1959 Australian Grand Prix

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 Australia Arnold Glass Maserati
Time 2'27
Podium
First
Maserati
Second
  • Australia Len Lukey
 Cooper-Climax
Third
  • Australia Arnold Glass
 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
A Maserati 250F, similar to the car driven to victory in the 1959 Australian Grand Prix by Stan Jones

Results as follows.[2]

Pos No. Driver Car Entrant[3] Laps Time
1 1 Australia Stan Jones Maserati 250F / Maserati 2.5L Stan Jones Motors Pty Ltd 25 1h 11m 44s
2 5 Australia Len Lukey Cooper T45 / Climax FPE 2.0L Lukey Mufflers Pty Ltd 25 1h 11m 46s
3 7 Australia Arnold Glass Maserati 250F / Maserati 2.5L Capitol Motors 25 1h 13m 21s
4 4 Australia Alec Mildren Cooper T43 / Climax FPF 2.0L AG Mildren Pty Ltd 25 1h 13m 50s
5 6 Australia Alan Jack Cooper T39 / Climax FPE 1.5L A Jack 21
6 14 Australia Lyn Archer Cooper T39 / Climax 1.1L Ecurie van Diemen 20
Ret 74 Australia Max Stephens Cooper T40 / Bristol 2.0L Max Stephens' Palm Grove Car Centre 18
Ret 56 Australia Ron Phillips Cooper T33[4] / Jaguar 3.8L J & R Phillips 13
Ret 19 Australia John Roxburgh Cooper T41 / Climax 1.5L Kingsbridge Service 13
Ret 60 Australia Austin Miller Miller Special / Climax FWB 1.5L Victorian Amateur Drivers Club Inc 8
Ret 3 Australia Ted Gray Tornado Mk.II / Chevrolet 4.6L Lou Abrahams 4
Ret 44 Australia John Lanyon MG TC Special / MG 1.3L S/c[5] Victorian Amateur Drivers Club Inc 0
Ret 26 Australia Doug Whiteford Maserati 300S / Maserati 3.0L Doug Whiteford 0
DNS 75[5] Australia Bill Patterson Cooper T43[5] / Climax FPF 1.8L Bill Patterson Motors Pty Ltd
DNQ[5] 55[5] Australia John Youl[5] Wylie Javelin[5] / Jowett 1.5L S/c[5] John C Youl

Notes
  • 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
  1. Official Yearbook of Motor Sport in Australia – 1959, published by authority of CAMS, The Australian Grand Prix – page 43
  2. 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.
  3. Souvenir Programme, Australian Grand Prix, Longford Circuit, (1959), page 29
  4. John B Blanden, Cooper Type 33 Jaguar, Historic Racing Cars in Australia, 1979, page 128
  5. 1959 Gold Star Races, dandsshaw, as archived at web.archive.org
  6. 1959 Australian Grand Prix, Australian Motors Sports, March 1959, pages 98 to 101, page 118 & page 126
  7. 1959 Australian Grand Prix, Australian Motor Sport Review 1958–59, pages 86 & 87

Further reading
  • Con Ryan, Jones Does It at Last, Sports Car World, April 1959, pages 58 & 59
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