1961 Australian Drivers' Championship
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The 1961 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title[1] for drivers of Formula Libre cars.[2] The title was contested over a five race series[3] with the winner awarded the 1961 CAMS Gold Star.[4] It was the fifth Australian Drivers' Championship.[1]
The series was dominated by Victorian racer Bill Patterson driving a Cooper T51 Climax.[2] Patterson won three of the five races and was second and fourth in the other two. He finished the series 36 points ahead of Lex Davison (Aston Martin DBR4 & Cooper T51 Coventry Climax). Bib Stillwell (Cooper T51 Coventry Climax & Cooper T53 Coventry Climax) placed third in the points standings.
The two races not won by Patterson were Longford, won by British driver Roy Salvadori in a Cooper T51 Coventry Climax and Mallala, won by Davison, also driving a Cooper T51 Coventry Climax .
| Race[3] | Circuit[3] | Date[3] | Winning driver[3] | Car[3] | Entrant[3] | Report |
| Bakers Milk International | Longford | 6 March | Roy Salvadori | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | Jack Brabham | |
| Craven A Gold Star[5] | Mount Panorama, Bathurst | 3 April | Bill Patterson | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | Bill Patterson Motors P/L | |
| Queensland Road Racing Championship[6] | Lowood | 11 June | Bill Patterson | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | Bill Patterson Motors P/L | |
| Craven "A" Trophy | Caversham | 12 August | Bill Patterson | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | Bill Patterson Motors P/L | |
| Australian Grand Prix | Mallala | 9 October | Lex Davison | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | B.S. Stillwell | Report |
A sixth championship race was originally scheduled to be held Phillip Island on 10 December.[4] Although a "Racing Car Scratch Race" (The Isle of Wight Trophy) was held at the circuit on that date, a contemporary report in Australian Motor Sports magazine does not label this as a "Gold Star" race[7] and it is omitted from 1961 Gold Star championship summaries at "members.optusnet.com.au/dandsshaw"[3] and "www.oldracingcars.com"[8]
Points system
Championship results
| Pos. | Driver[3] | Car[3] | Entrant[3] | Lon.[3] | Bat.[3] | Low.[3] | Cav.[3] | Mal.[3] | Total[3] |
| 1 | Bill Patterson | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | Bill Patterson Motors Pty. Ltd. | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 3 | 51 |
| 2 | Lex Davison | Aston Martin DBR4 & Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | Ecurie Australie & B.S. Stillwell | 3 | - | - | - | 12 | 15 |
| 3 | Bib Stillwell | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax & T53 Coventry Climax | B.S. Stillwell | - | 5 | - | - | 7 | 12 |
| 4 | Stan Jones | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | Stan Jones Motors Pty. Ltd. Moran Motors Pty. Ltd.[6] |
- | 7 | 5 | - | - | 12 |
| 5 | Alec Mildren | Cooper T51 Maserati | A.G. Mildren Pty. Ltd. | 2 | 2 | 7 | - | - | 11 |
| 6 | John Youl | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | J. Youl | 7 | - | - | - | - | 7 |
| = | Doug Green | Ferrari 500 | Reimann Motors | - | - | - | 7 | - | 7 |
| 8 | David McKay | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | Scuderia Veloce | - | 1 | - | - | 5 | 6 |
| 9 | Austin Miller | Cooper T51 Coventry Climax | A. Miller | 5 | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| = | Jack Ayres | Cooper Mk V Ford | J. Ayres | - | - | - | 5 | - | 5 |
| 11 | Arnold Glass | Cooper T45 Maserati | Capitol Motors Pty. Ltd. | - | 3 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| 12 | Bruce Coventry | Lotus 18 Ford | A.B. Coventry[6] | - | - | 3 | - | - | 3 |
| = | Lionel Beattie | Repco Holden Sports | L. Beattie | - | - | - | 3 | - | 3 |
| 14 | Murray Trenberth | Alta F2 Holden | M. Trenberth | - | - | - | - | 2 | 2 |
| 15 | Noel Barnes | MG TC Special | N.F. Barnes[6] | - | - | 2 | - | - | 2 |
| = | Bob Annear | Pegasus Holden | R. Annear | - | - | - | 2 | - | 2 |
| 17 | Eddie Clay | Cooper T23 Bristol | E. Clay | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| 18 | John Roxburgh | Cooper T45 Coventry Climax | J.B. Roxburgh | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| = | Jim Ward | Alta GP-2 | J Ward | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 |
The opening race at Longford was won by Englishman Roy Salvadori who was not eligible for championship points.[9] First place points for that race were therefore awarded to the second placed driver, Bill Patterson.[9]
