The 1959 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula Libre motor race[1] held at the Longford Circuit in Tasmania, Australia on 2 March 1959.
| 1959 Australian Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 3 of 12 in 1959 Australian Drivers' Championship | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 2 March 1959 | ||
| Location | Longford Circuit, Longford, Tasmania | ||
| Course | Temporary road circuit | ||
| Course length | 7.242 km (4.501 miles) | ||
| Distance | 25 laps, 175 km (110 miles) | ||
| Weather | Sunny | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Maserati | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Arnold Glass | Maserati | |
| Time | 2'27 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Maserati | ||
| Second |
| Cooper-Climax | |
| Third |
| Maserati | |
The race, which had 13 starters, was the twenty fourth Australian Grand Prix and the third race of the 1959 Australian Drivers' Championship. Stan Jones won his only AGP, breaking through after years of trying with the Maybach series of specials to win in his Maserati 250F, in what would be the last Australian Grand Prix victory for a front-engined car.
The grid for the Grand Prix was determined by race times set in two qualifying races on the Saturday prior to the main race. The first heat was won by Doug Whiteford from Arnold Glass and Bill Patterson. The second heat was won by Jones in a race time almost 20 seconds shorter than Whiteford's, giving him the pole position, from Len Lukey and Alec Mildren.
Classification edit
Results as follows.[2]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Car | Entrant[3] | Laps | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Stan Jones
|
Maserati 250F / Maserati 2.5L | Stan Jones Motors Pty Ltd | 25 | 1h 11m 44s |
| 2 | 5 | Len Lukey
|
Cooper T45 / Climax FPE 2.0L | Lukey Mufflers Pty Ltd | 25 | 1h 11m 46s |
| 3 | 7 | Arnold Glass
|
Maserati 250F / Maserati 2.5L | Capitol Motors | 25 | 1h 13m 21s |
| 4 | 4 | Alec Mildren
|
Cooper T43 / Climax FPF 2.0L | AG Mildren Pty Ltd | 25 | 1h 13m 50s |
| 5 | 6 | Alan Jack
|
Cooper T39 / Climax FPE 1.5L | A Jack | 21 | |
| 6 | 14 | Lyn Archer
|
Cooper T39 / Climax 1.1L | Ecurie van Diemen | 20 | |
| Ret | 74 | Max Stephens
|
Cooper T40 / Bristol 2.0L | Max Stephens' Palm Grove Car Centre | 18 | |
| Ret | 56 | Ron Phillips
|
Cooper T33[4] / Jaguar 3.8L | J & R Phillips | 13 | |
| Ret | 19 | John Roxburgh
|
Cooper T41 / Climax 1.5L | Kingsbridge Service | 13 | |
| Ret | 60 | Austin Miller
|
Miller Special / Climax FWB 1.5L | Victorian Amateur Drivers Club Inc | 8 | |
| Ret | 3 | Ted Gray
|
Tornado Mk.II / Chevrolet 4.6L | Lou Abrahams | 4 | |
| Ret | 44 | John Lanyon
|
MG TC Special / MG 1.3L S/c[5] | Victorian Amateur Drivers Club Inc | 0 | |
| Ret | 26 | Doug Whiteford
|
Maserati 300S / Maserati 3.0L | Doug Whiteford | 0 | |
| DNS | 75[5] | Bill Patterson
|
Cooper T43[5] / Climax FPF 1.8L | Bill Patterson Motors Pty Ltd | ||
| DNQ[5] | 55[5] | John Youl[5]
|
Wylie Javelin[5] / Jowett 1.5L S/c[5] | John C Youl |
Notes edit
- Attendance: estimated in excess of 30,000 on both days[6]
- Pole position: Stan Jones – fastest heat time of 17m 18s[6]
- Starters: 13[6]
- Fastest lap: Arnold Glass – 2'27 (97.01 mph, 156.09 km/h),[2] new record[6]
- Fastest Eighth: Arnold Glass – 157.9 mph[7]
References edit
- ^ Official Yearbook of Motor Sport in Australia – 1959, published by authority of CAMS, The Australian Grand Prix – page 43
- ^ a b Howard, Graham (1986). "1959". In Howard, Graham (ed.). The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix. Gordon, NSW: R & T Publishing. pp. 248–255. ISBN 0-9588464-0-5.
- ^ Souvenir Programme, Australian Grand Prix, Longford Circuit, (1959), page 29
- ^ John B Blanden, Cooper Type 33 Jaguar, Historic Racing Cars in Australia, 1979, page 128
- ^ a b c d e f g h 1959 Gold Star Races, dandsshaw, as archived at web.archive.org
- ^ a b c d 1959 Australian Grand Prix, Australian Motors Sports, March 1959, pages 98 to 101, page 118 & page 126
- ^ 1959 Australian Grand Prix, Australian Motor Sport Review 1958–59, pages 86 & 87
Further reading edit
- Con Ryan, Jones Does It at Last, Sports Car World, April 1959, pages 58 & 59