1952 Australian Grand Prix
The 1952 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula Libre motor race held at the Mount Panorama Circuit near Bathurst, in New South Wales, Australia on 14 April 1952. The race had 43 starters and was held over 38 laps of the six kilometre circuit, a total distance of 235 kilometres. A crowd of 15,000 watched the race,[1] which was organised by the Australian Sporting Car Club.[2]
1952 Australian Grand Prix | |||
---|---|---|---|
Formula Libre race | |||
Race details | |||
Date | 14 April 1952 | ||
Location | Mount Panorama Circuit, Bathurst, New South Wales | ||
Course | Temporary road circuit | ||
Course length | 6.12 km (3.84 mi) | ||
Distance | 38 laps, 234.8 km (145.92 mi) | ||
Weather | Sunny | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Talbot-Lago | ||
Fastest lap | |||
Driver | Doug Whiteford | Talbot-Lago | |
Time | 3'02 | ||
Podium | |||
First | Talbot-Lago | ||
Second | Maybach Special | ||
Third | Alfa Romeo-Alvis |
The race, which is recognised by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as the seventeenth Australian Grand Prix, was won by Doug Whiteford driving a Talbot-Lago T26C Formula One car. It was Whiteford's second Australian Grand Prix victory.
Classification
Results as follows.[2]
Pos | No. | Driver | Car / Engine | Entrant [3] | Laps | Time / Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Doug Whiteford | Talbot-Lago T26C / Talbot-Lago 4.5L | D Whiteford | 38 | 1h 57m 44s |
2 | 3 | Stan Jones | Maybach Special Mk.1 / Maybach 4.3L | SJ Jones | 38 | 2h 02m 04s |
3 | 13 | Bill Murray | Alfa Romeo Tipo B / Alvis 4.4L | W Murray | 38 | 2h 05m 08s |
4 | 5 | Jack Murray | Allard J2 / Cadillac 4.4L | JE Murray | 38 | 2h 06m 04s |
5 | 30 | Harry Monday | Mercury Special / Mercury 4.0L | HS Monday | 38 | 2h 09m 34s |
6 | 15 | Tom Sulman | Maserati 4CL / Maserati 1.5L | TN Sulman | 38 | 2h 11m 05s |
7 | 27 | Clive Adams | Prad / Ford 2.2L | CE Adams | 38 | 2h 11m 16s |
8 | 41 | David McKay | MG TC Special / MG 1.3L | D McKay | 38 [4] | 2h 13m 21s |
9 | 43 | Peter Critchley | MG TB Special / MG 1.3L | Better Used Cars NSW | 38 [4] | 2h 15m 27s |
10 | 33 | J.S. Moody | Jaguar XK120 / Jaguar 3.4L | JS Moody | 37 | Flagged off [4] |
11 | 19 | Arthur Griffiths | MG TC Special / MG 1.3L | AA Griffiths | 36 | Flagged off [4] |
12 | 44 | Ron Ward | MG TC Special / MG 1.3L | RS Ward | 35 | Flagged off [4] |
13 | 35 | Bill McLachlan | Bugatti Type 37A / Ford 3.6L | DA McLachlan | 34 | Flagged off [4] |
14 | 32 | John Calvert | Jaguar XK120 / Jaguar 3.4L | J Calvert | 34 | Flagged off [4] |
15 | 16 | Puss Catlin [4] Peter Menere [4] |
Bugatti Type 35B / Bugatti s/c 2.3L | P Menere | 34 | Flagged off [4] |
16 | 11 | Jack Saywell | Cooper Mk.V / JAP 1.0L | J Saywell | 32 | Flagged off [4] |
17 | 40 | Silvio Massola | HRG Special / HRG 1.5L | S Massola | 29 | Flagged off [4] |
Ret | 42 | John Nind | MG TB Special / MG 1.3L | JP Nind | 34 | |
Ret | 39 | T.G. Humphries | HRG Special / HRG 1.5L | TG Humphries | 33 | |
Ret | 46 | Phil Harrison | MG TD Special / MG 1.3L | PC Harrison | 27 | |
Ret | 18 | Curley Brydon | MG TC Special / MG s/c 1.3L | AH Brydon | 27 | Split fuel tank [4] |
Ret | 38 | Ron Reid | Terraplane Special / Terraplane 3.6L | RM Reid | 24 | Engine noise [2] |
Ret | 36 | Alec Mildren | Riley Nine Imp / Riley 1.5L | AG Mildren | 24 | Black flagged [4] |
Ret | 26 | Bill Wilcox | Dodge Special / Dodge 4.0L | WH Wilcox | 24 | Black flagged [4] |
Ret | 22 | Harry Thompson | HRG / HRG 1.5L | Redex Products NSW | 24 | |
Ret | 21 | Ian Mountain | MYF / Ford 4.2L | IK Mountain | 24 | |
Ret | 34 | Frank Roberts | Jaguar XK120 / Jaguar 3.4L | FK Roberts | 23 | |
Ret | 17 | Julian Barrett | BWA Special / Frazer Nash 1.5L | J St. Q Barrett | 19 | |
Ret | 28 | Peter Lowe | Bugatti Type 37 / Holden 2.2L | PS Lowe | 17 | Distributor [5] |
Ret | 11 | Stan Mossetter | Rizzo Riley Special / Riley 1.5L | S Mossetter | 16 | |
Ret | 4 | Wally Feltham | Alta / Alta 2.0L | WD Feltham | 15 | |
Ret | 7 | John Crouch | Cooper Mk.V / JAP 1.1L | JF Crouch | 15 | Suspension [4] |
Ret | 25 | George Pearse | MG TC Special / MG | GE Pearse | 12 | |
Ret | 12 | Dick Bland | Riley Dixon [3] / Riley 1.5L | AG Mildren | 11 | |
Ret | 20 | Jesse Griffiths | George Reed Special / Ford 4.0L | JJ Griffiths | 11 | |
Ret | 24 | Vin Maloney | MG TC Special / MG 1.3L | VA Maloney | 11 | |
Ret | 23 | Dick Cobden | Cooper Mk.V / JAP 0.5L | R Cobden | 10 | Dropped valve [4] |
Ret | 14 | Eldred Norman | Maserati 6C / Maserati 1.5L | E de B Norman | 10 | Blow off valve [4] |
Ret | 8 | Lloyd Hirst [6] | Cooper Mk.V / JAP 1.1L | FL Hirst | 8 | |
Ret | 10 | Mischa Ravdell [7] | Cooper Mk.V / Vincent 1.0L | M Ravdell | 7 | |
Ret | 6 | Bill Craig | Cooper Mk.V / JAP 1.1L | WJ Craig | 6 | |
Ret | 9 | Frank Kleinig | Kleinig-Hudson 8 Special / Hudson 4.4L | F Kleinig | 4 | Valve spring [4] |
Ret | 31 | Ken Tubman | MG K3 Magnette [4] / MG 1.1L | KV Tubman | 1 | |
DNS | 29 | Peter McKenna [4] | BMW 328 / BMW 2.0L | P McKenna | - | Practised [4] |
DNS | 45 | Ron Feast [4] | MG TB Special / MG 1.3L | RJ Feast | - | Practised [4] |
DNS | 2 | Lex Davison [8] | Alfa Romeo P3 [9] | AN Davison | - | Timing gear [8] |
Note: Competitors still running when the winner completed the race were allowed to continue racing [2] until the race time limit flag was shown.[4] Nine cars completed the full race distance and a further eight were "flagged off".[4]
Notes
- Starters: 43 [1]
- Winner's average speed: 76 mph [4]
- Fastest lap: Doug Whiteford – 3'02
- Fastest speed through quarter-mile: Stan Jones (Maybach), 141.8 mph [4]
Handicap
The race incorporated a concurrent handicap award which was won by Harry Monday (Mercury Special), 12 seconds ahead of Doug Whiteford.[2] Minor placings were taken by Bill Murray, Clive Adams and David McKay.[10]
This was to be the last Australian Grand Prix to include a handicap section.[2]
References & notes
- Whiteford Wins Grand Prix Again, Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday 15 April 1952, page 1, as archived at trove.nla.gov.au
- Howard, Graham (1986). "1952". In Howard, Graham (ed.). The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix. Gordon, NSW: R & T Publishing. pp. 170–180. ISBN 0-9588464-0-5.
- Official Programme, Bathurst Car Races, 14th April 1952
- Easter Monday at Bathurst, Australian Motor Sport, May 1952, pages 26-39
- The official history of the Australian Grand Prix - 80 Years
- Howard uses both Lloyd and Wayne as the first name for Hirst. The Official Programme lists the Entrant and Driver of Car 8 as FL Hirst and makes refers to "Lloyd Hirst" in the Grand Prix Personalities section.
- Howard lists Mischa Randell as the driver of Car 10 however the Official Programme lists the Entrant and Driver as M Ravdell
- Vic. Driver Wins Grand Prix, National Advocate, Tuesday 15 April 1952, page 2, as archived at trove.nla.gov.au
- John B. Blandenm HIstoric Racing Cars in Australia, pages 20 & 21
- John Medley, Bathurst - Cradle of Australian Motor Sport, page 139
External links
- Whiteford Wins Grand Prix Again, Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday 15 April 1952, page 1 - via trove.nla.gov.au
- 1952 Australian Grand Prix, Bathurst, www.youtube.com
Preceded by 1951 Australian Grand Prix |
Australian Grand Prix 1952 |
Succeeded by 1953 Australian Grand Prix |