1966 Australian One and a Half Litre Championship

The 1966 Australian One and a Half Litre Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title for Racing Cars complying with the Australian 1½ Litre Formula.[1] It was the third Australian One and a Half Litre Championship and the first to be contested over a series of heats rather than as a single race. The championship was won by John Harvey, driving a Repco Brabham BT14 Ford.

Calendar
John Harvey won the championship driving a Repco Brabham BT14, similar to the example pictured above in 2009

The championship was contested over a seven heat series.[1]

Heat[1] Circuit[1] State[1] Date[1] Winner Car Heat Format[1]
1 Mallala South Australia 13 June Mel McEwin[2] Elfin Mono Mk1 Ford Stand alone race for Australian 1½ Litre Formula cars[1]
2 Lakeside Queensland 10 July John Harvey[3] Repco Brabham BT14 Ford Run concurrently with Race 1 of the 1966 Australian Championship for Drivers
3 Surfers Paradise Queensland 14 August[4] Garrie Cooper[5] Elfin Mono Mk2B Ford Run concurrently with Race 2 of the 1966 Australian Championship for Drivers
4 Mallala South Australia 10 October John Harvey[6] Repco Brabham BT14 Ford Run concurrently with Race 3 of the 1966 Australian Championship for Drivers
5 Sandown Park Victoria 16 October John Harvey[7] Repco Brabham BT14 Ford Run concurrently with Race 4 of the 1966 Australian Championship for Drivers
6 Symmons Plains Tasmania 13 November Mel McEwin[8] Elfin Mono Mk1 Ford Run concurrently with Race 5 of the 1966 Australian Championship for Drivers
7 Warwick Farm New South Wales 4 December Mike Champion[9] Repco Brabham BT2 Ford Run concurrently with Race 6 of the 1966 Australian Championship for Drivers

Points system

Championship points were awarded on a 9,6,4,3,2,1 basis for the first six places in each heat.[1] Only holders of a full General Competition Licence issued by CAMS were eligible.[1] The best six results from the seven heats could be retained by each driver.[1] Ties were determined by the relevant places gained by drivers in the 1st Heat and then, where necessary, by the number of first places won, then the number of second places and so on.[1]

Championship results
Position Driver[10] Car[11] Entrant[11] Mal Lak Sur Mal San Sym War Total[10]
1 John Harvey Repco Brabham[2] BT14 Ford RC Phillips 6 9 4 9 9 - - 37
2 Mel McEwin Elfin Mono Mk1 Ford Mel McEwin 9 4 - - - 9 3 25
3 Mike Champion Repco Brabham[2] BT2 Ford Competition Cars 2 - - 6 6 - 9 23[12]
4 Garrie Cooper Elfin Mono Mk2B Ford Elfin Sports Cars - 6 9 - - - - 15
5 Glynn Scott Lotus 27 Ford Glyn Scott Motors - - - - - 6 6 12
6 Bob Jane Elfin Mono Mk1 Ford Bob Jane Racing 4 - - - 4 - - 8
7 Jack Hunnam Elfin Mono Mk1 Ford Jack Hunnam Motors - - - 4 3 - - 7
8 Roly Levis Repco Brabham[5] BT6 Ford Roly Levis - - 6 - - - - 6
9 Lyn Archer Elfin Catalina Ford Lyn Archer Motors - - - - - 4 - 4
= Bob Young Lotus 22 Ford Dick Swanston Pty Ltd - - - - - - 4 4
11 Les Howard Lotus 27 Ford Howard & Sons 3 - - - - - - 3
12 Dean Clough Elfin Mono Mk1 Ford Auto Conversions[2] & Elfin Sports Cars 1 - - - 2 - - 3
13 Ian Fergusson Elfin Catalina Ford Ian Fergusson - 3 - - - - - 3
= Stan Keen Elfin Mono Mk1 Ford Stan Keen - - - 3 - - - 3
15 Dean Rainsford Elfin Catalina Ford Tudor Accessories - - - 2 1 - - 3
16 Jimmy Orr Austin Special Jimmy Orr - - - 1 - - - 1

References
  1. Conditions for Australian Titles, CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, 1968, pages 70-72
  2. John Brownsea, McEwin takes Opening 1.5 round, Racing Car News, August 1966, pages 56-57
  3. Des White, Martin the master at Lakeside, Racing Car News, August 1966, pages 20-21
  4. Official Programme, Speed Week, Surfers Paradise, August 12th to 22nd 1966
  5. Des White, Martin scores magnificent "Gold Star", Racing Car News, September 1966, pages 34-36
  6. John Brownsea, Harvey heads for 1½ Litre title, Racing Car News, November 1966
  7. Adrian Ryan, Solid Sandown, Racing Car News, December 1966, page 18
  8. Neville Fisher, Cusack's luck changes, Racing Car News, December 1966, pages 34-35
  9. Peter Wherrett, Spencer Martin - Australia's Champion, Racing Car News, January 1967, pages 28-31
  10. Jim Shepherd, A History of Australian Motor Sport, 1980, pages 70-75
  11. The early CAMS Gold Star series 1957-70 Archived 2008-06-26 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2 September 2012
  12. Jim Shepherd's A History of Australian Motor Sport has Mike Champion in second place on 26 points however this points total is not support by the relevant Racing Car News race reports which show him as scoring 2 points in Heat 1 at Mallala, retiring at Lakeside, non-starting at Surfers Paradise and retiring at Symmons Plains.
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