Victorian Road Race Championship

Sandown Park, 16 Sep 1962

Notes on the cars:

1. Cooper Mk IV 'T51' ["F2-2-57" or "F2-5-57"] (Bill Patterson): In December 1960, Bill Patterson acquired a full 2.5-litre Cooper T51 in England and had it shipped to Australia. This "new" car has been described by Patterson and by later owner Murray Richards in a number of ways, including "ex-works", "ex-Brabham" and "ex-Salvadori". It was said to have been bought from a private team and given the dispersal of the 1959 works T51s, that suggests either Tommy Atkins team or Fred Tuck's. The Salvadori reference would indicate Atkins' team so this car may be the late 1959 works car that was then acquired by Atkins for Salvadori to race in F1 in 1960. Whatever its origins, Patterson debuted the car at Warwick Farm on 29 Jan 1961 and used it to win the 1961 Gold Star. He retained it as a show car after replacing it in 1963 and finally sold it in 1988 to Murray Richards for historic racing. It was sold to Rod Jolley in England in the mid-1990s. It was still owned by Jolley in 2007.
2. Cooper Mk IV 'T51' ["F2-5-57" (F2-7-59?)] (Greg Cusack): "Works Car No. 3" according to the Cooper Register. Believed to be Masten Gregory's regular car during 1959. According to Doug Nye's Cooper Cars, this was Bruce McLaren's race-winning car at both Sebring Dec 1959 and at Buenos Aires Feb 1960, Subsequent history unknown but may be either the works team's spare car during 1960 (raced by Flockhart and Daigh) and then by Flockhart and Salvadori in New Zealand; the ex-works car sold to Akins for Salvadori to drive in 1960 or the car reputedly sold to Fred Tuck for 1960.
3. Cooper Mk IV 'T51' [F2-14-59] (Bryan Thomson): Delivered to Victa Consolidated Industries (Australia) according to the Cooper Register.
4. Cooper Mk IV 'T51' [F2-18-59] (Tom Wilson): Delivered to Norman Hamilton (Australia) in July according to the Cooper Register.
5. Cooper Mk IV 'T51' [F2-15-59] (John Brindley): Delivered to B Patterson less engine according to the Cooper Register. First raced by Bill Patterson at Port Wakefield in October 1960 where it was fitted with a 2-litre Climax engine. Raced by Patterson until crashed at Lakeside in 1961, after which Patterson raced an "ex-works" Cooper T51 that he had acquired earlier in the season. F2-15-59 was repaired and kept as a spare car being raced by Doug Whiteford on occasions. In 1962, the car was sold to Englishman John Brindley who raced it at Calder in April or May 1962. Brindley raced the car in minor events during 1962 until suffering a massive accident in a minor race at Sandown Park on 16 Sep 1962. The Autosportsman report on the race said "The car must be very nearly a complete write-off". The wreck sat in the yard behind Car World (Bulleen, Melbourne, Australia) the business in which Brindley was partners with Phil Trueman, for a couple of years. It was then passed on to Bill Patterson, and remained with him, still damaged, until it was acquired by Murray Richards from Patterson in 1988. Richards started to restore the car but this was incomplete when he died in early 2000. The car was still with Richards' sons in 2010.
6. Cooper Mk IV 'T51' ["F2-5-57" (F2-7-59?)] (Chris Amon): "Works Car No. 3" according to the Cooper Register. Believed to be Masten Gregory's regular car during 1959. According to Doug Nye's Cooper Cars, this was Bruce McLaren's race-winning car at both Sebring Dec 1959 and at Buenos Aires Feb 1960, Subsequent history unknown but may be either the works team's spare car during 1960 (raced by Flockhart and Daigh) and then by Flockhart and Salvadori in New Zealand; the ex-works car sold to Akins for Salvadori to drive in 1960 or the car reputedly sold to Fred Tuck for 1960.

Sources

Note that the identification of individual cars in these results is based on the material presented elsewhere in this site and may in some cases contradict the organisers' published results.

These results have been compiled by David McKinney from a wide rangle of sources, including his own magazine articles and books. The 1959-1963 results are complete but for the 1957 and 1958 seasons, the only cars currently shown in the results are the F1, Intercontinental and F2 cars that feature elsewhere on this site plus the major Australian specials.

All comments, clarifications, corrections and additions are most welcome. Please email Allen (allen@oldracingcars.com) if you can help in any way with our research.