1959 Australian Drivers' Championship

1959 Australian Drivers' Championship
Previous: 1958 Next: 1960

The 1959 Australian Drivers Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Formula Libre cars. The championship winner was awarded the 1959 CAMS Gold Star.

The series was won by Victorian racer Len Lukey driving his Cooper T45 Climax and in the opening round of the series his own much modified Cooper T23 which was known as the Lukey-Bristol. Lukey was one of only a few drivers who attempted to complete the gruelling twelve race schedule, the longest in ADC history. Lukey finished just two points ahead of his season long rival, Alec Mildren from the ACT [1] (Cooper-Climax). Stan Jones was third in the championship, using four different cars over the course of the series. Race victories were shared around with Mildren taking three wins. Lukey, Jones and Bill Patterson each took two wins, with single victories going to Jack Brabham, Bib Stillwell and New Zealand Maserati 250F racer Ross Jensen.

Calendar

The title, which was the third Australian Drivers' Championship,[2] was contested over a twelve race series.[3][4]

Rd. Date [4] Race Circuit Location Winner
1 26 January South Pacific Championship Gnoo Blas Motor Racing Circuit Orange, New South Wales Jack Brabham*
2 22 February Victorian Trophy Fisherman's Bend Melbourne, Victoria Alec Mildren
3 2 March Australian Grand Prix Longford Circuit Longford, Tasmania Stan Jones
4 28 March South Australian Trophy Race Port Wakefield Circuit Port Wakefield, South Australia Stan Jones
5 30 March Bathurst 100 Mount Panorama Circuit Bathurst, New South Wales Ross Jensen*
6 14 June Lowood Trophy Lowood Airfield Circuit Lowood, Queensland Alec Mildren
7 30 August Queensland Centenary Road Race Lowood Airfield Circuit Lowood, Queensland Alec Mildren
8 4 October New South Wales Road Racing Championship Mount Panorama Circuit Bathurst, New South Wales Bib Stillwell
9 12 October The Advertiser Trophy Port Wakefield Circuit Port Wakefield, South Australia Bill Patterson
10 24 October Western Australian Road Race Championship Caversham Caversham, Western Australia Len Lukey
11 22 November Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit Phillip Island, Victoria Bill Patterson
12 13 December Phillip Island Trophy Race Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit Phillip Island, Victoria Len Lukey

Points

Championship points were awarded on a 12-7-5-3-2-1 basis to the first six Australian drivers at each race, irrespective of actual race placings gained. Only the best nine race results could be retained by each driver.[5] Additionally only Australian resident drivers could score points which precluded Gnos Blas winner Jack Brabham and Bathurst 100 winner Ross Jensen from being able to score points towards the championship.

Results

Position[6] Driver [6] Car Entrant Points[6]
1 Len Lukey Cooper T23 Bristol
Cooper T43 Climax		 Lukey Mufflers Pty Ltd 68
2 Alec Mildren Cooper T43 Climax
Cooper T45 Climax		 AG Mildren Pty Ltd 66
3 Stan Jones Maybach Special Chevrolet
Maserati 250F
Cooper T51 Climax
Sabakat/Lotus 12 Climax 		Stan Jones Motors 44
4 Bill Patterson Cooper T43 Climax
Cooper T51 Climax		 Bill Patterson Motors P/L 36
5 Arnold Glass Ferrari 555 Super Squalo
Maserati 250F		 Capital Motors 23
6 Doug Whiteford Maserati 300S D Whiteford 18

Note: Only the top six pointscorers are shown in the above table.

References

  1. ↑ 1961 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 51
  2. ↑ CAMS Gold Star Retrieved from www.camsmanual.com.au on 15 July 2009
  3. ↑ Australian Motor Sport Review, 1958-59, pages 82
  4. 1 2 Guide to The Gold Star, Supplement to Racing Car News, August 1970, page ii
  5. ↑ CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, 1959, page 44
  6. 1 2 3 Jim Shepherd, A History of Australian Motor Sport, 1980, page 63

Further reading

External links

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