1961 Australian Drivers' Championship

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]

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. 12 12 12 12 3 51
2 Lex Davison Aston Martin DBR4 & Cooper T51 Coventry Climax Ecurie Australie & B.S. Stillwell 3 - - - 12 15
3 Bib Stillwell Cooper T51 Coventry Climax & T53 Coventry Climax B.S. Stillwell - 5 - - 7 12
4 Stan Jones Cooper T51 Coventry Climax Stan Jones Motors Pty. Ltd.
Moran Motors Pty. Ltd.[6]		 - 7 5 - - 12
5 Alec Mildren Cooper T51 Maserati A.G. Mildren Pty. Ltd. 2 2 7 - - 11
6 John Youl Cooper T51 Coventry Climax J. Youl 7 - - - - 7
= Doug Green Ferrari 500 Reimann Motors - - - 7 - 7
8 David McKay Cooper T51 Coventry Climax Scuderia Veloce - 1 - - 5 6
9 Austin Miller Cooper T51 Coventry Climax A. Miller 5 - - - - 5
= Jack Ayres Cooper Mk V Ford J. Ayres - - - 5 - 5
11 Arnold Glass Cooper T45 Maserati Capitol Motors Pty. Ltd. - 3 1 - - 4
12 Bruce Coventry Lotus 18 Ford A.B. Coventry[6] - - 3 - - 3
= Lionel Beattie Repco Holden Sports L. Beattie - - - 3 - 3
14 Murray Trenberth Alta F2 Holden M. Trenberth - - - - 2 2
15 Noel Barnes MG TC Special N.F. Barnes[6] - - 2 - - 2
= Bob Annear Pegasus Holden R. Annear - - - 2 - 2
17 Eddie Clay Cooper T23 Bristol E. Clay - - - - 1 1
18 John Roxburgh Cooper T45 Coventry Climax J.B. Roxburgh 1 - - - - 1
= Jim Ward Alta GP-2 J 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.

References
  1. Records, Titles & Awards, 2006 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-4
  2. "Gold Star Winners - 1957 - 2009". formula3.com.au. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  3. 1961 Gold Star races at members.optusnet.com.au/dandsshaw via web.archive.org Retrieved on 3 June 2013
  4. 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. 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. Patterson's victory gives him big lead for CAMS Gold Star, Sports Car World (magazine), circa May 1961
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