1962 Australian Grand Prix

The 1962 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race for Formula Libre cars,[2] held at the Caversham circuit in Western Australia, Australia on 18 November 1962. It was the twenty seventh Australian Grand Prix and the sixth and final race in the 1962 Australian Drivers' Championship. The Grand Prix meeting was organised by the Western Australian Sporting Car Club Inc.[3]

1962 Australian Grand Prix
Race 6 of 6 in 1962 Australian Drivers' Championship
Race details
Date 18 November 1962
Location Caversham, Western Australia
Course Airfield circuit
Course length 3.621 km (2.25 miles)
Distance 60 laps, 198.78 km (123.54 miles)
Weather Sunny
Pole position
Driver Cooper-Climax
Time 1'19.6
Fastest lap
Driver Australia Jack Brabham Repco Brabham-Climax[1]
Time 1'20.0
Podium
First Cooper-Climax
Second Cooper-Climax
Third Cooper-Climax

Held at the former United States Navy air base in still remote Western Australia, the race had just ten starters, seven of which had made the long journey across the Nullarbor Plain from the eastern states, and three of which were local entries. It was the third of only four Australian Grands Prix to be contested in Western Australia with the next held in 1979.

Bruce McLaren won his first Australian Grand Prix, beginning a new era for the race in which the results would be dominated by professional drivers and teams rather than the gentleman amateurs who had won most of the post-war AGP races. It also began an AGP rivalry between the two senior drivers from the region, McLaren and Jack Brabham who were already long-time rivals in Formula One racing.

Race classification

The 9th placed Lotus Super 7, pictured in 2012

Results as follows.[4]

Pos No.[5] Driver Entrant[5] Car Laps Time
1 47 New Zealand Bruce McLaren Bruce McLaren Cooper T62 / Coventry Climax FPF 2.7L 60 1h 21m 58.4s
2 5 Australia John Youl Scuderia Veloce Cooper T55 / Coventry Climax FPF 2.5L 60 1h 22m 40.0s
3 6 Australia Bib Stillwell B. S. Stillwell Cooper T55 / Coventry Climax FPF 2.5L 60 1h 22m 44.7s
4 9[6] Australia Bill Patterson Bill Patterson Motors Cooper T51 / Coventry Climax FPF 2.5L 57
5 7 Australia Arnold Glass Capitol Motors BRM P48 / Buick 3.9L 55
6 14 Australia Syd Negus S. A. Negus Cooper T20 / Repco-Holden 2.3L[7] 47
7 2 Australia Ted Edwards[7] E. D. Edwards T.S. Special / GMC 4.5L 47
8 4 Australia Lex Davison Ecurie Australie Cooper T53 / Coventry Climax FPF 2.7L 46
9 26 Australia Jeff Dunkerton Reimann Motors Lotus Super 7 / Ford 1.5 46
Ret 1 Australia Jack Brabham Ecurie Vitesse Repco Brabham BT4[8] / Coventry Climax FPF 2.5L 50 Accident
DNS[9] 10 Australia Ron Downey[9][10] Sporting Cars Ferrari 166 F2 / Chevrolet 4.6L[9] - Engine[11]
DNS[9] 12 Australia Ron McCormack[9] Ron McCormack Maybach 3 / Chevrolet 4.6L[9] -
DNS[9] 15[9] Australia Jack Ayers[9] Superior Cars[7] Alta F2 / Holden 2.4L[9] -
DNS[9] 17 Australia Dave Gordon[9] Dave Sullivan Motors DJ Special / Holden 2.5L[9] -
DNS[9] 11 Australia Wally Higgs[9] W. Higgs Peugeot Special / Peugeot 1.1L[9] - Engine
DNS[9] 18 Australia Don Willison[9][12] Don Willison HRD Special / Vincent 1.0L[9] -

Additional awards

  • 1st Australian resident driver: John Youl[1]
  • 1st Western Australian resident driver: Syd Negus[1]

Notes

References

  1. Western Australian Motor Race Results 1962 Archived 3 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from www.terrywalkersplace.com on 28 August 2012
  2. The Australian Grand Prix, CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, 1962 Edition, page 66
  3. Supplementary Regulations, Australian International Grand Prix, November 17th-18th, Caversham, Western Australia
  4. Howard, Graham (1986). "1962". In Howard, Graham (ed.). The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix. Gordon, NSW: R & T Publishing. pp. 276–284. ISBN 0-9588464-0-5.
  5. Official Souvenir Programme, Australian International Grand Prix, Caversham, 17-18 Nov, '62
  6. Patterson is listed in the Official Programme as No 3. The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix page 284 states that he raced with No. 9
  7. 1962 Gold Star, members.optusnet.com.au/dandsshaw, as archived at web.archive.org on 28 September 2012
  8. 1962 Non-World Championship Grands Prix, www.silhouet.com Retrieved 28 August 2012
  9. Australian Grand Prix, Caversham, 18 Nov 1962, www.oldracingcars.com Retrieved 26 September 2014
  10. Re driver of Car No. 10 - Programme has R.E. Downey, oldracingcars.com has Ron Downey, dandsshaw has Ron Downey, Around the Houses has Bill Bowney
  11. Bill Downey ex Cobden Ferrari Corvette Caversham AGP practice 1962. Blew the engine so did not race, www.oldracephotos.com Retrieved 2 April 2021
  12. oldracingcars.com lists the driver of car No. 18 as Dan Willison. The Official Programme shows both driver and entrant of car No. 18 as Don Willison.
  13. The official history of the Australian Grand Prix - 80 races, page 209

Further reading

  • Terry Walker, 1962: Caversham, Around the Houses - The History of Motor Racing in Australia, 1980, pages 16 & 17
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