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2013 OFFICIAL SOUVENIR PROGRAM

RACING INTO HISTORYA look back at the

1953 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park

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2013 OFFICIAL SOUVENIR PROGRAM

RACING INTO HISTORYA look back at the

1953 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park

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“It looked like the beginning of something special.

And it was.”

Neal Charge 1953 Australian Grand Prix Driver #40 MGTC Spl.

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The combined talents of Organising Committee chairman Brigadier Elliott, LCCA stalwarts Bill and Jim Leech, and Senator Pat Kennelly, chairman of the Albert Park Trust, meant the 1953 Australian Grand Prix was built on extremely solid foundations.

Motor racing, in Europe as elsewhere, was still emerging from the nightmare of World War 2. A new series had been inaugurated – on the “barren airfield” of Silverstone in Northamptonshire – called the Formula One World Championship, but as yet none of the actors in that international drama had ventured as far afield as Australia.

So it was a galaxy of local stars who entertained a crowd put variously at 50,000 or as many as 70,000 around the 3.125-mile track (5.03 kilometres, only 300 metres shorter than the Albert Park circuit in its current state). In those days they raced the ‘wrong’ way, that is, in an anti-clockwise direction.

Foremost among the 40-plus entrants were the three men who ended up on the front row for the 64-lap event: Doug Whiteford, Stan Jones and Lex Davison. Davison was in his own ‘Australian Special’; Whiteford’s #1 Lago Talbot was the car which had won the 1949 French Grand Prix; Jones, father of the 1980 World Champion, was in the extraordinary Maybach Special.

After just two hours’ practice on race day, Davison and Jones took part in a curtain-raiser called the Albert Park Trophy. Lex, in a 2.9-litre Alfa Romeo, won after Jones had parked his 1100 Cooper in a straw bale near the end.

Davison’s Grand Prix, though, was a short-lived disaster: the HWM ran its bearings early in the piece. Jones then led the Grand Prix in grand style: by lap 10 he was half a minute clear of Whiteford and by lap 14 the two of them had lapped the entire field.

But a rather chaotic late-race pit stop, during which Whiteford cruised past three times, cost Jones any hope of an historic win. He did come out again but retired 15 laps later. Whiteford even had time to wobble into the pits himself with a missing right rear tyre following a puncture, effect repairs and win by the small margin of five laps.

With Curly Brydon second in the MG TC Special and Andy Brown third in an MG K3, 18 cars were classified.

Within three years the cream of Europe’s racing drivers – Moss, Whitehead, Behra – would dominate the second AGP at Albert Park. The locals had another mountain to climb…

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IT WAS - AND STILL IS - A GREAT PLACE FOR A RACE

By Stuart Sykes

In the year that saw Everest conquered, motor racing in Australia scaled new heights of its own when Albert Park staged the Australian Grand Prix for the first time.

Held on November 21, it was the 18th Australian Grand Prix – but it was the first time the race had visited a major centre of population. As the outstanding Australian motor sport historian Graham Howard wrote:

Held on November 21, it was the 18th Australian Grand Prix – but it was the first time the race had visited a major centre of population. As the outstaears in the wilderness – on remote, windswept Phillip Island in the 1920 and 1930s, then on a succession of barren airfields in the years following WW2 – finally there was a true road-race course on the Victorian mainland. And nothing less than a superb one, at that: down graceful avenues lined with tall trees amongst mown lawns, three miles from the business centre of Melbourne, slightly shorter than the proposed pre-war layout but vastly improved by incorporating the very fast sweeps of a new road around the north-eastern shore of the lake. It was a layout which, amongst Australian circuits, could be rivalled only by Bathurst’s Mt Panorama, and a location equal to any in the world.

Lex Davison: Larger than Life, Sydney, Turton Armstrong, 2004, p.75

The field for the 1953 race comprised 40 cars; every driver was Australian, this in a period before the birth of the Australian Touring Car Championship and long before V8 Supercars had ever been heard of.

Strange as it may seem, neither sports-mad Melbourne nor the State of Victoria at that time could boast a motor racing venue of real quality. The idea of racing in Albert Park had been raised almost 20 years earlier, but as usual it took a small group of committed individuals to turn that wish into a reality.

Jointly organised by Army Southern Command, whose HQ was at the north-western corner of the park itself, and the Light Car Club of Australia (LCCA), the inaugural event was a triumph of both military planning and the sheer enthusiasm that has always driven motor sport.

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In the year that saw Everest conquered, motor racing in Australia scaled new heights of its own when Albert Park staged the Australian Grand Prix for the first time.

Held on November 21, it was the 18th Australian Grand Prix – but it was the first time the race had visited a major centre of population. As the outstanding Australian motor sport historian Graham Howard wrote:

Held on November 21, it was the 18th Australian Grand Prix – but it was the first time the race had visited a major centre of population. As the outstaears in the wilderness – on remote, windswept Phillip Island in the 1920 and 1930s, then on a succession of barren airfields in the years following WW2 – finally there was a true road-race course on the Victorian mainland. And nothing less than a superb one, at that: down graceful avenues lined with tall trees amongst mown lawns, three miles from the business centre of Melbourne, slightly shorter than the proposed pre-war layout but vastly improved by incorporating the very fast sweeps of a new road around the north-eastern shore of the lake. It was a layout which, amongst Australian circuits, could be rivalled only by Bathurst’s Mt Panorama, and a location equal to any in the world.

Lex Davison: Larger than Life, Sydney, Turton Armstrong, 2004, p.75

The field for the 1953 race comprised 40 cars; every driver was Australian, this in a period before the birth of the Australian Touring Car Championship and long before V8 Supercars had ever been heard of.

Strange as it may seem, neither sports-mad Melbourne nor the State of Victoria at that time could boast a motor racing venue of real quality. The idea of racing in Albert Park had been raised almost 20 years earlier, but as usual it took a small group of committed individuals to turn that wish into a reality.

Jointly organised by Army Southern Command, whose HQ was at the north-western corner of the park itself, and the Light Car Club of Australia (LCCA), the inaugural event was a triumph of both military planning and the sheer enthusiasm that has always driven motor sport.

The combined talents of Organising Committee chairman Brigadier Elliott, LCCA stalwarts Bill and Jim Leech, and Senator Pat Kennelly, chairman of the Albert Park Trust, meant the 1953 Australian Grand Prix was built on extremely solid foundations.

Motor racing, in Europe as elsewhere, was still emerging from the nightmare of World War 2. A new series had been inaugurated – on the “barren airfield” of Silverstone in Northamptonshire – called the Formula One World Championship, but as yet none of the actors in that international drama had ventured as far afield as Australia.

So it was a galaxy of local stars who entertained a crowd put variously at 50,000 or as many as 70,000 around the 3.125-mile track (5.03 kilometres, only 300 metres shorter than the Albert Park circuit in its current state). In those days they raced the ‘wrong’ way, that is, in an anti-clockwise direction.

Foremost among the 40-plus entrants were the three men who ended up on the front row for the 64-lap event: Doug Whiteford, Stan Jones and Lex Davison. Davison was in his own ‘Australian Special’; Whiteford’s #1 Lago Talbot was the car which had won the 1949 French Grand Prix; Jones, father of the 1980 World Champion, was in the extraordinary Maybach Special.

After just two hours’ practice on race day, Davison and Jones took part in a curtain-raiser called the Albert Park Trophy. Lex, in a 2.9-litre Alfa Romeo, won after Jones had parked his 1100 Cooper in a straw bale near the end.

Davison’s Grand Prix, though, was a short-lived disaster: the HWM ran its bearings early in the piece. Jones then led the Grand Prix in grand style: by lap 10 he was half a minute clear of Whiteford and by lap 14 the two of them had lapped the entire field.

But a rather chaotic late-race pit stop, during which Whiteford cruised past three times, cost Jones any hope of an historic win. He did come out again but retired 15 laps later. Whiteford even had time to wobble into the pits himself with a missing right rear tyre following a puncture, effect repairs and win by the small margin of five laps.

With Curly Brydon second in the MG TC Special and Andy Brown third in an MG K3, 18 cars were classified.

Within three years the cream of Europe’s racing drivers – Moss, Whitehead, Behra – would dominate the second AGP at Albert Park. The locals had another mountain to climb…

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1953 Circuit Map

A Formule Libre Scratch Race200 Miles – 64 Laps

StARting gRidno. driver Car c.c 1. doug Whiteford Lago talbot 4486cc 2. Stan Jones Maybach 4300cc 3. Lex davison HWM Jaguar 3446cc 5. Jack Brabham (dnS) Cooper Bristol 1971cc 6. Cec Warren Maserati 4CL 1496cc 7. Frank Kleinig Kleinig Hudson 4375cc 8. tom Hawkes (dnS) Allard 4564cc 9. Ern McKinnon Maserati 6C 1494cc 10. W. H. Hayes Ford V8 Spl 4375cc 11. ted gray Alta Ford 4300cc 12. Arthur Chick Bugatti t37/t35 1965cc 14. Ron Edgerton (dnS) Alfa Romeo 2373cc 15. Bill Wilcox Ford V8 Spl 4300cc 16. W.J. Craig Allard J2 4375cc 17. Julian Barrett BWA 1496cc 18. don Mcdonald Austin A40 Spl 1280cc 19. Arthur Wylie Javelin Spl 1499cc 20. Jim gullan Mg K3 1087cc 21. Otto Stone (dnS) Mg K3 1087cc 22. Andy Brown Mg K3 1086cc 23. Les Murphy Mg Q 747cc 24. Reg nutt talbot darracq 1488cc 25. Peter Caitlin Bugatti t35/t51A 1498cc 26. Curley Brydon Mg tC Spl 1250cc 27. Phil Harrison dodge Spl 3999cc 28. Les O’donaghue Ballot Olds 3900cc 29. John Cummins (dnS) Bugatti Holden 2200cc

1953 Australian OfFical starting grid

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A Formule Libre Scratch Race200 Miles – 64 Laps

STARTING GRIDNo. Driver Car c.c

1. Doug Whiteford Lago Talbot 4486cc 2. Stan Jones Maybach 4300cc 3. Lex Davison HWM Jaguar 3446cc 5. Jack Brabham (DNS) Cooper Bristol 1971cc 6. Cec Warren Maserati 4CL 1496cc 7. Frank Kleinig Kleinig Hudson 4375cc 8. Tom Hawkes (DNS) Allard 4564cc 9. Ern McKinnon Maserati 6C 1494cc 10. W. H. Hayes Ford V8 Spl 4375cc 11. Ted Gray Alta Ford 4300cc 12. Arthur Chick Bugatti T37/T35 1965cc 14. Ron Edgerton (DNS) Alfa Romeo 2373cc 15. Bill Wilcox Ford V8 Spl 4300cc 16. W.J. Craig Allard J2 4375cc 17. Julian Barrett BWA 1496cc 18. Don McDonald Austin A40 Spl 1280cc 19. Arthur Wylie Javelin Spl 1499cc 20. Jim Gullan MG K3 1087cc 21. Otto Stone (DNS) MG K3 1087cc 22. Andy Brown MG K3 1086cc 23. Les Murphy MG Q 747cc 24. Reg Nutt Talbot Darracq 1488cc 25. Peter Caitlin Bugatti T35/T51A 1498cc 26. Curley Brydon MG TC Spl 1250cc 27. Phil Harrison Dodge Spl 3999cc 28. Les O’Donaghue Ballot Olds 3900cc 29. John Cummins (DNS) Bugatti Holden 2200cc

1953 Australian OfFical starting grid

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AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIXclassiFications

Place Driver Car Time 1. Doug Whiteford Lago Talbot 2h24:50s/59 laps 2. Curley Brydon MG TC Spl 3. Andy Brown MG K3 4. Les Murphy MG Q 5. Lou Molina MM Spl 6. Jim Leech Austin Healy 100 7. Frank Kleining Hudson Spl 8. Stuart Charge Austin Healey 100 9. Arthur/Ken Wylie Wylie Javelin 10. W.J.Craig Allard J2 11. Bib Stillwell Austin Healey 100 12. Julian/Gib Barrett BWA 13. Neal Charge MG TC Spl 14. Frank Lobb Jaguar XK120 15. Ern McKinnon Maserati 6C 16. John Nind MG TC Spl 17. Bill Patterson Cooper MkV JAP 18. Syd Negus Plymouth Spl

RETIREMENTSDriver Car Reason Les Davison HMW Jaguar Bearing, lap 3Arthur Chick Bugatti T35 EngineDon McDonald A40 Spl EngineReg Nutt Talbot Darracq Dropped valve, lap 14Peter McKenna BMW 328 Engine Pater Caitlin Bugatti T51A TransmissionHaig Hurst Allard K2 BearingsWal Gillespie HRG Spl Crashed, lap 51Cec Warren Maserati 4CL Crashed, lap 51John Calvert Jaguar XK120 CrashedStan Jones Maybach Clutch, lap 56

30. Lou Molina MM Holden 2290cc 31. Syd Negus Plymouth Spl 3298cc 32. Jim Leech Austin Healey 2660cc

33. Bib Stilwell Austin Healey 2660cc 34. John Calvert Jaguar XK 120 3442cc 35. Frank Lobb Jaguar XK 120 3442cc 36. David McKay (DNS) MG TC Spl 1350cc 37. Peter McKenna BMW 328 1971cc 38. Stuart Charge Austin Healey 2660cc 39. Jack O’Dea MG Spl 1250cc 40. Neal Charge MG TC Spl 1250cc 41. Dan Garringe (DNS) Garringe Skoda 1089cc 42. John Nind MG TB Spl 1250cc

RESERVESName Car c.c Bill Patterson Cooper MkV JAP 998ccGordon Greig Cooper MkIV Haig Hurst Allard K2 4375ccRon Phillips Allard K2 4375ccVin Maloney MG TC Spl 1250ccHarry Thompson HRG 1497ccSilvio Massolla HRG 1497cc

DNS Did not start

ALLOCATION OF PRIZE MONEY AND TROPHIESPrize Money:

1st, £500 and Trophy; 2nd, £250 and Trophy; 3rd, £150 andTrophy; 4th, £100; 5th, £75; 6th, £50; 7th, £25; 8th, £15; 9th, £15; 10th, £15; 11th, £15; 12th, £15. Fastest Lap, £10.Mechanic of Winning Car, £10. Total, £1,245.

GRAND PRIXand classiFications

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30. Lou Molina MM Holden 2290cc 31. Syd Negus Plymouth Spl 3298cc

32. Jim Leech Austin Healey 2660cc 33. Bib Stilwell Austin Healey 2660cc 34. John Calvert Jaguar XK 120 3442cc 35. Frank Lobb Jaguar XK 120 3442cc 36. David McKay (DNS) MG TC Spl 1350cc 37. Peter McKenna BMW 328 1971cc 38. Stuart Charge Austin Healey 2660cc 39. Jack O’Dea MG Spl 1250cc 40. Neal Charge MG TC Spl 1250cc 41. Dan Garringe (DNS) Garringe Skoda 1089cc 42. John Nind MG TB Spl 1250cc

RESERVESName Car c.c Bill Patterson Cooper MkV JAP 998ccGordon Greig Cooper MkIV Haig Hurst Allard K2 4375ccRon Phillips Allard K2 4375ccVin Maloney MG TC Spl 1250ccHarry Thompson HRG 1497ccSilvio Massolla HRG 1497cc

ALLOCATION OF PRIZE MONEY AND TROPHIESPrize Money:

1st, £500 and Trophy; 2nd, £250 and Trophy; 3rd, £150 andTrophy; 4th, £100; 5th, £75; 6th, £50; 7th, £25; 8th, £15; 9th, £15; 10th, £15; 11th, £15; 12th, £15. Fastest Lap, £10.Mechanic of Winning Car, £10. Total, £1,245.

GRAND PRIXand classiFications

AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIXclassiFications

Place Driver Car Time 1. Doug Whiteford Lago Talbot 2h24:50s/59 laps 2. Curley Brydon MG TC Spl 3. Andy Brown MG K3 4. Les Murphy MG Q 5. Lou Molina MM Spl 6. Jim Leech Austin Healy 100 7. Frank Kleining Hudson Spl 8. Stuart Charge Austin Healey 100 9. Arthur/Ken Wylie Wylie Javelin 10. W.J.Craig Allard J2 11. Bib Stillwell Austin Healey 100 12. Julian/Gib Barrett BWA 13. Neal Charge MG TC Spl 14. Frank Lobb Jaguar XK120 15. Ern McKinnon Maserati 6C 16. John Nind MG TC Spl 17. Bill Patterson Cooper MkV JAP 18. Syd Negus Plymouth Spl

RETIREMENTSDriver Car Reason Les Davison HMW Jaguar Bearing, lap 3Arthur Chick Bugatti T35 EngineDon McDonald A40 Spl EngineReg Nutt Talbot Darracq Dropped valve, lap 14Peter McKenna BMW 328 Engine Pater Caitlin Bugatti T51A TransmissionHaig Hurst Allard K2 BearingsWal Gillespie HRG Spl Crashed, lap 51Cec Warren Maserati 4CL Crashed, lap 51John Calvert Jaguar XK120 CrashedStan Jones Maybach Clutch, lap 56

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1953 Australian Grand Prix on display

Shortly before Albert Park hosted its first World Championship race in 1996, the great Sir Jack Brabham agreed to take part in a photo shoot on the eastern side of the circuit. Much to onlookers’ surprise, Australia’s triple World Champion hopped into his yellow Maserati, executed a swift U-turn and roared off in the ‘wrong’ direction.

In fact Sir Jack was right: the circuit in its original form was used in anti-clockwise direction, with the Start/Finish line up near what we now call Turn 3. Sir Jack was merely remembering what he used to do at Albert Park several decades before. Fittingly, then, many of the cars which took part in that historic event will go ‘the wrong way’ once again in 2013.

We are very proud to have on display a selection of the original cars which took part in the first Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park in 1953.

Carefully restored and maintained for the past 60 years or more, each car is in pristine condition and will participate in a parade on Sunday 17 March to celebrate the sport’s thrilling heritage in the park.

A special marquee in the Shannons Historics precinct will also showcase a wide variety of memorabilia from that memorable 1953 event. Foremost among this remarkable collection of photographs, official programs, driver helmets and tools is the original engine block of the Maybach driven by Stan Jones which led for a large part of the race.

What follows is a selection of evocative images from the 1953 event and a short account of each car before, during and after the race that put Albert Park on the motor sport map.

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The start of something special - the 1953 Australian grand Prix gets underway.

Albert Park, then as now, marries the frantic nature of motor sport with the serenity of its lakeside surroundings.

Hay bales were a minimal concession to safety.Doug Whiteford.

Stan Jones’ Maybach makes an untimely pit stop which ultimately costs him the race.

1953 Start: Lex Davidson, Stan Jones and Doug Whiteford lead the way.

Stan Jones manhandling the mighty Maybach around Albert Park.

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The start of something special - the 1953 Australian grand Prix gets underway.

Just two laps from the end, Doug Whiteford’s Lago Talbot shed its right tyre.

Phil Caitlin’s Bugatti - a throwback to pre-war Australian Grands Prix which were

dominated by the French marque.

Whiteford’s pride and joy - his Lago Talbot that won the 1953 Australian Grand Prix.

Jim Leech gets his Austin Heely in a spin - but goes on to finish 6th.

Aughtie Walk was then Albert Park’s main straight.

Hay bales were a minimal concession to safety.

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Car: BROWN MG K3Driver: Andy BrownRace #: 22Position: 3

This car links MG’s famous Abingdon factory in the UK to the royal family of Siam, as Thailand was once known.

Second-last of the 33 (some sources say 31) very successful ‘K3’ models built, K3030 was Italy-bound until a certain fascist dictator forbade it; the car went instead to Prince Chula for his royal cousin Prince Birabongse to race at legendary venues like Brooklands and Donington. The prince, better known as Bira, also contested 18 World Championship Grands Prix for some famous marques. Brought to Australia in 1936, K3030 went through several owners’ hands, including those of Lex Davison, before South Australian Andy Brown drove it to third place in the 1953 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park. Its engine was an MG six-cylinder inline unit, single overhead camshaft, originally of 1086cc with a power output of around 120 bhp at 6500 rpm. It had a front-mounted Marshall 85 supercharger. K3030’s last major outing was at the 1955 Australian Grand Prix staged at Port Wakefield. South Australia’s Bradey family owned it for over half a century and took it to Thailand to celebrate Prince Bira’s career in 1988. John and Helen Gillett of Drysdale, Victoria, are now its proud owners; John is a keen club racer and uses this car in races, hillclimbs and regularities. The Gilletts have overseen extensive refurbishment by Ray Skewes Automotive to its chassis, axles, wheels brakes and engine, while Historic and Vintage Restorations are responsible for the car’s body, gearbox, electrics and tuning.

Car: WYLIE JAVELINDriver: Arthur/Ken WylieRace #: 19Position: 9

Conspicuous by its very yellow presence, this familiar machine came into being in 1949-50 around a steel ladder frame. It

was the marriage of a Jowett Javelin four-cylinder 1486cc motor with Marshall Rootes supercharger and SU carburettor, and a body built by one Mr. Thomson, an aircraft fitter who boasted no previous motor racing experience. The purposeful-looking “Yellow Greased Lightning” or “Goanna”, as it came to be known, also had a Jowett Jupiter close-ratio gearbox. The Wylie Javelin could get up to a startling 210 km/h or thereabouts. Its original owner/builder was Australian Motor Sport editor Arthur Wylie, who had entered the Australian Grand Prix as far back as 1934 at Phillip Island in a Bugatti. He co-drove the Javelin with his brother Ken in the 1953 Albert Park race. Arthur took advantage of the car’s speed to move up to sixth early on before an ‘off’, but he and Ken between them got the car through to ninth place at the finish despite a slipping clutch. Joe Caudo of Attadale in WA bought the Wylie Javelin in 1997 and is the car’s eighth owner; Joe himself is a stalwart of events such as Targa Tasmania, the 2000 London-Sydney marathon,

1953 Australian grand PrixCompetition Cars

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MASERATI 4CL

While the Maserati 4CL on display here is not the one that raced in the inaugural Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, it is a supremely interesting car in its own right. This is chassis no.1564 – the very first of the 17 4CL’s built by the famous Bologna firm just before World War II. It belongs to American-based Irish businessman Paddins Dowling, who

acquired it just over a year ago. “This is probably the most original of the 4CL’s,” he says. “Every body panel still has that #1564 stamped on it!” Built to do battle with Alfa Romeo and ERA in the popular voiturette class of racing, the 4CL’s were constructed on a light-alloy ladder frame; they had a four-cylinder inline engine with a front-mounted single-stage supercharger and a four-speed box. The car from Albert Park 1953 had been driven by the legendary Frenchman Raymond Sommer to beat the Alfas and win at St. Cloud near Paris in 1946. It came to these shores in 1951 and found its way into the hands of Peter Vennermark; he and Melbourne’s Cec Warren shared the drive when the car competed in the 1953 Australian Grand Prix after making its Down Under debut at Fisherman’s Bend the previous month. It endured a difficult race: Vennermark was suffering from heat blisters when he brought the car in to change both a plug and the driver, then Warren had to take evasive action when Gillespie’s car overturned and the Maser was out on lap 51.

Car: PATTERSON BRYDON MG TCDriver: Curley BrydonRace #: 26Position: 2

“A TC with a pretty dress on it!” That’s how current owner Richard Townley describes his MG TC Special, the car that finished second in the 1953

Australian Grand Prix. It was keen racer Bill Patterson’s second TC from the famous English sports car manufacturer; it was built by Reg Nutt and Doug Whiteford, and Bill asked Bob Baker to fit a special alloy racing body, adding a Rootes supercharger to its 1.25-litre OHV pushrod four-cylinder inline engine. It weighed 559 kilos and, with close-ratio gears for racing purposes, it pushed out 65 kW at 6000 rpm and could nudge beyond 180 km/h. In 1950 it was sold to ex-fighter pilot ‘Curley’ Brydon. It posted a DNF in the 1952 Australian Grand Prix before enjoying its moment of glory at Albert Park: it was originally classified third but elevated to second after a protest. It was entered in no fewer than five Australian Grands Prix, but that top-three finish at Albert Park was by far its best result – it failed to finish three races and didn’t start in the other. This little car has had eight owners in its long life. Richard, whose first competition event was a sprint race in an MG TC road car at Fisherman’s Bend in the Sixties, acquired it in 2000 and refurbished it, doing most of the work himself. He reckons it has done more than 50 circuit race meetings, including 16 appearances at Bathurst between 1950 and 1962.

hill-climbs and a great deal more. After its Albert Park success this car went on to compete at the 1954 Australian Grand Prix in Southport, Queensland, in the hands of Arthur Griffiths, retiring with a blown head gasket after distinguishing itself in the first 15 laps of the race.

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Car: LAGO TALBOT T26CDriver: Doug TalbotRace #: 1Position: 1

Talbot Lago or Lago Talbot? The former seems to have won, as Doug Whiteford’s crew fondly called the big car the ‘Large Tablet’. This is the second T26C owned by Whiteford, chassis no.110002. It was in chassis no.11007

that Whiteford, a St Kilda garage-owner famous before Albert Park for his exploits in the Ford V8 Special known as ‘Black Bess’, won the 1953 Australian Grand Prix. The 4.5-litre T26C was introduced in 1948; only 14 were built at the French firm’s Suresnes plant. While the car was never quick enough to be a consistent winner, it excelled through sheer reliability and frugality, often running through to the finish without a stop for fuel. Whiteford’s first T26C came via Marseilles in 1950 for its original Australian owner Tom Hawkes. Whiteford bought it in 1951 and won the 1952 Australian Grand Prix with it at Bathurst. His first Lago Talbot charged to victory in the 1953 Albert Park race when Stan Jones’s Maybach retired; Doug even had time to come in for repairs to a right rear puncture, rejoin and still win by the handsome margin of five laps. The car on display has belonged since 2006 to Mount Martha enthusiast Ron Townley, who has put a great deal of work into it: reconditioned engine (crankshaft, conrods, pistons), new radiator core, pump, brakes and more. Arriving in Australia in 1954, it did not race until the 1955 Australian

Grand Prix at Port Wakefield.

Car: KLEINIG HUDSON Driver: Frank KleinigRace #: 7Position: 7

Frank Kleinig’s racing career began on two wheels but his reputation was forged at the wheel of the Hudson

Special, a car that was already 18 years old when it competed in the 1953 Australian Grand Prix. It was in the hands of one Mr. Gus McIntyre when it was sold to Kleinig as one of a pair. The car made its Australian Grand Prix debut at Victor Harbor in 1937. Its 1.5-litre Miller engine was found wanting when it came to the challenge of places like Bathurst, venue for the 1938 Australian Grand Prix, so Frank removed it and dropped in a 4.4-litre Hudson said to come straight out of his own new road-going sedan. He would develop the Kleinig Hudson unrelentingly over the next decade and a half, the car eventually being capable of over 200 km/h. Its bugbear was reliability: although it was fast – Kleinig was favourite to win the 1949 Australian Grand Prix at Leyburn in Queensland – it rarely lasted the distance. In fact in its seven AGP appearances the Kleinig Hudson finished only twice: it was 17th at Lobethal, the South Australian track where Frank was something of a specialist, and its peak came at Albert Park when it came home seventh. Even then the car had only first and fourth gears still working… The Kleinig Hudson now belongs to Tom Roberts of Seville, VIC, and will be driven by experienced hill-climber David Bell at Albert Park.

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Car: BARRETT BWADriver: Julian/Gib BarrettRace #: 17Position: 12

This typically ingenious Australian Special is the second car on display belonging to Mount Martha’s Ron Townley, himself a keen competitor whose career in stock cars and hot rods

began in 1956. It was driven by both Alf Barrett, known as ‘The Maestro’, and by his brother Julian, known as Gib. BWA stood for the three key players in its creation, Barrett/White/Ashton, the latter being the crew chief. Before World War II it took part in the Rob Roy hillclimb; during the war Gib clad it in a sportscar body and used it himself. Then they stretched it nine inches, made it into a ‘monoposto, i.e. a single-seater, and went racing. “Built like a crayfish,” says Ron proudly, “all the mechanicals are on the outside!” It was in essence a pre-war MG TC but has a Lancia front end and steering box, Lancia wheels, brakes and diff and 1935 Chevrolet truck drive-shafts for rear axles. It now has a Lee Francis 1.5-litre supercharger to comply with CAMS’ requirements. “Good fun to drive,” adds Ron, “but at Albert Park in 1953 they didn’t have their best race…” At its pit stop a fuel spill saw the car erupt in flames. “Yes, it went up alright,” recalls Gib Barrett in Barry Green’s lovely memoir, Glory Days. “But it looked worse than it was.” They had already lost 15 minutes at the start when its plugs fouled – yet the car still finished 12th.

Car: O’DEA MG SPECIALDriver: Jack O’DeaRace #: 39Position: DNF

Another member of the Gillett stable, this MG TC Special began life in South Australia, where it was built in 1949 for David Harvey by well-known local

specialist Tony Ohlmeyer. Harvey drove it at several South Australian venues, most notably to second place in the 1950 Australian Grand Prix at Nuriootpa, before it was sold to Victorian speedway driver Jack O’Dea. O’Dea drove it in the 1953 Albert Park race but did not make it to the finish. It came with a 1340cc MG XPAG engine to which was added a Marshall Nordec supercharger; the gearbox was standard issue. Its single-seater body brought the car in at a lightweight 550 kilos, the MG being capable of around 115 mph (185 km/h). It could cover the standing quarter-mile in 15 seconds. After Albert Park the O’Dea MG was bought by a certain J. Brabham, who apparently raced it at Sydney’s Parramatta Park before it moved on. Harry Gapps campaigned the car at Mt. Druitt, Orange and Bathurst, then in 1958 it returned home: bought by Jack Johnson, it specialised in hillclimbs like Collingrove and also raced at Port Wakefield. By 1963 it was back in Victoria, where its career ended at Calder Park in that year. Guided by the expert advice of Tony Ohlmeyer himself, John Gillett acquired it in 1966; he and his son Charlie Groves, a budding historic racing specialist, have campaigned it widely in the south-eastern states.

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Car: MM HOLDENDriver: Lou MolinaRace #: 30Position: 5

Be careful not to show too much interest in this unique car – it’s up for sale! The owner is Cobram enthusiast John Anderson, himself a winner of the Alec Mildren Trophy a few years ago. This particular car is especially close to Albert

Park: it was built in the bayside suburb in 1953 by Lou Molina and his great mate Silvio Massola, hence the name MM Holden Special. Constructed around a 2358cc 48 series Holden engine, the car has a Standard front end and an HRG differential and gearbox, with everything wrapped in a Burnett aluminium body. The 1953 Australian Grand Prix was the car’s first serious outing, and a remarkable race it had. “You couldn’t see a bloody thing at the start!” said Lou, who went on to become one of Melbourne’s best-known restaurant owners and something of a raconteur. That’s because the car had to come from the back through the considerable smoke-screen put up by Ted Gray’s Alta. Undaunted, Molina not only made his way through, he made his way up to an outstanding fifth place by the end of the 64 laps. The MM Holden Special went on to race in the New Zealand Grand Prix the following year and was back for a top-six finish in the Argus Cup at Albert Park in 1956. In that year it was fitted with a Repco crossflow head; the MM Holden clocked 15.3 seconds for the standing quarter at the Geelong Sprints.

Car: MAYBACH Mark 1Driver: Stan JonesRace #: 2Position: retirement, lap 56

This remarkable Australian Special now belongs to well-known Victorian historic racing identity Bob Harborow

of Camberwell, who has campaigned it as far afield as New Zealand and at the famous Goodwood meetings in the UK. Its name is a throwback to Wilhelm Maybach, the German engineer known as ‘the father of Mercedes’. Its original 3.8-litre, six-cylinder Maybach engine was plundered from a German half-track armoured scout car brought back from the North African campaign in World War II. Repco’s Charlie Dean paid ₤40 for the engine and married it to a tubular frame with Studebaker wheels, a Fiat gearbox and a Lancia rear axle. Finished with a sheet-metal body, the car first ran at Lex Davison’s property at Lilydale. It entered the 1948 Australian Grand Prix at Pt. Cook. Stan Jones, who owned Superior Motors in Coburg, bought the Maybach in 1951 but while the driving was left in Stan’s capable hands it continued to run under the watchful eye of Dean and Repco. Its original engine was first supercharged, then replaced with a 4.2-litre unit which has recently been restored to its 1954 specification. That year the car won the New Zealand Grand Prix, although in the Australian counterpart at Southport the chassis broke in half, almost with extreme prejudice to its driver. The car led the 1953 Grand Prix in explosive style but succumbed to clutch problems, allowing Whiteford’s Lago Talbot to sail past and win the race.

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Car: PLYMOUTH SPECIALDriver: Syd NegusRace #: 31Position: 18

Few cars in any Australian historic field can boast the pedigree of this remarkable machine. In 1938 keen West Australian driver Clem Dwyer took a crashed Plymouth sedan into his panel-beating

shop and immediately spied an opportunity. The ‘Clem Dwyer Special’ was built around the wrecked car’s 3.0-litre, six-cylinder engine to which Dwyer added an oil cooler and SU carburettor as well as increasing its compression ratio. Beguiled by the beautiful Maserati 6C, Dwyer also crafted a similar-looking body for the new car and painted it in the eye-catching Italian red. He drove it to second place with fastest race lap at the Patriotic Grand Prix in Applecross in 1940, then won the post-war Victory Grand Prix at Caversham in 1946. When the car was sold to Syd Negus one of the most successful combinations in Australian racing was born. The apparently bulletproof car completed 102 of its 103 races; it was Syd Negus, president of the West Australian Sports Car Club, who brought it all the way across the Nullarbor to compete in the 1953 Australian Grand Prix, the car eventually being 18th and last of the classified finishers. It is also on record as having finished 10th in the 1951 Australian Grand Prix at Narrogin, WA, but retired from the race at Caversham in 1957. The car now belongs to South Australia’s Peter Bell, himself an enthusiastic participant in events like Targa Tasmania and the popular Grand Prix Rallies of previous years.

MALONEY MG TC SPECIAL

One of a gaggle of MG TB- and TC-based ‘Specials’ in the 1953 event, this little car can boast no fewer than four appearances in the Australian Grand Prix. It was built as a central-seated ‘monoposto’ on chassis #6080 by the well-known Head Brothers firm at Murrumbeena for Vin Maloney, who

was at the wheel in all four of those events. The first was at Nuriootpa in South Australia in 1950, where Vin came 12th; in both 1951 at Narrogin in Western Australia and 1952 at Mount Panorama the car was out after 11 laps; and at Albert Park in 1953 it was originally in the reserve list but was drafted in for a race start once more, although it failed to finish again. The car’s competition history includes a brief flirtation with a twin-cam MG-A engine, and it ran a Rootes-style supercharger on its TC unit. Other owners have included Wally Mitchell and Peter Beasley, the car coming into the caring hands of the Pitman family back in 1990. Mark Pitman now looks after the car on behalf of his father John Pitman. It has long been a familiar sight at events throughout South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales, both on circuits and especially in multiple hill-climb appearances at Rob Roy, Mt. Tarrengower, Collingrove and other prominent venues. The Maloney MG TC Special has previously participated in the Historic Demonstration at the modern-day Australian Grand Prix.

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In recognition of the heritage of motorsport at Albert Park a number of exciting activities will take place in the lead up to and during the 2013 Formula 1® Rolex Australian Grand Prix and they are all geared to demonstrate that Albert Park was – and still is – a great place for a race.

PUBLIC PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITIONCrown Melbourne features a public exhibition celebrating the heritage

of the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park from Thursday 28 February to Sunday 24 March 2013. The display is located in the Level 1 retail precinct leading to Crown Metropol and the air bridge leading to Village Cinemas. Almost 100 outstanding images, taken between 1953 and 2013, have been sourced from a variety of archives, including the personal collections of motorsport enthusiasts involved with the event in 1950s Melbourne. Many of the images have never been seen before by the general public.

NATIONAL SPORTS MUSEUM DOCUMENTARY

A short film about the 1953 Australian Grand Prix is the key feature of the National Sports Museum’s cinema at the MCG from 1 – 31 March. The film is a poignant reminder of life in Melbourne during another era and poses a stark contrast to the sport of Formula 1® today. Featuring original and rare footage of the 1953 race, along with original photographs and interviews with a number of people involved in the event, the documentary takes us back to a time when motorsport was possibly considered ‘romantic’.

Celebrating 60 yearsWhat’s on

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Australian Grand Prix Corporation would like to thank the following for their contribution to celebrating 60 years

since the first Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park.

John Reaburn

Graham Hoinville

Neal Charge

Graeme Steinfort

Spencer Wills

Stuart Sykes

Tony Parkinson

Richard Townley

Bob Harborrow

Ian Tate

Grant Campbell

Brian Reed

Patrick Quinn

William Craig

Australian Grand Prix Historic Committee

Confederation of Australian Motor Sport

Victorian Historic Racing Register

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WEB SERIESVisit grandprix.com.au to watch three short interviews with some of

the fascinating individuals who were involved in the 1953 race. Each has a different perspective and recalls personal stories and experiences from a driver’s, a marshal’s and a spectator’s point of view.

HERITAGE DAYThursday 14 March is renamed Heritage Day in recognition of Albert

Park’s role in grand prix history and General Admission patrons can enter the event for FREE that day.

HERITAGE EXHIBITIONA special heritage themed exhibition is located in the Shannons

Historics precinct and features a selection of original cars that lined up on the starting grid in the 1953 race as well as a wide range of related memorabilia including, most remarkably, the original engine block of Stan Jones’ Maybach which led the race for much of the way.

REVERSE DIRECTION PARADE LAP

Sadly, only a small number of drivers from the 50s are still with us today. On race day we will pay tribute to them and the cars they drove with a parade travelling ‘the wrong way’ around the Albert Park circuit, which was how they raced back then. The parade will be complete with strategically placed hay bales to represent the somewhat meagre safety measures that were in place around the track in the 50s compared to today.

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WEB SERIESVisit grandprix.com.au to watch three short interviews with some of

the fascinating individuals who were involved in the 1953 race. Each has a different perspective and recalls personal stories and experiences from a driver’s, a marshal’s and a spectator’s point of view.

HERITAGE DAYThursday 14 March is renamed Heritage Day in recognition of Albert

Park’s role in grand prix history and General Admission patrons can enter the event for FREE that day.

HERITAGE EXHIBITIONA special heritage themed exhibition is located in the Shannons

Historics precinct and features a selection of original cars that lined up on the starting grid in the 1953 race as well as a wide range of related memorabilia including, most remarkably, the original engine block of Stan Jones’ Maybach which led the race for much of the way.

REVERSE DIRECTION PARADE LAP

Sadly, only a small number of drivers from the 50s are still with us today. On race day we will pay tribute to them and the cars they drove with a parade travelling ‘the wrong way’ around the Albert Park circuit, which was how they raced back then. The parade will be complete with strategically placed hay bales to represent the somewhat meagre safety measures that were in place around the track in the 50s compared to today.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Australian Grand Prix Corporation would like to thank the following for their contribution to celebrating 60 years

since the first Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park.

John Reaburn

Graham Hoinville

Neal Charge

Graeme Steinfort

Spencer Wills

Stuart Sykes

Tony Parkinson

Richard Townley

Bob Harborrow

Ian Tate

Grant Campbell

Brian Reed

Patrick Quinn

William Craig

Australian Grand Prix Historic Committee

Confederation of Australian Motor Sport

Victorian Historic Racing Register