The 1956 Argus Trophy was a Formula Libre motor race held at the Albert Park Circuit in Victoria, Australia on 18 March 1956.[1] The race was contested over 48 laps, a total distance of 150 miles.[1] It was staged by the Light Car Club of Australia[1] as the feature event on the second Sunday of the two-day "Moomba Meeting", which was held with the co-operation of the Moomba Festival organisers.[2]

The race was won by Reg Hunt driving a Maserati 250F.[2]

Results

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A Maserati 250F, similar to the car driven to victory in the 1956 Argus Trophy by Reg Hunt
Position[2] Driver[2] No.[2] Car[2] Entrant[2] Laps[2]
1 Reg Hunt 2 Maserati 250F R. H. Hunt & Co. Pty. Ltd. 48
2 Lex Davison 4 Ferrari Type 500[3] Ecurie Australie[4] 48
3 Kevin Neal 3 Maserati A6GCM[5] R. H. Hunt & Co. Pty. Ltd.[6] 47
4 Tom Hawkes 7 Cooper Type 23 Repco Holden[7] T. V. Hawkes 45
5 Bib Stillwell 44 Jaguar D-Type B. S. Stillwell 45
6 Arthur Griffiths 5 HWM Jaguar 45
7 Ken Wylie 26 Cooper Mark V Norton K. Wylie 39
8 E. Milthorpe 16 Ford V8 Special E. C. Milthorpe 39
9 Alex Strachan 80 Lotus Mark VI Coventry Climax A. W. Strachan 38
10 H. Thompson 28 HRG H. Thompson 37
11 Jock Cummins 19 Bugatti Type 37A Holden J. K. Cummins 37
12 Harry McLaughlin 14[8] Ford V8 Special 29
13 Julian Barrett 10 BWA s/c J. S. Barrett 28
14 Bruce Walton & Ted Gray 12 Tornado L. J. Abrahams & L. W. Gray 25
15 Reg Smith 8 Cooper Type 40 Bristol[9] R. Smith 24
16 Bill Craig 11 Alta Holden W. J. Craig 21
17 K. McConville 17 Austin Special K. H. McConville 21
18 Bill Wilcox 9[10] Alta s/c 18
19 G. Nankervis 24 NR MG s/c[1] G. Nankervis 13
20 E. Perkins 25 Volkswagen Special s/c E. B. Perkins 5
21 Noel Wade 23 Austin A40 Special s/c N. Wade 2
22 E. Clay 21 HRG E. A. Clay 0
  • Starters: 22[2]
  • Winner's race time: 1:28:32[2]
  • Fastest lap: Reg Hunt, Maserati 250F, 1:59, 94.5 mph[2]
  • Attendance: 70,000[2]

Notes & references

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  1. ^ a b c d Official Programme, 18 March 1956, Second Day, The Argus Moomba Motor Races, Albert Park Circuit
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l JR Horman, Albert Park, Australian Motor Sports, April 1956, pages 136 to 143
  3. ^ John B Blanden, Historic Racing Cars in Australia, 1979, page 146
  4. ^ Maserati versus Ferrari at Moomba, Australian Motor Manual, April 1956, pages 58 & 59
  5. ^ John B Blanden, Historic Racing Cars in Australia, 1979, page 221
  6. ^ Car 3 is listed in the Official Programme with RH Hunt & Co Pty Ltd as the entrant and no nominated driver. Car 6 is listed in the Official Programme with RH Hunt & Co Pty Ltd as the entrant and KP Neal as the nominated driver. The "Albert Park Lap Times" chart for the Argus Trophy as published in Australian Motor Sports, April 1956, page 140, indicates that Neal drove car 3 and that car 6 did not contest that race.
  7. ^ John B Blanden, Historic Racing Cars in Australia, 1979, page 98
  8. ^ Car 14 is listed in the Official Programme as a Ford with W Wilcox as the Entrant & Driver. The meeting report in Australian Motor Sport makes reference to McLaughlin driving the ex-Wilcox Ford V8.
  9. ^ John B Blanden, Historic Racing Cars in Australia, 1979, page 103
  10. ^ Car 9 is listed in the Official Programme as an Alta s/c with JH Scorer as the Entrant & Driver. The meeting report in Australian Motor Sport makes reference to the car being bought by Bill Wilcox and being driven by him in the Argus Trophy.
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