1955 Australian Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Formula Libre race | |||
| Date | 10 October 1955 | ||
| Location | Port Wakefield, South Australia | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 2.09 km (1.3 mi) | ||
| Distance | 80 laps, 167.3 km (104 mi) | ||
| Weather | Sunny | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver |
| Maserati | |
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Jack Brabham Reg Hunt |
Cooper-Bristol Maserati | |
| Time | 1'03 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Cooper-Bristol | ||
| Second |
| Maserati | |
| Third | Talbot-Lago | ||
The 1955 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Port Wakefield circuit, in South Australia on 10 October 1955. The race, which had 22 starters, was held over 80 laps of the 2.09 km (1.3 mi) circuit. It was open to cars of unlimited capacity.[1]
It was the twentieth Australian Grand Prix and the first to be held on a purpose built motor racing circuit after the previous 19 were held on closed streets or country roads, or on airfields modified for the purpose. Future World Champion Jack Brabham won his first Australian Grand Prix in a streamlined Cooper-Bristol that Brabham, having recently joined the Cooper team, had assembled himself and sent to Australia. It was the first time a rear-engined car had won the AGP, although this was seen as an upset win and a rear-engined car would not win again until 1960.
Classification
.JPG)
Results as follows.[2]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Car | Laps | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Jack Brabham |
Cooper T40 / Bristol 2.0L | 80 | 1h 26m 44.43s |
| 2 | 5 | Reg Hunt |
Maserati A6GCM / Maserati 2.5L | 80 | 1h 26m 47.54s |
| 3 | 3 | Doug Whiteford |
Talbot-Lago T26C / Talbot-Lago 4.5L | 80 | 1h 26m 48.92s |
| 4 | 10 | Kevin Neal |
Cooper T23 / Bristol 2.0L | 78 | |
| 5 | 12 | Murray Trenberth |
Vincent Special / Vincent 1.0L | 76 | |
| 6 | 16 | Keith Rilstone |
Rilstone Special / Vincent 1.0L | 75 | |
| 7 | 14 | Bill Craig |
Alta / Holden 2.4L | 75 | |
| 8 | 2 | Eldred Norman |
Eclipse Zephyr / Ford s/c 2.3L | 75 | |
| 9 | 20 | Bill Wilcox |
Ford V8 Special / Ford 4.4L | 74 | |
| 10 | 17 | Greg McEwin |
Austin-Healey 100 / Austin-Healey 2.7L | 71 | |
| 11 | 30 | Jack Johnson |
MG TC Special / MG 1.3L | 69 | |
| 12 | 7 | Charlie Whatmore |
Jaguar Special / Jaguar 3.4L | 68 | |
| 13 | 27 | Bob Burnet-Read |
MG K3 / MG 1.1L | 67 | |
| 14 | 29 | Steve Tillet |
MG TC / MG 1.4L | 66 | |
| 15 | 21 | C.N. Norris |
AC Ace / AC 2.0L | 64 | |
| Ret | 8 | Tom Hawkes |
Cooper T23 / Bristol 2.0L | ||
| Ret | 18 | Clem Smith |
Austin-Healey 100 / Austin-Healey 2.7L | ||
| Ret | 4 | Stan Jones |
Maybach Mk. 3 [3] / Maybach 3.8L | ||
| Ret | 9 | Stan Coffey |
Cooper T20 / Bristol 2.0L | ||
| Ret | 26 | Bruce Walton |
Walton / JAP 0.5L | ||
| Ret | 25 | Murray Rainey |
Cooper Mk.IX / Norton 0.5L | ||
| Ret | 23 | Bill Patterson |
Cooper Mk.V / JAP 0.5L | ||
| DNQ [2] | 35 | John Cummins |
Bugatti Type 37 / Holden 2.2L | ||
Notes
- Pole Position: Reg Hunt [4]
- Fastest lap: Jack Brabham/Reg Hunt - 1'03
- Number of starters: 22 [2]
References
- ↑ Grand Prix in October, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Wednesday 3 August 1955, page 10, trove.nla.gov.au Retrieved 27 June 2015
- 1 2 3 Howard, Graham (1986). "1955". In Howard, Graham. The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix. Gordon, NSW: R & T Publishing. pp. 206–217. ISBN 0-9588464-0-5.
- ↑ John B Blanden, Maybach Mk. 3, Historic Racing Cars in Australia, 1979, pages 230 to 231
- ↑ 30,000 see thrilling Grand Prix, The Advertiser , Tuesday, 11 October 1955, page 3
External links
- Image of Jack Brabham (Cooper Bristol) contesting the 1955 Australian Grand Prix, www.jack-brabham-engines.com via web.archive.org
- Images from Port Wakefield, 1955, aussieroadracing.homestead.com via web.archive.org
| Preceded by 1954 Australian Grand Prix |
Australian Grand Prix 1955 |
Succeeded by 1956 Australian Grand Prix |