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The original Birrana 272, seen here with Peter Brock at Calder in 1973.  Copyright oldracephotos.com.  Used with permission.

Australian Formula 2 1972

The 1972 championship was a curious affair, with a highly-competitive start and a completely lacklustre finish. The first four races in the series saw good fields and some exciting racing but many of the top competitors dropped out as they decided that the costs of racing right across the Australian continent was not justified by the rewards. In particular, the races that were combined with AF1 Gold Star rounds were especially poorly supported and 1971 Australian Formula Ford champion Larry Perkins, driving the Provincial Motors Elfin 600B, was able to win all of the last four races to easily win the title.

The other quick cars included Henk Woelders in the new works Birrana 272, Ivan Tighe with the ex-works Elfin 600C and Tony Stewart with the Brabham BT36-based Dolphin 722 plus a host of Elfin 600Bs.

The races

16 Jan 1972 > Calder

02 Apr 1972 > Hume Weir

25 Jun 1972 > Belle Magazine Trophy at Oran Park

23 Jul 1972 > Amaroo Park

27 Aug 1972 > Glyn Scott Memorial Trophy at Surfers Paradise

24 Sep 1972 > Symmons Plains

08 Oct 1972 > Channel 7 Trophy at Adelaide International Raceway

1972 Australian Formula 2 Championship table

1Larry PerkinsElfin 600B - Ford twin cam36 pts 
2Vern HamiltonElfin 600B - Ford twin cam19 pts 
3Jack BonoElfin 600B - Ford twin cam17 pts 
4Ivan TigheElfin 600B - Ford twin cam15 pts 
5Ken HastingsMcLaren M4A - Ford twin cam13 pts 
6Allan GriceMildren - Ford twin cam10 pts 
7Don UebergangElfin 600B - Ford twin cam8 pts 
8Ian FergussonBowin P3A - Ford twin cam7 pts 
9Clive MillisElfin 600B - Ford twin cam6 pts 
10Tony StewartDolphin 722 - Ford twin cam6 pts 

Table from Australian Motor Racing Annual 1973 p207.