1968 Australian Grand Prix

  1968 Australian Grand Prix

Race details
Race 7 of 8 in 1968 Tasman Series
Date	20 February 1968
Location	Sandown Raceway, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	3.1 km (1.92 mi)
Distance	55 laps, 170.5 km (105.6 mi)
Weather	Sunny
Pole position
Driver	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco
Time	1'06.7
Fastest lap
Driver	Chris Amon	Ferrari
Time	1'07.0
Podium
First	Jim Clark	Lotus-Cosworth
Second	Chris Amon	Ferrari
Third	Graham Hill	Lotus-Cosworth

The 1968 Australian Grand Prix was a race held at Sandown International Raceway on 20 February 1968.

It was the thirty third Australian Grand Prix and doubled as round seven of the 1968 Tasman Series. In his last ever drive in an Australian Grand Prix, Jack Brabham started the race on pole, while Chris Amon drove the fastest race lap.

The race proved to be the last major victory for Scotsman Jim Clark. A dual Formula One World Champion in 1963 and 1965, three-time Tasman Series champion, and the winner of the 1965 Indianapolis 500, he was killed in a Formula 2 crash at the Hockenheim circuit in West Germany just 6 weeks after the race. A talented driver who could drive and win in anything from purpose built Open-wheel race cars to production based saloons, Jim Clark is widely recognised not only as one of the best drivers of his generation, but one of the best in the history of motor racing.

Classification

Results as follows:^[1][2]

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Car	Laps	Time
1	6	Jim Clark	Gold Leaf Team Lotus	Lotus 49T / Cosworth DFV 2.5	55	1h 02m 40.3s
2	4	Chris Amon	C. Amon	Ferrari 246T / Ferrari V6 2.4	55	1h 02m 40.4s
3	5	Graham Hill	Gold Leaf Team Lotus	Lotus 49T / Cosworth DFV 2.5	55	1h 03m 39.6s
4	8	Frank Gardner	Alec Mildren Racing	Brabham BT23D / Alfa Romeo V8 2.5	55	1h 03m 39.8s
5	18	Piers Courage	Piers Courage	McLaren M4A / Cosworth FVA	54
6	12	Richard Attwood	Owen Racing Org.	BRM P126 / BRM V12 2.5	53
7	10	Leo Geoghegan	Geoghegan Racing Div.	Lotus 39 / Repco V8 2.5	53
8	9	Kevin Bartlett	Alec Mildren Racing	Brabham BT11A / Climax FPF	53
9	1	Denny Hulme	Racing Team S.A.	Brabham BT23 / Cosworth FVA	50
Ret	2	Jack Brabham	Ecurie Vitesse	Brabham BT23E / Repco V8 2.5	21	Engine
Ret	7	Greg Cusack	Scuderia Veloce	Brabham BT23A / Repco V8 2.5	21	??
Ret	3	John Harvey	Bob Jane Racing	Brabham BT11A / Repco V8 2.5	16	Gearbox
Ret	11	Pedro Rodriguez	Owen Racing Org.	BRM P126 / BRM V12 2.5	10	Engine

References

1. "XXXIII Australian Grand Prix". tasman-series.com. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
2. White, Des (1986). "1968". In Howard, Graham. The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix. Gordon, NSW: R & T Publishing. pp. 328–335. ISBN 0-9588464-0-5.