathurst, New South Wales Bib Stillwell
9 12 October The Advertiser Trophy Port Wakefield Circuit Port Wakefield, South Australia Bill Patterson
10 24 October Western Australian Road Race Championship Caversham Caversham, Western Australia Len Lukey
11 22 November Western Port Cup[6] Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit Phillip Island, Victoria Bill Patterson
12 13 December Phillip Island Trophy Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit Phillip Island, Victoria Len Lukey
  • Winning driver not awarded points for races 1 and 5

Points

Championship points were awarded on a 12-7-5-3-2-1 basis to the first six Australian drivers at each race, irrespective of actual race placings gained. Only the best nine race results could be retained by each driver.[7]

As only Australian resident drivers were eligible, South Pacific Championship winner Jack Brabham and Bathurst 100 winner Ross Jensen were not awarded points towards the championship.

Results
Position Driver[8][5] Car[5] Entrant[5] GB[8] FB[8] Lon[8] PW[8] MP[8] Low[8] Low[8] MP[8] PW[8] Cav[8] PI[8] PI[8] Total[8]
1 Len Lukey Lukey Bristol &
Cooper T45 Coventry Climax		 Lukey Mufflers Pty Ltd 5 3 7 7 12 - 7 3 - 12 (3) 12 68
2 Alec Mildren Cooper T43 Coventry Climax &
Cooper T45 Coventry Climax		 A.G. Mildren Pty Ltd 3 12 3 - - 12 12 5 (3) 5 7 7 66
3 Stan Jones Maybach Mk.IV Corvette
Maserati 250F
Cooper T51 Coventry Climax
Sabakat Coventry Climax		 Stan Jones Motors Pty. Ltd. - 7 12 12 - 5 - - - 7 1 - 44
4 Bill Patterson Cooper T43 Coventry Climax Bill Patterson Motors P/L - - - - - 7 2 - 12 - 12 - 33
5 Arnold Glass Ferrari 555 Super Squalo
Maserati 250F		 A.J. Glass 7 - 5 - 7 3 - - - - - - 22
6 Doug Whiteford Maserati 300S D. Whiteford 12 5 - - 1 - - - - - - - 18[9]
7 Bib Stillwell Cooper T51 Coventry Climax B.S. Stillwell - - - - - - 5 12 - - - - 17
8 Keith Rilstone Zephyr Special K. Rilstone - - - 5 - - - - 7 - 2 - 14
9 Ted Grey Tornado Mk.II Corvette L. Abrahams - - - - - - - 7 - - - - 7
10 Austin Miller Cooper T51 Coventry Climax Superior Cars - - - - - - 1 - - - - 5 6
11 Jack Myers WM Special J. Myers - - - - 5 - - - - - - - 5
= David McKay Cooper T51 Coventry Climax Victa Pty Ltd - - - - - - - - 5 - - - 5
= Noel Hall Cooper T51 Coventry Climax O. Hall - - - - - - - - - - 5 - 5
= Murray Trenberth Alta F2 Holden M. Trenberth - - - 3 - - - - 2 - - - 5
15 Ray Wamsley Alfa Romeo Tipo B Chevrolet Corvette R. Wamsley - - - - 3 - - - - - - - 3
= Frank Matich Jaguar D-Type Leaton Motors - - - - - - 3 - - - - - 3
= Syd Negus Cooper T20 Holden Syd Negus - - - - - - - - - 3 - - 3
= Murray Carter Corvette Special Murray Carter Motors - - - - - - - - - - - 3 3
19 Alwyn Rose Dal Ro Special A.J. Rose 2 - - - - - - - - - - - 2
= John Lanyon MG TC Special J. Lanyon - 2 - - - - - - - - - - 2
= Alan Jack Cooper T39 Coventry Climax A. Jack - - 2 - - - - - - - - - 2
= Jim Goldfinch Austin-Healey 100S J. Goldfinch - - - 2 - - - - - - - - 2
= Werner Greve HWM Jaguar W. Greve - - - - 2 - - - - - - - 2
= Arthur Griffiths Ferrari 555 Super Squalo A. Griffith - - - - - 2 - - - - - - 2
= David Finch Jaguar D-Type D. Finch - - - - - - - 2 - - - - 2
= Peter Bond Bondley Special P. Bond - - - - - - - - - 2 - - 2
= John Roxburgh Cooper T41 Coventry Climax Kingbridge Service - - - - - - - - - - - 2 2
= Glyn Scott Cooper T43 Coventry Climax Glyn Scott Motors - - - - - 1 - 1 - - - - 2
29 Barry Collerson Talbot-Lago T26C B. Collerson 1 - - - - - - - - - - - 1
= Ron Phillips Cooper T38 Jaguar R. Phillips - - 1 - - - - - - - - - 1
= Tom Stevens MG TA Special T. Stevens - - - 1 - - - - - - - - 1
= Syd Taylor TS Special S Taylor - - - - - - - - - 1 - - 1

References
  1. 1961 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 51
  2. Australian Drivers Championship - CAMS Gold Star, 2016 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, as archived at web.archive.org
  3. Australian Motor Sport Review, 1958-59, pages 82
  4. Guide to The Gold Star, Supplement to Racing Car News, August 1970, page ii
  5. 1959 Gold Star, members.optusnet.com.au/dandsshaw, as archived at web.archive.org
  6. Phillip Island Circuit, www.progcovers.com Retrieved 29 November 2018
  7. CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, 1959, page 44
  8. 1959 Gold Star Point Score, Automobiles Australia - incorporating Australian Motor Sport Review 1959-60, page 80
  9. Automobiles Australia lists Whiteford's points as 12 + 5 + 1 = 17

Further reading
  • Australian Motor Sport Review, 1958–59, pages 83–95
  • The official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix, 1986
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