1966 Australian Drivers' Championship

The 1966 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title for drivers of racing cars complying with either the Australian National Formula or the Australian 1½ Litre Formula.[1] The winner of the title, which was the tenth Australian Drivers' Championship, was awarded the 1966 CAMS Gold Star.[2]

The championship was won by Spencer Martin driving a Repco-Brabham BT11A Coventry Climax for Bob Jane Racing.

Calendar
The Lotus 32B with which Greg Cusack won the Examiner 1000 at Symmons Plains

The championship was contested over a six-round series with one race per round.[3]

Round[3] Race[3] Circuit[3] State Date[3] Round winner[3] Car[4]
1 Governor's Trophy Lakeside Queensland 10 July Spencer Martin Repco Brabham BT11A Coventry Climax
2 Surfers Paradise Trophy Surfers Paradise Queensland 14 August Spencer Martin Repco Brabham BT11A Coventry Climax
3 Country Club Trophy[5] Mallala South Australia 10 October John Harvey Repco Brabham BT14 Ford
4 Victorian Trophy Sandown Victoria 16 October Spencer Martin Repco Brabham BT11A Coventry Climax
5 Examiner 1000 Symmons Plains Tasmania 13 November Greg Cusack Lotus 32B Coventry Climax
6 Hordern Trophy Warwick Farm New South Wales 4 December Kevin Bartlett Repco Brabham BT11A Coventry Climax

Each round also incorporated a round of the 1966 Australian One and a Half Litre Championship.[1]

Points system

Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six finishers in each round. Only the best five round results could be obtained by each driver.[1]

The championship was open to holders of a General Competition License issued by CAMS.[1]

Results
Position[6] Driver[6][3] Car[4] Entrant[7] Lak.[6] Sur.[6] Mal.[6] San.[6] Sym.[6] War.[6] Total[6]
1 Spencer Martin Repco-Brabham BT11A Coventry Climax Bob Jane Racing 9 9 - 9 - 6 33
2 John Harvey Repco-Brabham BT14 Ford RC Phillips 4 (1) 9 3 6 4 26
3 Kevin Bartlett Repco-Brabham BT11A Coventry Climax Alec Mildren Racing 6 - - 6 - 9 21
4 Greg Cusack Lotus 32B Coventry Climax Castrol Team - 4 - - 9 3 16
5 Mike Champion Repco-Brabham BT2 Ford Competition Cars - - 6 2 - 2 10
6 John MacDonald Cooper T70 Coventry Climax Bill Patterson Motors - 3 - 4 - - 7
7 Leo Geoghegan Lotus 39 Coventry Climax Total Team - 6 - - - - 6
8 Garrie Cooper Elfin Mono Mk2B Ford Elfin Sports Cars 3 2 - - - - 5
Mel McEwin Elfin Mono Mk1 Ford Mel McEwin 2 - - - 3 - 5
10 Jack Hunnam Elfin Mono Mk1 Ford Jack Hunnam Motors - - 4 - - - 4
John McCormack Repco-Brabham BT4 Coventry Climax J McCormack - - - - 4 - 4
12 Stan Keen Elfin Mono Mk1 Ford Stan Keen - - 3 - - - 3
Glyn Scott Lotus 27 Ford Glyn Scott Motors - - - - 2 1 3
14 Dean Rainsford Elfin Catalina Ford Tudor Accessories - - 2 - - - 2
15 Ian Ferguson Elfin Catalina Ford Ian Ferguson 1 - - - - - 1
Jim Orr Austin Special Jim Orr - - 1 - - - 1
Bob Jane Elfin Mono Mk1 Ford Bob Jane Racing - - - 1 - - 1
Lyn Archer Elfin Catalina Ford L Archer Motors - - - - 1 - 1

Note:

  • Kerry Grant placed sixth at Lakeside [3] however the New Zealand driver [8] was not awarded championship points.[6]
  • Roly Levis placed sixth at Surfers Paradise [3] however the New Zealand driver [9] was not awarded championship points.[6]
  • Frank Gardner (Repco-Brabham) won the Hordern Trophy but was not awarded championship points as he was not classified as an "Australian Resident".[10]

Notes and references
  1. CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, 1966, pages 70-71
  2. CAMS Online Manual of Motor Sport > About CAMS > Titles - CAMS Gold Star Archived 3 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from www.camsmanual.com.au on 8 September 2009
  3. 1966 Gold Star races Archived 26 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from members.optusnet.com.au/dandsshaw on 8 September 2009
  4. Car details have been compiled from data in race reports published in Racing Car News magazines (as listed in Further reading) with additional data from members.optusnet.com.au/dandsshaw
  5. Official Souvenir Programme, Mallala Motor Races, Monday, 10th October 1966
  6. Gold Star Points - 1966, CAMS Report, February 1967, Page 2
  7. Entrant details have been compiled from data in race reports published in Racing Car News magazines (as listed in Further reading) with additional data from members.optusnet.com.au/dandsshaw
  8. Programme, Lakeside Gold Star, Sun. July 10 '66
  9. Official Programme, Warwick Farm, Sunday, February 13, 1966
  10. Guide to the Gold Star, page iv, Supplement to Racing Car News, August 1972

Further reading
  • Jim Shepherd, A History of Australian Motor Sport, 1980
  • Australian Motor Racing Annual, 1967
  • Martin the Master at Lakeside, Racing Car News, August 1966, pages 20–21
  • Martin Scores Magnificent Gold Star, Racing Car News, September 1966, pages 34–36
  • Harvey Wins by Large Margin, The Advertiser, 11 October 1966
  • Harvey Heads for 1½ Litre Title, Racing Car News, November 1966, page 34
  • Solid Sandown, Racing Car News, December 1966, page 18
  • Cusack's Luck Changes, Racing Car News, December 1966, pages 34–35
  • Spencer Martin – Australia's Champion, Racing Car News, January 1967, pages 28–29


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