1962 Australian Touring Car Championship

1962 Australian Touring Car Championship
Previous: 1961 Next: 1963

The 1962 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title for Appendix J Touring Cars.[1][2] It was contested as a single race, staged at the Longford Circuit, in Tasmania, Australia, on 3 March 1962. The title, which was the third Australian Touring Car Championship, was won by Bob Jane, driving a Jaguar Mark 2 3.8.[3]

Classes

Cars competed in six engine capacity classes:[4]

  • Under 1000cc
  • 1000–1600cc
  • 1600–2000cc
  • 2000–2600cc
  • 2600–3500cc
  • Over 3500cc

There were no entries in the 1600–2000cc class.[4]

Race

Jaguars continued their domination of the championship in 1962. Four were entered for the event, though Ian Geoghegan was forced to withdraw his after breaking a rear axle during practice. This left the Jaguars of Bob Jane, defending champion Bill Pitt and Bill Burns to take the front row of the grid. Norm Beechey had been racing a Chevrolet Impala in other events in Australia but was unable to attend Longford.[3]

Jane led away from the start with Pitt in pursuit. However, Pitt suffered an overdrive problem during the race which allowed Jane to take an easy win, while Burns completed the podium. West was running in fourth during the final lap, but a burned piston meant he had to limp to the finish. He was passed by Brigden, who then went straight ahead at the final corner with fading brakes. West retook fourth heading onto pit straight but Brigden was able to turn around and repass West in the final 400 metres. Ross Farmer finished sixth ahead of Bob Holden, Peter Manton, who had made contact with a lapped car and pitted to check for damage, and George Maguire, the last finisher.[3]

The domination of the Jaguars was proven in the speeds taken from the flying-eighth: Jane was recorded at 134 mph while West and Brigden only managed 117 and 106 mph respectively.[3]

Results

Class winners are indicated by bold text.

Entrant Car No. Driver
Bob Jane Jaguar MkII 3.8 7 Bob Jane
Des West Holden 48-215 27 Des West
Bill Pitt Jaguar MkI 3.4 34 Bill Pitt
Bill Burns Jaguar MkI 3.4 44 Bill Burns
Dave Marshall Morris 850 52 Dave Marshall
Peter Manton Morris Cooper 55 Peter Manton
Ian Geoghegan Jaguar MkI 3.4 56 Ian Geoghegan
Frank Manley Holden FC 62 Frank Manley
Ken Brigden Peugeot 403 63 Ken Brigden
George Maguire Hillman Minx 64 George Maguire
John Hodgman Hillman Minx 65 John Hodgman
Ross Farmer Holden FJ 70 Ross Farmer
Bob Holden Peugeot 403 73 Bob Holden
Brian Higgins Holden FJ 75 Brian Higgins
Leonard Barrett Vauxhall Cresta 96 Leonard Barrett

Statistics

  • Pole position: Bob Jane[3]
  • Fastest lap: Bob Jane, 3:07.1[3]
  • Race distance: 15 laps, 108.60 km[3]
  • Average speed: 136.31 km/h[3]

References

  1. ↑ Records, Titles and Awards, 2002 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-7
  2. ↑ Major Australian Touring Car Racing Categories, Commodore 25th Anniversary, Australian Muscle Car Magazine, Special Edition, page 13
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Greenhalgh, David; Howard, Graham; Wilson, Stewart (2011). The official history: Australian Touring Car Championship - 50 Years. St Leonards, New South Wales: Chevron Publishing Group. pp. 32–36. ISBN 978-0-9805912-2-4.
  4. 1 2 "Longford Results". The Mercury. 5 March 1962. p. 17.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.