1968 Australian Grand Prix

The 1968 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at Sandown Park in Victoria, Australia on 25 February 1968. The race was open to Racing Cars complying with the Australian National Formula or the Australian 1½ Litre Formula.[2] It was the thirty third Australian Grand Prix and was also round seven of the 1968 Tasman Series. The race was staged by the Light Car Club of Australia[3] and was sponsored by the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria.[1]

1968 Australian Grand Prix
Race 7 of 8 in 1968 Tasman Series
Race details
Date 25 February [1] 1968
Location Sandown Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 3.1 km (1.92 mi)
Distance 55 laps, 170.5 km (105.6 mi)
Weather Sunny
Pole position
Driver
Repco Brabham
Time 1'06.7
Fastest lap
Driver Chris Amon Ferrari
Time 1'07.0 (166.7 km/h, 103.6 mph)
Podium
First
Lotus-Ford Cosworth
Second
Ferrari
Third
Lotus-Ford Cosworth
Jim Clark won the race driving a Lotus 49T, similar to the Lotus 49B pictured above
Chris Amon placed second driving a Dino 246 Tasmania, similar to that pictured above

Jim Clark, driving a Lotus 49T, won by 0.1 seconds from Chris Amon (Dino 246), with whom he battled for the lead throughout the race. Clark's victory was rewarded with the Lex Davison Trophy and the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria Trophy.[1] It proved to be the last major victory for the Scotsman. Twice winner of the World Championship of Drivers, three-time Tasman Series champion and the winner of the 1965 Indianapolis 500, Clark was killed in a Formula 2 crash at the Hockenheim circuit in West Germany six weeks after the race.

In his last drive in an Australian Grand Prix, Jack Brabham started the race from pole position but retired with engine failure. Chris Amon set the fastest race lap.

Leo Geoghegan (Lotus 39 Repco V8) was the first Australian resident driver to finish,[4] an achievement which was rewarded with the Langridge Cup.[1]

Classification

Results as follows:[5][3]

PosNo.DriverEntrant [1]CarLapsTime /
Comment
1 6 Jim Clark Gold Leaf Team Lotus with Ford Australia Lotus 49T / Ford Cosworth DFW 2.5 [6] 55 1h 02m 40.3s
2 4 Chris Amon C. Amon Dino 246 Tasmania / Ferrari V6 2.4 55 1h 02m 40.4s
3 5 Graham Hill Gold Leaf Team Lotus with Ford Australia Lotus 49T / Ford Cosworth DFW 2.5 [6] 55 1h 03m 39.6s
4 8 Frank Gardner Alec Mildren Racing Pty. Ltd. Brabham BT23D / Alfa Romeo V8 2.5 55 1h 03m 39.8s
5 18 Piers Courage P. Courage McLaren M4A / Ford Cosworth FVA [7] 54
6 12 Richard Attwood Owen Racing Organisation BRM P126 / BRM V12 2.5 53
7 10 Leo Geoghegan Geoghegan Racing Division Lotus 39 / Repco V8 2.5 53
8 9 Kevin Bartlett Alec Mildren Racing Pty. Ltd. Brabham BT11A / Coventry Climax FPF 53
9 1 Denny Hulme Racing Team S.A. Repco Brabham BT23 / Ford Cosworth FVA [8] 50
Ret 2 Jack Brabham Ecurie Vitesse S.A. Repco Brabham BT23E / Repco V8 2.5 [9] 21 Engine
Ret 7 Greg Cusack Scuderia Veloce Repco Brabham BT23A / Repco V8 2.5 [9] 21 ??
Ret 3 John Harvey Bob Jane Racing Team Repco Brabham BT11A / Repco V8 2.5 [9] 16 Gearbox
Ret 11 Pedro Rodriguez Owen Racing Organisation BRM P126 / BRM V12 2.5 10 Engine

Notes
  • Attendance: 12,000 [3]
  • Winner's average speed: 101.5 mph (163.3 km/h) [10]

References
  1. Official Programme, 33rd Australian Grand Prix, Sandown, 25 February (1968)
  2. Conditions for Australian Titles, 1968 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, p. 70
  3. White, Des (1986). "1968". In Howard, Graham (ed.). The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix. Gordon, NSW: R & T Publishing. pp. 328–335. ISBN 0-9588464-0-5.
  4. Tasman Cliff-Hanger!, Sports Car World, April 1968, pages 20 & 21
  5. XXXIII Australian Grand Prix, www.tasman-series.com, as archived at web.archive.org
  6. Australian Grand Prix, Sandown Park, 25 Feb 1968, www.oldracingcars.com Retrieved 19 November 2017
  7. The Sports Car World race report lists the Courage car as a McLaren Ford.
  8. The car of Hulme was entered in the Official Programme as a "Repco Brabham Ford".
  9. The cars of Brabham, Cusack & Harvey were in each case entered in the Official Programme as a "Repco Brabham".
  10. The official history of the Australian Grand Prix – 80 Races, p. 245
Preceded by
1968 Warwick Farm International		 Tasman Series
1968		 Succeeded by
1968 South Pacific Trophy
Preceded by
1967 Australian Grand Prix		 Australian Grand Prix
1968		 Succeeded by
1969 Australian Grand Prix
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.