1953 Australian Grand Prix

1953 Australian Grand Prix
Formula Libre race
Race details
Date 21 November 1953
Location Albert Park, Melbourne, Victoria
Course Temporary street circuit
Course length 5.03 km (3.125 mi)
Distance 64 laps, 321.92 km (250 mi)
Weather Sunny
Fastest lap
Driver Australia Stan Jones Maybach Special
Time 2'03
Podium
First
Talbot-Lago
Second
  • Australia Curley Brydon
 MG Special
Third
  • Australia Andy Brown
 MG
The start of the 1953 Australian Grand Prix
The 9th placed Wylie Javelin of Ken & Arthur Wylie, pictured in 2015
The 12th placed BWA of Alf Barrett and Julian Barrett, pictured in 2015
The Maybach Special Mk.1, in which Stan Jones set fastest lap of the race, pictured in 2000

The 1953 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula Libre [1] motor race held at Albert Park Street Circuit, Victoria on 21 November 1953. The race, which had 40 starters, was held over 64 laps of the five kilometre circuit for a total of 322 kilometres. It was organised by the Light Car Club of Australia and Army Southern Command.[2]

It was the eighteenth Australian Grand Prix. While much of the Grand Prix's history to this point had taken place on public road or street circuits, this was the first time it had been held on a circuit in a major population centre. The circuit was laid out on public roads surrounding the Albert Park Lake in inner Melbourne.

The race was won by Doug Whiteford, his third and final Australian Grand Prix victory, equalling the feat achieved by Bill Thompson in the 1930s. It was also the largest margin of victory in the race's history, Whiteford winning by five laps for a margin of 25 kilometres.

Classification

Results as follows.[3]

PosNo.DriverCar / EngineEntrant [2]LapsTime
1 1 Australia Doug Whiteford Talbot-Lago T26C / Talbot-Lago 4.5L D Whiteford 64 2h 24m 50s
2 26 Australia Curley Brydon MG TC Special / MG s/c 1.3L H Brydon 59
3 22 Australia Andy Brown MG K3 / MG 1.1L AG Brown
4 23 Australia Les Murphy MG Q / MG 0.7L LP Murphy
5 30 Australia Lou Molina MM Special / Holden 2.3L L Molina
6 32 Australia Jim Leach Austin-Healey 100 / Austin-Healey 2.7L CR Dickason
7 7 Australia Frank Kleinig Kleinig-Hudson 8 Special / Hudson 4.4L F Kleinig
8 38 Australia Stuart Charge Austin-Healey 100 / Austin-Healey 2.7L LJ Gray
9 19 Australia Ken Wylie
Australia Arthur Wylie		 Wylie Javelin / Jowett s/c 1.5L AJ Wylie
10 16 Australia Reg Hunt Allard J2 / Cadillac 4.4L RH Hunt
11 33 Australia Bib Stillwell Austin-Healey 100 / Austin-Healey 2.7L BS Stillwell
12 17 Australia Alf Barrett [4]
Australia Julian Barrett [4]		 BWA Special / Frazer Nash 1.5L J Barrett
13 40 Australia Neil Charge MG TC Special / MG 1.3L N and S Charge
14 35 Australia Frank Lobb Jaguar XK120 / Jaguar 3.4L F Lobb
15 9 Australia Ted McKinnon Maserati 6C / Maserati 1.5L ED McKinnon
16 42 Australia John Nind MG TB Special / MG 1.3L JP Nind
17 60 Australia Bill Patterson Cooper Mk.V / JAP 0.5L
18 31 Australia Syd Negus Plymouth Special / Plymouth 3.1L SA Negus
Ret 2 Australia Stan Jones Maybach Special Mk.1 / Maybach 4.3L Ecurie Australie 56
Ret 34 Australia John Calvert Jaguar XK120 / Jaguar 3.4L J Calvert
Ret 6 Australia Peter Vennermark
Australia Cec Warren [5]		 Maserati 4CL / Maserati 1.5L C Warren 51
Ret 65 Australia Harry Thompson
Australia Wal Gillespie [6]		 HRG Special 51
Ret Australia Haig Hurst Allard K2 / Ford 4.4L
Ret 25 Australia Phillip Catlin Bugatti T51A / Bugatti 1.5L PC Catlin
Ret 37 Australia Peter McKenna BMW 328 / BMW 2.0L P McKenna
Ret 24 Australia Reg Nutt Talbot-Darracq / Talbot 1.5L RJ Nutt 14
Ret 18 Australia Don McDonald Austin A40 Special / Austin 1.3L Weir and Male Motors
Ret 12 Australia Arthur Chick Bugatti T37 / Bugatti 2.0L AE Chick
Ret 3 Australia Lex Davison HWM F2 / Jaguar 3.4L Ecurie Australie 3
Ret 10 Australia W.H. Hayes Ford V8 Special / Ford 4.4L WH Hayes
Ret 11 Australia Ted Gray Alta / Ford 4.3L E Gray
Ret 15 Australia Bill Wilcox Ford V8 Special / Ford 4.3L W Wilcox
Ret 20 Australia Jim Gullan MG K3 / MG 1.1L J Gullan
Ret 27 Australia Phil Harrison Dodge Special / Dodge 4.0L PG Harrison
Ret 28 Australia Les O'Donaghue Ballot / Oldsmobile 3.9L LF O'Donoghue
Ret 39 Australia Jack O'Dea MG Special / MG 1.3L JH O'Dea
Ret [7] 45 Australia Gordon Greig Cooper Mk.IV / JAP
Ret Australia Ron Phillips Allard K2 / Ford 4.4L
Ret Australia Vin Maloney MG TC Special / MG 1.3L
Ret 64 Australia Silvio Massolla HRG Special / HRG 1.5L
DNS [8] 5 Australia Jack Brabham Cooper / Bristol 2.0L JA Brabham

Notes

  • Winner's average speed: 82.85 mph [9]
  • Fastest lap: Stan Jones – 2'03

References

  1. ↑ Racing into history, A look back at the 1953 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, Australian Grand Prix Corporation, 2013, page 6
  2. 1 2 Official Souvenir Programme, XVIIIth Australian Grand Prix
  3. ↑ Howard, Graham (1986). "1953". In Howard, Graham. The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix. Gordon, NSW: R & T Publishing. pp. 182–191. ISBN 0-9588464-0-5.
  4. 1 2 Alf Barrett: ‘The Maestro’: Alfa Romeo 8C2300 Monza, primotipo.com Retrieved 21 November 2015
  5. ↑ The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix page 189 states that Peter Vennermark drove Warren's car at the start and page 190 states that Vennermark handed over to Warren during the race.
  6. ↑ The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix page 189 states that Thompson and Gillespie both drove car 65.
  7. ↑ Gordon Greig is listed as a DNS in the Entry List on page 191 of in The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix, but is also listed under Retirements on the same page. The caption for the image on page 185 of the same book implies that Greig competed in the race.
  8. ↑ Brabham is mentioned as a non-starter (due to mechanical problems in practice) on page 186 of The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix.
  9. ↑ Official Programme, Sandown, 9 February 1964, page 23
Preceded by
1952 Australian Grand Prix		 Australian Grand Prix
1953		 Succeeded by
1954 Australian Grand Prix
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