1961 Australian Drivers' Championship
| 1961 Australian Drivers' Championship | |||
| Previous: | 1960 | Next: | 1962 |
The 1961 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title [1] for drivers of Formula Libre cars.[2] The title was contested over a five race series [3] with the winner awarded the 1961 CAMS Gold Star.[4] It was the fifth Australian Drivers' Championship.[1]
The series was dominated by Victorian racer Bill Patterson driving a Cooper T51 Climax.[2] Patterson won three of the five races and was second and fourth in the other two. He finished the series 36 points ahead of Lex Davison (Aston Martin DBR4 & Cooper T51 Coventry Climax). Bib Stillwell (Cooper T51 Coventry Climax & Cooper T53 Coventry Climax) placed third in the points standings.
The two races not won by Patterson were Longford, won by British driver Roy Salvadori in a Cooper T51 Coventry Climax and Mallala, won by Davison, also driving a Cooper T51 Coventry Climax .
Calendar
| Race [3] | Circuit [3] | Date [3] | Winning driver [3] | Car [3] | Entrant [3] | Report |
| Bakers Milk International | Longford | 6 March | Roy Salvadori | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | Jack Brabham | |
| Craven A Gold Star [5] | Mount Panorama, Bathurst | 3 April | Bill Patterson | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | Bill Patterson Motors P/L | |
| Queensland Road Race Championship | Lowood | 11 June | Bill Patterson | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | Bill Patterson Motors P/L | |
| Craven "A" Trophy | Caversham | 12 August | Bill Patterson | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | Bill Patterson Motors P/L | |
| Australian Grand Prix | Mallala | 9 October | Lex Davison | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | BS Stillwell | Report |
A sixth championship race was originally scheduled to be held Phillip Island on 10 December.[4] Although a "Racing Car Scratch Race" (The Isle of Wight Trophy) was held at the circuit on that date, a contemporary report in Australian Motor Sports magazine does not label this as a "Gold Star" race [6] and it is omitted from 1961 Gold Star championship summaries at "members.optusnet.com.au/dandsshaw" [3] and "www.oldracingcars.com" [7]
Points system
Championship points were awarded on a 12-7-5-3-2-1 basis for the first six places in each race.[4] Points were awarded only to drivers racing under an Australian license.[8] Ties were determined by the relevant competitors' placings in the Australian Grand Prix.[4]
Championship results
| Pos. | Driver [3] | Car [3] | Entrant [3] | Lon. [3] | Bat. [3] | Low. [3] | Cav. [3] | Mal. [3] | Total [3] |
| 1 | Bill Patterson | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | Bill Patterson Motors P/L | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 3 | 51 |
| 2 | Lex Davison | Aston Martin DBR4 & Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | Ecurie Australie & BS Stillwell | 3 | - | - | - | 12 | 15 |
| 3 | Bib Stillwell | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax & T53 Coventry Climax | BS Stillwell | - | 5 | - | - | 7 | 12 |
| 4 | Stan Jones | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | Stan Jones Motors Pty Ltd | - | 7 | 5 | - | - | 12 |
| 5 | Alec Mildren | Cooper T51 Maserati | AG Mildren Pty Ltd | 2 | 2 | 7 | - | - | 11 |
| 6 | John Youl | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | J Youl | 7 | - | - | - | - | 7 |
| = | Doug Green | Ferrari 500 | Reimann Motors | - | - | - | 7 | - | 7 |
| 8 | David McKay | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | Scuderia Veloce | - | 1 | - | - | 5 | 6 |
| 9 | Austin Miller | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | A Miller | 5 | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| = | Jack Ayres | Cooper Mk V Ford | J Ayres | - | - | - | 5 | - | 5 |
| 11 | Arnold Glass | Cooper T45 Maserati | Capitol Motors Pty Ltd | - | 3 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| 12 | Bruce Coventry | Lotus 18 Ford | B Coventry | - | - | 3 | - | - | 3 |
| = | Lionel Beattie | Repco Holden Sports | L Beattie | - | - | - | 3 | - | 3 |
| 14 | Murray Trenberth | Alta F2 Holden | M Trenberth | - | - | - | - | 2 | 2 |
| 15 | Noel Barnes | MG TC Special | N Barnes | - | - | 2 | - | - | 2 |
| = | Bob Annear | Pegasus Holden | R Annear | - | - | - | 2 | - | 2 |
| 17 | Eddie Clay | Cooper T23 Bristol | E Clay | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| 18 | John Roxburgh | Cooper T45 Coventry Climax | JB Roxburgh | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| = | Jim Ward | Alta GP-2 | J Ward | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 |
The opening race at Longford was won by Englishman Roy Salvadori who was not eligible for championship points.[8] First place points for that race were therefore awarded to the second placed driver, Bill Patterson.[8]
Championship name
The championship was referred to by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport in the 1961 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport simply as "The CAMS Old Star".[4] However historical records published by CAMS use the term "Australian Drivers’ Championship" [1] and that title has been used in this article.
References
- 1 2 3 Records, Titles & Awards, 2006 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-4
- 1 2 "Gold Star Winners - 1957 - 2009". formula3.com.au. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1961 Gold Star races at members.optusnet.com.au/dandsshaw via web.archive.org Retrieved on 3 June 2013
- 1 2 3 4 5 The CAMS Gold Star, 1961 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 50
- ↑ Souvenir Programme, Bathurst Gold Star Meeting, Sun. 2nd, Mon. 3 April 1961, page 5
- ↑ A Happy Christmas at phillip Island, Australian Motor Sports, February 1961, pges 42 & 43
- ↑ Australian Gold Star 1961, www.oldracingcars.com Retrieved on 4 June 2013
- 1 2 3 Patterson's victory gives him big lead for CAMS Gold Star, Sports Car World (magazine), circa May 1961